FAQ

Naval Reserve pilot Lieutenant Harry Brubaker (William Holden) is called back to active duty from his civilian profession as an attorney to destroy a set of highly defended bridges at Toko-Ri in Korea. Meanwhile, his wife Nancy (Grace Kelly) waits anxiously for his return...IF he returns.

The Bridges at Toko-Ri is a 1953 novel by American author James Michener, a former United States Navy lieutenant and news correspondent aboard the aircraft carriers USS Essex and USS Oriskany offshore in Korea. The character of Harry Brubaker was based on Lieutenant Donald S. Brubaker, a naval aviator attached to the USS Valley Forge, who was a Denver lawyer called to duty as a reservist. The character of Mike Forney (Mickey Rooney) was based on Lieutenant Duane Thorin, an enlisted pilot known for his green baseball cap, who flew rescue missions off the cruiser USS Rochester. The book was adapted for the film by American film-maker Valentine Davies.

There are no bridges named Toko-Ri in Korea. Michener modeled the story on actual missions flown during the winter of 1951-1952 against the railroad bridges at Majon-ni and Samdong-ni in North Korea.

While Brubaker hides in the irrigation ditch, Korean soldiers begin to come out of the brush and head toward his downed plane. The other fighter jets attempt to cover Brubaker until Forney and Gamidge (Earl Holliman) can get in with their helicopter, but the enemy fires on the copter and Gamidge is killed. Forney joins Brubaker in the irrigation ditch, and they attempt to hold off the enemy soldiers with their rifles, but Forney is killed by a grenade and Brubaker is shot to death. Back on the aircraft carrier, Admiral Tarrant (Fredric March) berates Commander Lee (Charles McGraw) for sending Brubaker on the second mission. Lee defends his actions, noting that Brubaker was his pilot, too. In the final scene, Tarrant asks himself rhetorically, Where do we get such men? They leave this ship and they do their job. Then they must find this speck lost somewhere on the sea. When they find it, they have to land on its pitching deck. Where do we get such men?