“Men in War” is a gritty Korean War movie directed by
Anthony Mann (“Heroes of Telemark”).
This was Mann’s first war movie.
He was famous for his Westerns.
The story was based on a novel entitled Day Without End by Van
Van Praag. He set his story in the
Normandy campaign of WWII and from what I have read the movie is significantly
different from the book. It takes place
on one day in the Korean War in 1950. The
Pentagon pulled its cooperation when it realized the movie highlighted
insubordination and indiscipline.
A title card opens the movie. “Tell me the story of the foot soldier and I
will tell you the story of all wars.” A
platoon from the 24th Infantry Division is surrounded and out of
contact with the main force. The camera
introduces the members, but we don’t find out much about each. This is not going to be “Platoon”. The men are basically homogeneous. They have one common trait – they are all
suffering from combat fatigue. The man
attempting to hold the unit together and get them back to friendly lines is a
Lt. Benson (Robert Ryan). He keeps
collecting dog tags as the men keep getting picked off by sneaky North Koreans
and Chinese. Suddenly a jeep shows up
driven by a sergeant called Montana (Aldo Ray!). Montana is transporting his colonel who is
shell-shocked. Benson commandeers the
jeep to the displeasure of Montana who is not interested in hooking up with these
pansies. Montana and Benson should be on
a submarine where their command dysfunction would be normal. Benson is a tough, but empathetic leader who
wants to get as many of his men to safety as possible. Montana is a warrior who does not care much
for the rules of warfare or chain of command.
He has a knack for Korean War combat.
For instance, he shoots a surrendering prisoner because he just knows
the guy has a pistol hidden in his hat.
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| If you don't want to see the movie after seeing this picture, you are not a war movie lover |
The dwindling platoon is moving through hostile
territory. They have to withstand an
artillery barrage and a minefield.
Meanwhile, Benson and Montana are butting heads. That’s what helmets are for, I guess. When they reach the hill, Benson ( who is
having some of Montana rub off on him – “God help us, it takes your kind to win
this war”) sends forward a prisoner who gets shot by North Koreans masquerading
as Americans. Benson decides they will
have to take the two machine gun nests dominating the hill. He excuses Montana because he is only
interested in protecting the colonel.
Benson eschews creativity (and Army tactical doctrine) and orders a
frontal attack which does some more whittling.
Guess who’s left to make the final assault? With a flamethrower that had been overlooked
before then.
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| Why does Aldo Ray need a gun? |
“Men in War” starts out intriguing, but has a hard
time sustaining the vibe. It is a
different type of war movie from the usual Old School films made in the
1950s. You might even argue that Montana
is an anti-hero before that type of character became de riguer in the
1960s. Benson is one of Aldo Ray’s best
roles. Ray (who was frogman at Normandy)
is perfect as the wiseass, insubordinate loner.
He reminds of Gene Evans in “The Steel Helmet” as the movie is also
reminiscent of that earlier film’s gritty style. Robert Ryan is also strong. This was not his first rodeo, as they say
about actors who made a lot of war movies.
The rest of the cast is noteworthy.
It includes a pre-“Combat” Vic Morrow, Nehemiah Persoff as a panicky
veteran who runs away like a girl, James Edwards as the clicheish minority “dead
meat” who dies with a helmet full of flowers (don’t ask), and L.Q. Jones. Unfortunately, the movie is not big on
character development. It’s pretty much
a two man show. Mann gets the most out
of his cast and although the movie was low budget, it has the feel of a movie
made by a big time director. This is
partly due to the cinematography of Ernest Haller. The movie is very micro with lots of
close-ups and a seldom seen, menacing enemy.
It has the unusual theme of the one and
the many. The one is the colonel and the
many are the platoon. The platoon, not
the army. At one point Benson states
“the regiment doesn’t exist. Battalion
doesn’t exist. The USA doesn’t exist. We’re the only ones left to fight this
war.” It is definitely not a
flag-waver. This sincerity is marred by
two weaknesses. One, the movie has some
extended stretches of boredom. The
running through the artillery barrage scene lasts an incredible fifteen
minutes! Second, there are several silly
developments that are laughable in a movie that is supposed to be bereft of
humor. I know the black guy has to die,
but killed by a sniper while picking flowers?
Give me a break!
“Men in War” is in the upper half of Korean War
movies, but I do not think I would label it as a gem. It’s worth a look just for the teaming of
Ryan and Ray. It also flouts most Old
School conventions.
GRADE = B-
