Mission Over Korea (1953)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Fred F. Sears

Writers:

Martin Goldsmith (writer)
Jesse Lasky Jr. (writer)

Release Date:

August 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

NO GUNS...JUST GUTS! (print ad - all caps)

Plot Keywords:

Combat Casualty | Surveillance Mission | Communist Menace | Korean War | Combat

Cast

John Hodiak	...	Capt. George P. Slocum
John Derek	...	Lt. Pete Barker
Audrey Totter	...	Kate, nurse-lieutenant
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Nancy Slocum
Harvey Lembeck	...	Sgt. Maxie Steiner
Richard Erdman	...	Pvt. Swenson
William Chun	...	Kilamson Lee aka Clancy
Rex Reason	...	Maj. Jim Hacker
Richard Bowers	...	Singing Soldier

Also Known As:

Eyes of the Skies (UK)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Sweden:15

Company:

Robert Cohn Productions

Movie Connections:

Edited into The Giant Claw (1957)

Standard issue war story

Quite how this second feature ended up with the cast it got is a puzzle. Mission to Korea is strictly bottom of the bill stuff, a standard war story directed unimaginatively by Fred F. Sears. Somehow, Fred ended up with Rex Reason, Audrey Totter, and Maureen O'Sullivan in his picture, and they all add a gloss of professionalism to this otherwise standard programmer. Perhaps producer Robert Cohn--nephew of Columbia strong man Harry Cohn--twisted his uncle's arm. At any rate, O'Sullivan still looks beautiful, Totter does her slinky ingenue thing in uniform, and Reason is solid and reliable. There's some decent aerial footage, but not much in the story department, which revolves around aviators in the Korean War.