Un homme doit mourir

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.

The intentions are quite sincere, generous, but I hardly got glued to this story, despite the good directing from a guy whose movies have never excited me that much. I mean George Seaton, who was at his top with 36 HOURS, offering a plot far more engrossing than this tedious one. I won't say any harm about this movie though, as I did with another George Seaton's film : COUNTERFEIT TRAITOR. So, it remains a film to watch, if only for Kirk Douglas. Only the finale part is quite the best of the film, but that's not a surprise to find the most exciting of a movie in the end. It could be seen as a pacifist film; at least a bit.

It's 1953 in the wee small hours of the Korean War winding down. While the peace talks proceed slowly at Panmunjom, the UN forces are evacuating their positions as the truce lines come into being. But the fighting still goes on. Another Korean War film, Pork Chop Hill, also dealt with this time of the war which President Truman called a police action.

A Korean pilot in a MIG Jet attacks some US soldiers who are loading supplies on a freighter and only three of them survive, Kirk Douglas, Robert Walker, Jr., and Nick Adams. Later on the pilot of the MIG is shot down and he's picked up by the freighter that the three soldiers are on with the supplies which includes a lot of barrels of oil.

Radioing for instructions, Kirk Douglas is told by a South Korean major to kill the North Korean pilot. He's certainly up for it, he's a veteran from this war and World War II. Walker doesn't want to and Adams is kind of on the fence because he's personally loyal to Douglas who got him out of a jam once.

The majority of The Hook is spent on the conflict between the three GIs. It's a rather unreal story because these three would be up for war crimes charges, Walker realizes this best. But two wars against oriental people have given Douglas some pronounced views on the subject. The holes in the script are covered up by the performances of the cast.

Nehemiah Persoff turns in a fine performance as the ship's captain who on his ship is the one in charge. But the best acting is done by Filipino player Enrique Magalona as the confused and frightened North Korean prisoner.

Pork Chop Hill is a better film, but The Hook is not a bad one. The ending is ironic to say the least.

I enjoy watching movies and will most often make a selection because of the actors, then maybe because of the theme, or occasionally because of a recommendation. "The Hook" is a movie that I had never heard of, so seeing Kirk Douglas on the cover is what hooked me for this war movie. Also Robert Walker Jr is someone that I first saw in TV's _"Star Trek" (1966) {Charlie X (#1.2)}_ (qv) playing a 17yr boy, so what would he be like in a movie produced 3 years earlier.

The opening of this movie includes "This is a story of men in war, not men at war. And the two are not the same." To understand my view, I am a baby-boomer who has never served in the military, but I have known many who have served. Most of these men don't really talk about their experiences, so I often wonder if my views on war movies would be very different of those people who have served. My preference would be that countries would not be at war, but regardless of this I believe we need to support those who chose to serve in the roles in which they are assigned.

"The Hook" is a title that showed no relevance before I watched the movie, and I never did catch. Is this an anti-war movie, or a personal interaction story, or war conflict drama, and this question repeats itself for 90 minutes. Regardless the movie itself is compelling. We are engaged with three surviving servicemen vacating a military post upon a 'neutral' merchant vessel, plus an enemy retrieved after he has bailed from his failing aircraft. Your journey is to imagine your response to their scenarios. Would you have rescued the enemy at all? How would you treat him on this merchant ship? Just imagine how you would respond to engaging an enemy on the battlefield; how is it different or the same, across an eating table? Kirk Douglas, Robert Walked, and Nick Adams are the enlisted men facing these scenarios.

I enjoyed this movie, in spite of moments of "I wouldn't do that!". The movie is a must for Kirk Douglas fans, and highly recommended for anyone interested in war movies. I don't know if actual enlisted people would behave this way, but "The Hook" is wonderfully acted and does not need the tonnage of special effects that are today's production norms.

When you think of Nick Adams, you probably think of Boomer in Picnic, the irritating nerd who pesters Kim Novak for a date. Or you remember his drunken ridiculousness in Pillow Talk as he paws Doris Day in his car. You certainly don't think of a good actor, which is why you should rent the heavy drama The Hook. If he earned a Rag award for his performance and beat out Bobby Darin in Captain Newman, M. D., it's a safe bet he's impressive.

This mental thriller involves a prisoner of war held captive by three American soldiers, Kirk Douglas, Nick Adams, and Robert Walker Jr. The unnamed Korean (played by Pancho Magalona) doesn't speak any English, so they're just left to interpret his expressions from his haunting stare. When they receive orders to kill the prisoner, each man goes through his own reluctance to pull the trigger. Kirk is the macho head honcho ordering everyone around, Bob Jr. Is the sensitive one who tries to get to know the prisoner, and Nick is the obedient soldier with a secret past.

This movie is very tense and at times hard to watch, especially since you can imagine situations like it playing out in real life. Sometimes soldiers received orders not to take prisoners. The Hook will keep you on the edge of your seat, so don't get up for more popcorn.