Les marines attaquent

I had a friend that fought in the Korean War as a combat soldier and he told me about one winter they had a 20yr snow (hip deep) and blistering cold in Korea and this movie reminded me of those kinds of conditions, many soldiers died in Korea but not only by the enemies bullets but also by freezing to death.

Not a fast paced war movie like most people prefer because of the snow and it also has a racism content as it becomes clear from the beginning that not many like the character Sgt. Towler played by Sidney Poitier and that included Sgt. Kincaid played by Allan Ladd but over time they captured each others respect.

I actually enjoyed the movie, true Poitier and Ladd carry the movie at times but IMO its not as bad as some might think based on the other review. Worth a watch IMO.

During the Korean War, up in the snowy mountains, a marine platoon is attacked and their lieutenant is killed. But just before he dies he places the platoon sergeant, Eddie Towler, in charge. Towler is black and has to get his men to safety amidst racial tension and constant in fighting.

All The Young Men is a Saturday afternoon time filler of a movie. Not brilliant, but certainly not bad. Sidney Poitier takes the lead role as Towler and gives it his usual guts and emotional thunder. Alongside Poitier is Alan Ladd, who at 47 was coming to the end of his career. Now if one can cast aside that Ladd was a bit old to be bombing around the snow laden mountains, then his interplay with Poitier is actually very good. It certainly gives the character's edge, and thus keeps the picture being the character driven piece it's meant to be.

This is no stock war film with blitzkrieg battles and dirty dozen like shenanigans, this is men holed up in a mountain station forced to win the battles amongst themselves in order to win the war. Nicely shot in stark black and white on location at the Glacier National Park, Montana, All The Young Men is very much a mood piece. Odd then that the makers shoehorn in some light relief courtesy of Mort Sahl's Corporal Crane. It's not Sahl's fault of course, but it doesn't sit right in context with the story. It's as if someone said to director and writer Hall Bartlett, you can't make an overtly bleak mood piece, put some fun in there!

Still this was one I had a real good time with, partly because of its two lead actors and partly because of the locale. It's recommended on proviso that you expect character over action, oh yes sir. 7/10

There isn't really much to be said about this movie. Poitier gives the only good performance but nobody can be said to have come out of this effort with much pride. The cast is filled with non-actors, including a stand-up comic and an ex-prize fighter. The singing is done by non-singers, including the ex-prize fighter. And the song after which the film is named is not only sung poorly, it's poorly written. The production values are low. There are some nice outdoor shots towards the beginning, a snowy mountainous slope. The majority of the time is spent in a single indoor set. And some of the outdoor shots are thoughtlessly done -- here are these marines dug into the snow on a hill top and there is neither wind nor smoking breath. The obligatory woman is shoehorned into the plot, but fortunately doesn't act as anyone's love interest; she's there mainly to provide a target for attempted rape. The action scenes aren't bad but they conform to every convention in the book. The marines occupy an isolated post and must prevent the Reds from coming through the pass. They are attacked by about two dozen faceless extras, all of whom are slaughtered. They die like flies, building up a big body count. Our guys die one at a time, and always live long enough to utter a few last lines -- "Find that farmhouse and take it," or "Navahos shouldn't have to die in the snow." The humor is limited and is provided entirely by Mort Sahl in monologues and occasional wisecracks. Come to think of it, the whole thing reminds me a bit of a Sam Fuller movie, maybe "Fix Bayonets". What in-group tension there is, is provided by the competitive clash between Alan Ladd (looking too old for this kind of business, but he was a producer) and Sidney Poitier as the sgt. who inherits command of the unit. There is also a racist Southern redneck who wises up before the film ends. There is no sociopolitical content to speak of. All in all, it's not a hateful movie -- there's nothing disgraceful about it -- but you can probably find better ways to spend your time.

This movie benefits from some striking monochrome photography which is particularly well in evidence during its opening scenes ;these show a US patrol proceeding through snow encrusted mountains when it comes under attack from a Communist force .In the resulting battle the platoon leader is killed and hands over authority to the unit's sole black soldier (effectively played by Sidney Poitier)rather than to its most experienced member ,Kincaid (Alan Ladd),to whom the men have always looked up . Thus racial tension and bitterness are added to the already fraught situation as the troop must find a place to make a stand against superior numbers while awaiting reinforcements .There is a difference of opinion over strategy between Ladd and Poitier and other tensions between patrol members who include a Native American ,a wisecracking New Yorker ( Mort Sahl) and a callow youth played by James Darren who also contributes a forgettable song

This is no better or worse than many another "patrol"movie with its assemblage of stock figures and seems to have been assembled with an eye to the widest demographic-Old Hollywood in Ladd , a rising newcomer in Poitier and a pop star(Darren ) for the youth market.Even the race angle was not new having featured in Home of The Brave over a decade previously

Good matinée fare but nothing special either way

Yes, folks, before he lost his soul in Disney garbage junk, as James Neilson, James B Clark, or Robert Stevenson, Hal Bartlett was a damn good director, a promising film maker, and this gritty, tough war movie - speaking of the Korean conflict - is the best proof, with a Sidney Poitier in a terrific performance, during a period when civic rights for Black people were at stake. I guess this is an underrated war film, which scheme is in the same line of THE LOST PATROL, but I admit that many war films were too. War movies and not war dramas where you can have some romance behind the front line with a female character. Here, you have only one supporting female, that's all. Unfortunately the ending is a bit lousy, ankward to me. I am sure Bob Aldrich, who could have been in charge for such a film, would have given us something totally different. Despite its quality, this movie can be seen as a didactic message. Such a shame.