Men in War (1957)

During the Korean War, a battle-worn lieutenant and his platoon are behind enemy lines, and have orders to march to Hill 465 for possible relief.

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Philip Yordan (screenplay), Ben Maddow (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Robert Keith

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Ryan	...	Lt. Benson
Aldo Ray	...	Montana
Robert Keith	...	The Colonel
Phillip Pine	...	Sgt. Riordan (as Philip Pine)
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Sgt. Lewis
Vic Morrow	...	Cpl. Zwickley
James Edwards	...	Sgt. Killian
L.Q. Jones	...	Sgt. Davis (as L. Q. Jones)
Scott Marlowe	...	Pvt. Meredith
Adam Kennedy	...	Pvt. Maslow
Race Gentry	...	Pvt. Haines
Walter Kelley	...	Pvt. Ackerman
Anthony Ray	...	Pvt. Penelli
Robert Normand	...	Pvt. Christensen
Michael Miller	...	Pvt. Lynch

Storyline

In Korea, on 6 September 1950, Lieutenant Benson's platoon finds itself isolated in enemy-held territory after a retreat. Soon they are joined by Sergeant Montana, whose overriding concern is caring for his catatonic colonel. Benson and Montana can't stand each other, but together they must get the survivors to Hill 465, where they hope the division is waiting. It's a long, harrowing march, fraught with all the dangers the elusive enemy can summon. Who will survive?

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Plot Keywords:

march | sergeant | lieutenant | colonel | battle | 

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Taglines:

One more step and I'll fill your guts with lead !

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1957 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Tag ohne Ende

Filming Locations:

Malibu Canyon, Malibu, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Security Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It is supposed that at the beginning of the film the radio man having put his handset of the radio on his shirt that he should not be calling Sunrise six. Often you can do so by just keying the handset while it is attached to your webbing so not needing to remove it unless you get a response or no longer needing to give your hand/ arm a rest or to free your hand to do something else.

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Goofs

Although the G.I.'s in the film are soldiers of the U.S. Army's 24th Infantry and 1st Cavalry Divisions, many wear Marine Corps cloth camouflage covers and World War II-type camouflage nets on their helmets.

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Quotes

Lt. Benson: Battalion doesn't exist. Regiment doesn't exist. Command HQ doesn't exist. The U.S.A. doesn't exist... We're the only ones left to fight this war.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: "TELL ME THE STORY OF THE FOOT SOLDIER AND I WILL TELL YOU THE STORY OF ALL WARS."

KOREA SEPTEMBER 6, 1950

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Connections

Referenced in Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (2005)

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Soundtracks

Men in War
(uncredited)
Music by Elmer Bernstein
Lyrics by Alan Alch
sung by male chorus

User Reviews

Very Impressive

A war film should have a sense of time and place for it to be exceptional and as I`ve said in previous reviews basically any movie featuring The Korean War could have easily taken place in any campaign of WW 2 . MEN IN WAR is a case in point that could have been set in the Ardennes in December 1944 as an American platoon are cut off by a German counter offensive . In fact it could easily have been set during the Indian wars of the 1870s with a bunch of calvarymen lost and surrounded by hostile natives

And yet director Anthony Mann and screenwriter Philip Yordan have made a very memorable and compelling Korean war movie that lifts it above B movie standards . The story is simple with a bunch of US soldiers stuck behind enemy lines but we`re shown what it`s like to be a soldier fighting a war , we`re shown the courage , the fear and the camaradeire of reluctant warriors. In many ways this could have been an Vietnam allegory like MASH or TOO LATE THE HERO . Only thing is MEN IN WAR was made several years before America got involved in Vietnam . It`s difficult to believe but it`s true as we see Lt Benson and Sgt Montana come close to " fragging " each other at one point or the quite remarkable scene where Sgt Killian picks some flowers and puts them in his helmet . If I have any problem with this movie it`s the final sequence that suggests that soldiers fight and die for medals when in fact soldiers fight and die for one another

A quick word about the cast: All are very good but the stand out performance is by Robert Keith as the nameless Colonel . As the movie progresses the audience care as much for the Colonel as much as Sgt Montana does . Perhaps when I mention that the Colonel has hardly one single line of dialogue you`ll understand just how superb Keith`s performance is

MEN IN WAR comes highly recommended