At first this seems like its going to be just another uber-manly war movie, but gradually it does indeed seem like vintage Fuller. An ethnically diverse platoon, including an African American doctor and a Japanese-American soldier, try to survive the Korean War. I imagine Oliver Stone studied this film, as much of it reminded me of the battle scenes in Platoon. Shot in just a few days on a tiny budget in Griffith Park, Fuller manages to create a singularly grim and brutal atmosphere very unlike Hollywood war movies of the era. The soldiers' conversations about life back home lead to discussions of race relations in the US that are far more blunt than one is used to hearing in most Hollywood movies of any era, much less a film from 1951. The still-recent Japanese internment camps are mentioned, and not in an apologetic tone. As one expects from a Fuller movie, its fervently anti-communist, but not nearly as hysterically so as Pickup On South Street. Indeed, the only North Korean character is an intelligent, committed warrior who asks questions that a communist would, indeed, pose to their American captors. When the North Korean asks the Black and Japanese characters why they fight for a country that oppresses them, they basically respond with "Cuz I'm an American!" Intentionally or not, the film makes the commie seem like the most inquiring mind.

I remember seeing this film when it was first released back in 1951. I am quite sure there was a scene deleted from the versions now being shown. When Sgt Zack and the squad come upon a group of Korean refugee's, he shoots a North Korean soldier, on a hunch, posing as a woman. The Lt. & Zack argue about the shooting.If you recall, earlier in the film, the Lt. (Steve Brodie's character) has a disagreement, with Zack about getting the dog tags of a dead American GI that causes the death of the soldier sent to get the tags. Zack remarked that it would be wise not to touch the body. The Lt. ordered the tags be retrieved, causing resentment between both of them.I could be mistaken but the film's continuity seems to jump ahead during the refugee sequence. I could be wrong, fifty-eight years dulls the memory.

"Where's your C.O. (Commanding Officer)?" "Fertilizing a rice paddy with the rest of the patrol.""...half his head is gone." This is the sort of gritty and realistic dialog that abounds in this ground-breaking Korean War film. Ground-breaking not just because of it's newer and more realistic language (complete with lots of racial epithets that would cause the politically correct types out there to have strokes) but because this picture managed to be the first Korean War film--being made while the war was still in its early days. And, to get this film out quickly, it was filmed in only 10 days--a shooting schedule typical of Sam Fuller's early films. It was also ground-breaking because the film tackled such topics as the treatment of Black-Americans and Japanese-American internment--touchy subjects that were virtually absent in films until years later. This film definitely marked a radical departure from WWII war films. Even excellent and realistic war films as BATTLE CRY and BATTLEGROUND didn't come close to the style in this film. Much of this realism is due to Fuller's own service in the front lines in the infantry in the previous war and the film seems like an ode to these brave men.The only strikes against the film are an over reliance on stock footage towards the end--with some of it appearing to be WWII footage! Plus, while I enjoyed the scenes, apparently the folks at home weren't particularly pleased with scenes showing a prisoner being killed as well as a medic throwing off his red crosses and manning a machine gun! Realistic, perhaps, but not quite the same heroic vision of soldiers from previous films.Still, overall this is a tense and exciting war film--perhaps the best of those made about the Korean War. Oh, and by the way, I checked. The tune for "Auld Lang Syne" really was the national anthem for Korea at one time. Also, read up on what IMDb says about the production--especially the number of extras and where the film was made. That Sam Fuller was a genius at getting the most out of minuscule budgets.PS--Gene Evans, the tough sergeant from this film really had been a sergeant in the army.

Ah, the Fifties. A time when America embraced racism like a badge of honor. Hoover and his FBI investigates writer/director Fuller for communist tendencies because he dared expose the fact that we use people as soldiers when they have to ride the back of the bus at home.It is a film that tries to present realism in war on a low budget. Even the North Korean tank was obviously made out of plywood. But that is not important.We see real soldiers, not pretty boys from the WB. They have real prejudices that they manage to overcome to some extent. It is a ragtag group that presents many faces and backgrounds all united in a common purpose - freedom. They even have a Korean boy tagging along, and they are surprised to learn when they are playing Auld Lang Syne on an organ that it is just like the Korean National Anthem as he starts singing.It all takes place in a Buddhist temple - a symbol of peace, that becomes a place of death.Gritty realism in this first Koren War film, and a message to all Americans that is still relevant today.