Côte 465

Men in War (1957)

Take a small group of survivors in a hardscrabble part of Korea during that neglected war and watch them squabble and worry and scramble to stay alive.

This is an admired war movie for the simple reason that it is shorn of romanticism or heroism. Not that there aren't heroic acts, and true intelligence in expert soldiering. But the acting is vivid and honest, not pandering to our need for greatness in ordinary men. And the result is that these ordinary men are great.

Robert Ryan is the star here, and he earns his keep. A smart, stubborn, hardened officer who knows the chips are down and isn't going to give in to excess or despair. The dry, open landscape with a few trees and some distant hills is almost a symbol for the movie, plain and unadorned, nothing unnecessary. The other actors are sharply seen, as well, some desperate and losing their grip, others just scared and watching, others subtle and observant.

Anthony Mann is best known in the 1950s for his Westerns, and this isn't so far from that kind of landscape and battle to survive. His earlier film noir experience must have also taught him about storytelling and character. This is sharply seen and directed. The Pentagon hated it (because it shows a disorderly military unit, according to Wiki), and wouldn't help in the production, so the only real equipment in use here is a Jeep and some guns. And this helps in the end, since it forces the movie to focus on character and the ensemble acting.

A squad of G.I.'s, separated from their division, begin a trek of many miles trying to re-group with their comrades on a distant hill. They are harassed by snipers, sappers, and artillery barrages, but manage to reach their objective. After reaching the hill, a vicious firefight breaks out with the enemy. Excellent portrayal of the fear and horror of war.

The only problem I have of this film is that the prints I've seen are of very low quality, or perhaps the original cinematography was poor. Otherwise it is a very interesting action piece about the first days of the Korean War.

They got lucky with the cast. Who can beat Robert Ryan in a war flick role? No matter what movie he was appearing in, he always looked like he'd spent the night sleeping in a foxhole. LQ Jones is in this too, I love his face. Even Vic Morrow, he of the outstanding acting ability, makes an appearance, years before he was cast in that television masterpiece, 'Combat!' The trek of the squad through North Korean held territory plays like a thriller. The sound editing is excellent, you can make out the little noises that would play havoc with your imagination on a battlefield, where you're sweating and half crazed with nervous tension.

This was supposed to be based on a novel called "Day Without End" but I found it in a bookstore, and the screenplay has absolutely nothing to do with the original story. I always wonder why it gets a screen credit. The novel was a conventional dull novel of world war two combat, and the film is a striking and unusual,an almost psychological thriller set on the battlefield. You can do well to check this one out.

By good luck, I came across a VHS video (good print) of this 1950s Anthony Mann film. It was well worth watching. It is stark, unflinching, and offers an altogether convincing depiction of how soldiers behave in a harrowing, no-win situation. Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray, both truly fine actors, are excellent in their symbolically contrasting roles of two kinds of military men. Robert Keith and Vic Morrow are standouts in supporting roles. Keith is especially wonderful in an essentially non-speaking,though key, part...his face says it all. The music by Elmer Bernstein and the cinematography by the great Ernest Haller are perfect...the soundtrack creepy and other-worldly, and the cinematography capturing the "no man's land," confusing, deadly landscape in longshots, as well as the emotions of the soldiers when photographed close-up. See this film!

No director I know made the scenery as much a dramatic player as Mann did. Whether it was the West in the great Westerns he directed or the imaginary Korea of this movie, it seemed as though you were in the scene yourself watching from a tree. The movie is calm, almost contemplative, and even though you could argue the soldiers were stereotypes, they were so believable and so well acted, they seemed part of the scenery as well. The danger in the movie is everywhere and nowhere at the same time, and the men die as most men do in war, carelessly, and almost wastefully. The actors are superb, totally believable, and in the case of Robert Keith heart-breaking. I recommend this film to anyone, it's simply the best largely unknown war film ever.