Sede de Vingança

For fans of the taut and psychologically grueling and philosophically provocative filmed one-act play, The Hook is right in the class of Lifeboat, The Petrified Forest, Obsession, The Desperate Hours, 12 Angry Men, and Time Limit -- all among my personal favorite movies. The movie hinges on one dilemma: What does a military man do when given a direct order from a Commanding Officer to kill an unarmed POW in cold blood? The questions of right and wrong are further blurred by the fact they are informed that all the other soldiers in the unit have all been wiped out by a brutal North Korean attack. Aboard a friendly vessel en route to reconnoiter with another fighting division, a Sergeant (Kirk Douglas), Corporal (Nick Adams), and Private (Robert Walker Jr.) have two days to dispose of the prisoner or disobey a direct order. For his part, the prisoner shows every sign of singlemindedly waiting for an opening to escape. He speaks no English and only one of the three speaks even a few words of Korean. The Sergeant orders each subordinate, in turn, to execute the prisoner, but they are both quite conflicted also.

Kirk Douglas is perfectly cast as the tough-as-nails-on-the-outside-Sergeant Briscoe. But, Nick Adams truly steals the movie as the Corporal who nearly relinquishes his humanity trying desperately to support his Sergeant. Walker gives a solid if unremarkable performance as the Private that Briscoe relentlessly tries to bully into executing his dirty work.

That's all of it. So, if you are looking for a war movie with lots of action and visual effects, look elsewhere. But, if you wish to look into the souls of three enlisted men faced with Hobson's choices within an unrelenting pressure cooker, this fast-moving and well-acted psychological study will haunt you for the rest of your film-going life. I give it 10/10 for its genre.

The intro to this film indicates that this story is universal and could apply to any war...or any country...and this is quite true. And, this universality of the story make this an exceptional war film.

When the story begins, some American soldiers are loading trucks with airplane fuel which will soon be transported to the front. However, during this process, a North Korean plane attacks...killing one of the men. The plane soon crashes and a lone man bails out of the craft. Now when the surviving three American soldiers enter the ship, they have a prisoner.

Once aboard the ship, the men contact headquarters and are told that they were NOT to bring the prisoner in with them. In other words, they were to kill him! This is clearly a war crime...and is against the articles of war. The sergeant (Kirk Douglas) clearly seems to LIKE this order...one of the men, one of the privates (Robert Walker Jr.) thinks the order is monstrous and refuses to do it. The sergeant takes delight in goading this private but despite this, he will NOT kill the man. So, the sadistic sergeant then tries to get the other private to do it...

The story is a great look at human nature...the good as well as the bad. And, it reminds us that the German soldiers of WWII were not the only ones who murdered and chalked it all up to 'just following orders'. A very strong film whose only shortcoming is its pacing (it could have been shortened a bit and that would have made a stronger picture).

It is set during an evacuation in the waning days of the Korean War , this is a story of men in war , not men at war. And the two are not the same. Hence, this film is dedicated not to any army, navy, air or other military force, but to those who are the lowest common denominator of all military forces...and the highest...the individual man. For in the brief and quiet intervals between the loud and terrible noises of war, he is capable of great and revealing moments of nobility . As three American soldiers (Kirk Douglas , Robert Walker , Nick Adams) retrieve an enemy airman and take him prisoner aboard the civilian ship captained by Capt. Van Ryn (Nehemiah Persoff) and returning them to their lines . When an order comes down from the commander-in-chief the sergeant in charge, Briscoe, orders his men, Dennison and Hackett , to carry out the execution , before reviewing the evidence . As they cannot bring themselves to follow the order to execute their Korean detained. But first one and then the other refuse to follow the order. A STRANGE AND COMPELLING STORY in these days of man's inhumanity to man. It's haunting theme will not soon be forgotten, for it proves that all men, no matter how different, have one thing in common...their humanity!

This story is about such a moment in the lives of three men and although it could have happened in any time or any war , it is set in 1953 , Korean War , being starred by top-notch cast under superb and tense direction by George Seaton who makes this movie excellent in every aspect . This ultra-slick calustrophobic picture contains thriller , suspense , intense drama , extreme tension and is quite entertaining although with some flaws and gaps . Made in television style and set in the final days of the Korean War about soldiers who receive an order from their superiors : to kill a captured airman , however , being reluctant to execute him , as an intriguing stand-off ensues between the seemingly heartless sergeant and his conscience-stricken men . Though the whole is mostly set on a freighter ship it never lacks for taut , suspense , intrigue and inspired direction . The struggle behind closed cabins is tense , charged and riveting .Henry Denker's brilliant script was left virtually intact in its move to feature film based on the novel "L'Hamecon" by Vahé Katcha. It was splendidly directed by George Seaton with an extraordinary plethora of actors who give magnificent performances as Kirk Douglas and Robert Walker Jr , both of them recently deceased and Nick Adams who unfortunately died very young at 36 . The painstaking rehearsals for the film lasted exhaustingly a few weeks. However, nowadays none of the twelve stars are still alive . The acting level of the cast during some of the intense discussions and debates almost bursts in the screen .

It contains a moving and thrilling musical score by Larry Adler. As well as evocative cinematography in black and white by Joseph Ruttenberg. This old-fashioned motion picture was professionally directed by George Seaton (Country girl , Miracle on 34th street , Chicken Every Sunday, Anything can happen , Apartment for Peggy , Airport) . Being directed in the wake of the famous plays from the '¨Golden Age of Television¨ as Caine's Mutiny , 12 Angry Men, The Desperate Hours , Marty ,The Petrified Forest , Birdman of Alcatraz . Rating . 7/10 . Better than average .

There are no women...not listed behind the camera in any capacity...no make-up...no wardrobe-writers...nothin'...Try and find a random film today...(yes that means no ai)...with no female contributors...it can be in any genre from any conceivable time period from 'Roundhay Garden Scene' in 1874 until now...it would be a fool's errand to exclude them in a movie that anyone wanted to see...Unless it was pointed out beforehand that the film was targeted to a specific audience...Although Kirk Douglas was brilliant (i'm not usin' his real name...i can't remember it anyway) he probably wasn't thinking that anyone would think it was weird that there were no women listed anywhere on the set ??....

Sgt. P. J. Briscoe (Kirk Douglas) and two others are clearing out an outpost when they are attacked by a plane during the waning days of the Korean War. Their job is to destroy all the equipment and load the remaining fuel onto a civilian ship run by Capt. Van Ryn. The plane crashes and Private Dennison manages to save one of the pilots. The three Americans and their prisoner get a ride on Van Ryn's ship. They are ordered by command to get rid of the prisoner.

This is trying to be a character study play rather than a compelling war thriller. There seems to be an easy solution right from the beginning. The way the order is worded, Briscoe could simply let the prisoner swim for freedom. There has to be more. By his own words, Briscoe is only concerned about getting out of the Army and retiring with a full pension. He's been hardened by the war but he needs to be harder. There has to be some malevolence in his character for the good vs evil to work at peak performance. It's also weird to have the enemy bomb them with what looks like a WWII allied bomber. The dialogue is overly wordy. I like the unique premise but it feels too much like an overly written play. It feels dragged out.