The Steel Helmet (1951)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Samuel Fuller

Writer:

Samuel Fuller (writer)

Release Date:

2 February 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

It's the REAL Korean Story!

Plot:

A ragtag group of American stragglers battles against superior Communist troops in an abandoned Buddhist temple during the Korean War.

Plot Keywords:

Buddhist Temple | Sergeant | Korean War | Japanese American | Soldier

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Gene Evans	...	Sgt. Zack
Robert Hutton	...	Pvt. Bronte
Steve Brodie	...	Lt. Driscoll
James Edwards	...	Cpl. Thompson
Richard Loo	...	Sgt. Tanaka
Sid Melton	...	Joe
Richard Monahan	...	Pvt. Baldy
William Chun	...	Short Round
Harold Fong	...	The Red
Neyle Morrow	...	First GI
Lynn Stalmaster	...	Second Lieutenant

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Deputy Corporation

Trivia:

Filmed in 10 days only six months into the war, "The Steel Helmet" became the first Korean War movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: The stock archival footage showing the positions of the Communist troops that are being shelled alternate between flat farmland and mountainous country.

Quotes:

Sergeant Zack: Dead man's nothin' but a corpse. No one cares what he is now.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Slanted Screen (2006)

Grim story of an infantry patrol held up in a Buddhist temple

An early directorial effort by Samuel Fuller, this is one of the first movies made about the Korean War. Evans is magnificent as the hard-boiled, grizzeled Sergeant Zack. It is obvious that this is a low budget movie, but the superior supporting cast, Fuller's direction, and a good story-line manage to overcome these shortfalls. Considered one of the best to come from the Lippert organization.