Take the High Ground! (1953)

Director:

Richard Brooks

Writers:

Millard Kaufman (story)
Millard Kaufman (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 October 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | War | Drama

Plot:

Sgt. Thorne Ryan, who once fought bravely in Korea, now serves as an instructor to privates in a southern state of the USA...

Plot Keywords:

Sergeant | Drill Instructor | Korean War | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Richard Widmark	...	Sgt. Thorne Ryan
Karl Malden	...	Sgt. Laverne Holt
Elaine Stewart	...	Julie Mollison
Carleton Carpenter	...	Merton 'Tex' Tolliver
Russ Tamblyn	...	Paul Jamison
Jerome Courtland	...	Elvin C. Carey
Steve Forrest	...	Lobo Naglaski
Robert Arthur	...	Donald Quentin Dover IV
Chris Warfield	...	Soldier
William Hairston	...	Daniel Hazard
Maurice Jara	...	Franklin D. No Bear
Bert Freed	...	Sgt. Vince Opperman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Iris Adrian	...	Mrs. Butterfly (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

The Making of a Marine (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Anscocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #16412) | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

El Paso, Texas, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Ryan and Holt have the troops on a training exercise in the field, Ryan tells Holt to "get back to base." The Army doesn't refer to its facilities as bases. An actual solider would have said "get back to the post."

Quotes:

Sgt. Thorne Ryan: This is your rifle, and not your gun; it's made for shooting, and not for fun!

Soundtrack:

Should I?

Will always be one of my favorite movies!

Okay, this is not a great movie when considering it in the war movie genre or side by side with some of the classics that both Richard Widmark and Karl Malden made, but I will always think this as one of my favorites because my father is one of the extras in the movie. Take the High Ground was filmed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX in 1953 when my dad was in advanced training before being sent to Korea. When the movie crew came to the base, my dad's training platoon was "loaned" to the filmmakers by the Dept. of Defense to make the training scenes look a bit more realistic. There are the five or so "recruits" played by actors, then the rest are real U.S. Army soldiers. Whenever I watch this with my friends, I'm proud to point out my old man as one of the soldiers marching by, under the watchful eyes of Richard Widmark and Karl Malden. After the filming was over, Widmark and Malden took several of the soldiers (including my dad) out on the town to thank them for helping with the film. Both Widmark and Malden were classy men, and right away became my dad's favorite actors/stars. He just wishes that Elaine Stewart filmed her scenes in El Paso, instead of staying in Hollywood where they were shot at the studio.