All the Young Men (1960)

                The Korean War is sometimes called the “Forgotten War” and that refers to the fact that Americans wanted to forget about it. American’s did not want to be reminded about a war that ended in a draw and was very frustrating. It was a far cry from the “Good War” – WWII. Korean War films, with a few exceptions, never caught on with the public. The ones made during the war mostly resembled WWII movies. The first one, “The Steel Helmet”, was a good film, but it was low budget and resembled a Western as much as a war movie. “Retreat, Hell!” (1952) did something you rarely saw in WWII movies – it depicted Americans retreating. “The Bridges at Toko-Ri” emphasized the futility of the war. But both movies, while bleak, still showed American soldiers fighting bravely. “All the Young Men” was made seven years after the war and had to tread new ground to make an impact. Director and writer Hall Bartlett (his “Zero Hour” was parodied in “Airplane!”) wanted to make a film with a message. A disciple of Stanley Kramer (“Judgment at Nuremberg”), he decided to tackle racism, specifically reactions to integration. Clearly, Bartlett was inspired by Kramer’s “The Defiant Ones”.  In 1949, President Truman had used an executive order to integrate the military. Despite howls from Southerners, the mixing of blacks and whites in units was a success. Starting with “The Steel Helmet”, Hollywood routinely put blacks into the films, but stayed away from the racial tensions that undoubtedly occurred. Bartlett’s film crossed that line.

                The film is set in North Korea in October, 1950. American forces are battling to take the port city of Wonsan. A platoon (actually, more like a squad since there are only 12 men)  is sent to hold a farmhouse in order to block an enemy movement through a strategic pass. The white Lt. is mortally wounded early and before he dies, he turns over command to Lt. Towler (Sidney Poitier). Towler is reluctant to accept because he, and EVERYONE else in the platoon feel that the veteran Lt. Kinkaid (Alan Ladd) should be the obvious choice. This is the first clue that the script is going to manipulate the situation to push its message. Kinkaid grumbles, but Towler is forceful in establishing himself in command and he backs down. For plot purposes (a phrase I could use at the beginning of every sentence in this review), Kinkaid does not want to hold the farmhouse, although that is clearly their orders and the battalion is counting on them.  The real problem will come from a stereotypical Southern bigot named Bracken (Paul Richards). There is no universe where this character does not appear in a movie like this. Bracken not only rocks the boat at every opportunity, but he proves to be a vile human, even without the racism. He is beyond redemption. The rest of the unit is heterogeneous. There is the class clown (comedian Mort Sahl), the singer (James Darren), the Indian, the medic, and the hunk (boxer Ingemar Johansson). Do not expect all of them to survive. Especially the guy who pulls out a picture of his wife. 

                Once the unit reaches the farmhouse, which has a woman in it, the movie becomes a hold the fort scenario. The North Koreans are the Indians. Moments of lame banter and singing by Darren are mixed with combat full of fireworks. Actually, the format is talk – dysfunction – fight, repeat. The action is decent with plenty of grenades and pyrotechnics. There are some surprisingly not fake looking tanks. Kinkaid and Towler make a good pair, so add buddy film (specifically “The Defiant Ones”) to the influences. Guess who gives Kinkaid a blood transfusion. (It’s a shame Dr. Charles Drew did not live to the see the film.) Will the cavalry arrive in time? Stick around to see if Bartlett eschews that cliché.

                It is hard to be harsh on a movie whose heart is in the right place. It is a strange movie because while it is full of cliches and stereotypes, the central premise was ground-breaking. It’s a shame it was marred by some ridiculous moments. I have made it clear that one of the few false notes in “Hell Is For Heroes” (1962) is the comedy routine by Bob Newhart. Mort Sahl has a similar scene. It is cringe. And then we also get Bobby Darren doing the teen idol sings a song routine. Where the hell did he get a guitar from?  On the other hand, Sidney Poitier. The movie doesn’t get made without him. Credit should also go to Ladd, who was apparently the only star that was willing to play the role.

                “All the Young Men” is slightly above average for a Korean War film. It benefits from being an important film.  You can’t say that about more than a few Korean War movies. It acts as a window into how the armed forces were on the cutting edge of civil rights in the early 50s. If you find it quaint, I suppose that is a good thing.

GRADE  =  C