Men in War
Directed by Anthony Mann
Written by Ben Maddow and Philip Yordan from a novel by Van Van Praag
1957/USA
Security Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] 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.[/box]
Here is a really excellent, if unsung, Korean War drama.
It is 1950 somewhere in Korea. Lt. Benson Robert Ryan) leads a troop of less than 20 men. All of them are dead tired. The communicator is unable to contact the battalion. Their truck has broken down. They keep on plugging but are more or less preparing to die.
A jeep approaches. It is driven by Sgt. Montana (Aldo Ray). His passenger is a colonel (Robert Keith). The colonel seems to be profoundly shell-shocked, is unable to speak and requires assistance to walk or even stay erect. But Montana will take orders only from him. Benson commandeers the jeep and fills it with the hardware his men are too weak to carry, a wounded man, and the colonel. The group presses on.
Things don’t get any better. Montana continues to be insubordinate. He really cares only about the welfare of the colonel, whom he sees as a father figure. The enemy is all around them. We watch the unit battle various forms of adversity.
This is a gritty and powerful tribute to the foot soldier. As by now is well-known, I love Robert Ryan and he is superb here. Aldo Ray can be something of a lightweight but he is also first-rate in this. Both actors are helped by the spare but pungent script and Mann’s striking direction. Recommended.
