The Hunters (1958)

In 1952, as the Korean War rages on, American officers land in Kyoto. Among them are Major Ceve Saville, assigned to a fighter squadron, and Lieutenant Carl Abbott. The latter neglects his ... See full summary »

Director:

Dick Powell

Writers:

Wendell Mayes (screenplay), James Salter (novel)

Stars:

Robert Mitchum, Robert Wagner, Richard Egan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Mitchum	...	Major Cleve Saville
Robert Wagner	...	Lt. Ed Pell
Richard Egan	...	Colonel Dutch Imil
May Britt	...	Kristina 'Kris' Abbott
Lee Philips	...	1st Lt. Carl Abbott
John Gabriel	...	1st Lt. Corona
Stacy Harris	...	Col. Monk Moncavage
Victor Sen Yung	...	Korean Farmer
Candace Lee	...	Korean Child

Storyline

In 1952, as the Korean War rages on, American officers land in Kyoto. Among them are Major Ceve Saville, assigned to a fighter squadron, and Lieutenant Carl Abbott. The latter neglects his charming wife Kristina, who is sinking into bitterness. In Korea, Saville meets again Colonel Dutch Imil, a former brother in arms as well as other friends. Back in Japan Saville falls in love with forsaken Kristina, which arouses Abbott's jealousy. The two men turn into implacable rivals. But during a mission against Chinese Migs, Abbott is hurt and Saville decides to rescue him...

---

Plot Keywords:

korean war | japan | rescue | korea | crash landing | 

---

Taglines:

Mightiest thrill-shocked adventure spectacle of the super-sonic age !

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Romance | War

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kampfflieger

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) (magnetic prints) Mono (optical prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie's opening preamble states: "Japan - 1952 at the time of the Korean War."

---

Goofs

The taxi that is used is a left hand drive vehicle. Japan uses right hand drive vehicles.

---

Quotes

Major Cleve Saville: You don't tinker with a man's fear. He does that for himself.

---

Connections

Referenced in What's My Line?: Episode dated 24 August 1958 (1958)

User Reviews

Well, what do you know, . . Saville, . . The Ice Man Commeth "

Back in the days when Hollywood was looking to emphasize it's virility, they selected a West Point novelist named James Salter. His book, 'The Hunters' was published in 1957, which became a movie in 1958. The book was not given its due share of attention and neither was the movie. Yet it became a high school assignment which mutated into a book report. Although, grudgingly accepted, I hated it before I read the first page. However, as Study hall was boring, I opened the cover and began to read. Surprisingly, not only did I find the novel interesting and exciting, I got an 'A' and low and behold, I found I could scribble well enough to later write my own books. When the movie came out I had to go see it and the three movie stars, Robert Mitchum as Major Cleve Saville, Robert Wagner as Lt. Ed Pell and Richard Egan, (Colonel Dutch Imil) became my favorite actors. The movie is an exceptional story of American pilots flying combat missions during the Korean War. The subject of their peril concerns a Korean Air Ace, nicknamed 'Casey Jones (Leon Lontoc).' This enemy is credited with bringing down a dozen American fliers and is the best the enemy has. Enter, Cleve Saville, so cool at his job, they call him 'The Iceman." To help him in his squadron is none other than cocky Robert Wagner, a "hip" pilot, with so many first, he hopes to bring down, 'jones' before Seville does. May Britt, plays Kristina Abbott, the love interest and the human aspect of the story. An excellent movie, so well done, you could write a book report on it. ****