A Hill in Korea (1956)

               “A Hill in Korea” (“Hell in Korea” in American theaters) is the first British film set in the Korean War. It was based on the novel by Max Catto (“Murphey's War”). He was inspired by a true incident in the war. The movie has a cast of recognizable British thespians, including Michael Caine in his first credited film role (eight years before “Zulu”, his third film). Caine was a veteran of the Korean War and saw Chinese hordes up close and personal. He was a conscript or as they were called in Great Britain, a “National Serviceman”. Most of the characters in the unit are these soldiers famously known for being old enough to fight, but not to vote. He remembered his performance in the film with self-deprecating humor. He said he had only eight lines and screwed up six of them. Being the only Korean War veteran in the cast, he tried to be an unofficial technical adviser, with no success. He pointed out that a patrol would have been more spread out, but was informed the camera could not cover a wide formation. His suggestion that officers would not have worn insignia that identified them as targets was ignored for obvious reasons. He did not bother to point out that Portugal looked nothing like Korea because he wanted to go on location there.

               The movie is set in May, 1951 during the period when the United Nations forces are dealing with Chinese offensives. A British patrol of 17 men is trying to avoid being cut off by Chinese forces. It is obvious from the start that the movie will fit squarely in the “who will survive?” subgenre. The whittling begins immediately with one of the men dying from a booby trap. Other deaths will be from a grenade, a minor scratch, falling rubble, sniper, friendly bombs, and a suicide attack. Sadly, one of the first deaths is Robert Shaw as Lance Cpl. Hodge. Green Lt. Butler (George Baker) leads the unit with help from Sgt. Payne (Harry Andrews).  The patrol is going to have to fight its way just to get to its Alamo which is a temple on a hill. There are plenty of “gooks” or “chinks” to slaughter.

               “A Hill in Korea” benefits from a good cast without a lot of stereotypes. You do get the unseasoned leader who grows into the job with the help of his sergeant, but there is little dysfunction over his leadership. One of the men is a coward who gets redemption. Stanley Baker plays his usual hard-ass. The deaths are not predictable and there is a variety, although some are unrealistic. One stands out. They get bombed by American planes! You don’t expect friendly fire in a movie like this.

               The action is as close to combat porn as you could expect from a 1956 British war movie. And this was eight years before “Zulu”. The Chinese are depicted as savages similar to the Zulus or Indians in old westerns. Only worse, they are commies! Watching this film gives you a clear idea of how China was viewed in the 1950s. Michael Caine did not try to correct that facet of the film. In a biography, he mentioned that he was sympathetic toward communism until he fought in Korea where he encountered the brainless attacks by indoctrinated Chinese. He must have agreed with quotes like “They seem to want to die.” Or:  “Chinks don’t know the joys of living so they fight like it’s a joy to die.” However, it is a fact that the Chinese did use frontal attacks that led to heavy casualties. The movie is one of the more realistic Korean War movies in its depiction of combat. The Chinese use bugles and whistles to signal attacks. The Brits respond with Bren machine guns and they do reload. They put out aircraft recognition panels, although that doesn’t work in one occasion. They use covering fire to get a bazooka close enough to take out a tank.

               “A Hill in Korea” is one of the better Korean War b-movies. It is noteworthy as one of the few British movies set in the war. Americans should watch it as a reminder that the Brits did help us in the war, including young British who were drafted to help us save South Korea. You might want to note that they did not do the same thing in Vietnam. Because of this movie?

GRADE  =  B