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Good concept, poorly executed.

A different way of telling a story

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Stranded behind enemy lines, an American lieutenant tries to steer his troops to safety amid scattered sniper attacks in this Korean War movie starring Robert Ryan. The film feels heavily influenced by Sam Fuller (think 'Fixed Bayonets!'; 'The Steel Helmet') with a heavy emphasis on dialogue and the non-combat aspects of war. The movie also bears some similarity to John Ford's 'The Lost Patrol', though it is a decidedly more an episodic affair, with seeming every imaginable wartime horror (at times awkwardly) squeezed in. Episodic as the film may be, it remains a potent experience the whole way through. It is hard say what the film's most powerful scene is: a "sleeping" soldier discovered to be dead, a soldier driven mad after seeing a land mine, a close-up on a soldier's eyeball moving back and forth as he hears a sniper approach him from behind -- it is all very potent stuff. A subplot involving Aldo Ray as a soldier from another outfit obsessed with driving his shell-shocked colonel to the nearest hospital is initially jarring but ultimately blends in well too as we gradually see the genuine affection he has for his mentor, reluctantly forced by Ryan to postpone his quest to drive the sick man to safety. The film additionally benefits from a rousing if seldom used Elmer Berstein score and Ernest Haller's sumptuous black and white photography is very immersive.

Tough Korean War film about a platoon of US soldiers led by Robert Ryan who have to fight their way up an occupied hill in order to escape the encircling enemy. It looks like it was made in a dry canyon somewhere in Southern California, but, in spite of that, the excellent B&W photography help make this as gritty a Korean War film as you're likely to see. The film's emphasis on the characters is perhaps laid on a bit too much. Everyone seems to be a bit on the philosophically existentialist side, bringing the audience men in war rather than try to overly focus on battle scenes. In any event, the taking of the hill nicely combines both action and character along with staggering losses. Recommended for Ryan's part as the lieutenant who keeps the men as a viable fighting force up to the end.

See it – There haven't been many movies made about the Korean War. While "Pork Chop Hill" is an easy choice for number one, this Anthony Mann-directed psychological war movie may be number two. Starring Robert Ryan, the story focuses on a group of GI's transporting ammunition who get cut off from the rest of their regiment when their vehicle breaks down. As they make their way on foot to deliver the ammunition to the rally point, they encounter snipers, mines, and all the usual hardships of the footsoldier. Eventually they meet up with a hardened veteran whose experience may be just what they need to make it back alive and accomplish their mission. When a well-defended enemy hill is the only thing standing in their way, the men decide that despite being outnumbered, they have plenty of ammo to attempt an assault.

As I say in the summary, this film compares very well with Sam Fuller's "Steel Helmet", though this Fuller film was actually made during the Korean War and it was made with an even smaller budget. They both are exceptional films--stories of foot soldiers stranded behind enemy lines during this war. Because both have rather modest stories, the films manage to work because of taut direction, excellent writing and terrific acting. It just goes to show you that you don't need a ton of cash or the biggest name actors to make a very good war film.The film starts with Robert Ryan playing a lieutenant in charge of a dozen and a half men who have been cut off during an American retreat early in the Korean War. Their goal is to go 17 miles to a hill PROBABLY still held by their forces. But it is very slow-going--particularly when their truck is knocked out and they have to carry their supplies. Things seem to be looking up when a jeep arrives. But the driver is a gung-ho sergeant (Aldo Ray) and his colonel (Robert Keith). This is a problem because Keith obviously has cracked up and is catatonic and Ray has no interest in doing anything but get his commanding officer back to a hospital--and he could care less about the other men. But, when Ryan forces Ray at gunpoint to relinquish the jeep, you know this is NOT your typical war film! There's a lot more to the film than this--as this all occurs in the first ten minutes or so, but I'll leave it to you to see where all this leads. The bottom line is that this is an amazingly tense and well-constructed film--one you can't help but admire because of its efficient use of actors, props and sets.