User Reviews

Anthony Mann, one of my favorite Hollywood genre directors, excelled in noirs and Westerns; however, in this film - and the subsequent THE HEROES OF TELEMARK (1965) - he showed that he was almost as equally adept at war movies, too.

Despite the fact that the film is little more than a standard actioner, one of the countless tough black-and-white combat films to emerge in the wake of A WALK IN THE SUN (1946), Mann handles the proceedings admirably; significantly enough, he nabbed a Directors Guild Award nod for this film rather than for his other more highly-regarded works like, say, WINCHESTER '73 (1950), THE NAKED SPUR (1953) and MAN OF THE WEST (1958).

The combat sequences certainly deliver the goods (particularly the killing of a black member of the outfit by the silent enemy and an intense mine-field crossing sequence) and the battle-of-wits between the rugged Robert Ryan and the tough Aldo Ray - who later teamed up again under Mann's direction for GOD'S LITTLE ACRE (1958) - as well as the unusual relationship between shell-shocked Colonel Robert Keith and Ray keep one watching. The film also features notable roles for Nehemiah Persoff (who goes crazy under the strain of combat and perishes for it) and Vic Morrow as a cowardly soldier who makes good in the end by agreeing to join on a suicidal mission; Elmer Bernstein's score, then, is suitably evocative, effectively complementing the on-screen action.

'Men in War (1957)' had been sitting on my video shelf for quite a few months, but I was very interested in watching it. Anthony Mann, generally known for directing Westerns, here avoids the conventions of his favoured genre, and a brief glimpse of the opening scene had promised a stark, realistic war-time drama, unconcerned with patriotic gallantry and instead focused on the psychological torment of being exposed to continuous conflict. My expectations were, for the most part, excellently met. In a wonderful year that included stunning war pictures from Stanley Kubrick, David Lean and Mikhail Kalatozov, 'Men in War' manages to hold its own, despite what was likely a comparatively low production budget. Part of the film's merit lies in its focus on characters. There are, in fact, two "wars" at play in the film: between the American platoon and their faceless Asian enemies, and between feuding soldiers Lt. Benson (Robert Ryan) and Sgt. Montana (Aldo Ray), who must construct a tentative alliance if they are to emerge intact from enemy territory.

In 1957, Stanley Kubrick released 'Paths of Glory (1957)' which featured perhaps the most spectacularly realistic scenes of warfare until 'Saving Private Ryan (1997).' Mann's film, produced in the same year, strives for a more modest brand of realism, one less concerned with fireworks than with isolation punctuated by the unexpected threat of danger. In most WWI and WWII pictures, the major battles are played out amid gunshots and canon-fire, exploding earth and dying soldiers. The Korean War (1950-1953) presented American soldiers with a new kind of conflict: guerrilla warfare. Lt. Benson leads his platoon through enemy territory in an improvised retreat, and, at times, it even seems as though the men are engaged in a peaceful forest hike – the unbroken silence is not unnerving, as it probably should be, but deceptively reassuring. One soldier (James Edwards, the pioneering African-American actor from 'The Set-Up (1949)') even appears to forget his circumstances entirely, lulling himself into a false sense of security that is sharply and inevitably encroached by a silent enemy ambush.

Robert Ryan is ideally cast in the leading role, bringing to the character his characteristic intensity, world-weariness and self-doubt. Though undoubtedly a dedicated leader, Lt. Benson finds even his own resolve cracking under the pressure of seclusion and imminent, unseen peril. Even more interesting, however, is Aldo Ray as Sgt. Montana, who would be a selfish, dishonourable scumbag if it weren't for his unwavering devotion to a shell-shocked colonel (Robert Keith), and his meticulous knowledge of enemy tactics. The remaining soldiers, including Vic Morrow and L.Q. Jones, are unfortunately relatively anonymous characters, and their eventual dispatching is mostly without emotion – or perhaps by then we've simply become so hardened to the prospect of death that we can't feel anything. Though the obligatory heroic ending strays onto the beaten track, I was mostly impressed with how 'Men in War' generally avoided clear-cut heroics. The soldiers killed by enemy attacks are betrayed by unlucky circumstances or momentary lapses of judgement; even the final assault on an enemy stronghold seems almost pathetically inadequate.

What a disappointment! How many things were wrong with this movie? The music was completely inappropriate; it was distracting, "classical" and orchestrally inventive, it leapt out from the screen and grabbed your attention rather than being quiet and complementary. Soft moods, such as when soldier finds flowers, were given musical flourishes that were grossly overdone, painfully "romantic," completely out of place for a war movie like this. The plot line had little to offer; the soldiers set off for a distant hill, and along the way one little incident happens, then another, then another; nothing knits them all together or makes them feel organic, they occur as separate little islands, modular as Lego blocks. The dialogue is often awkward ("You didn't shave today."). The tension between the two leading characters is forced and unconvincing. The devotion of Aldo Ray to his officer was not believable, certainly not before the scene in which he confesses his father fixation and not really afterwards.

As for the battle scenes, especially near the end, the North Koreans appeared so inept as to be implausible. As the G.I.s sneaked up on them, rather openly really, the North Koreans seemed to have no lookouts, they couldn't hear the clanking of the American equipment, they were caught completely off guard. Part of this sense might be attributed to bad camera work, as it was very difficult for us to gauge exactly how far up the hill the Koreans were from the Americans.

The ending - oh no! the American heroes are about to die - but wait! what's that? Oh, my goodness, thank the lord, in the distance we hear American heavy equipment coming to the rescue. O, glory, O glory! Hallelujah!

If TCM hadn't presented this as a serious war movie, and comments here at IMDb hadn't been so positive, I would have dismissed this as just another bad B movie. That's all it is. I wouldn't have felt I had to point out its obvious flaws in such detail.

(Some Spoilers) It's September 6, 1950 and war is raging all across the Pusan Peninsular in South Korea. In the previous 72 days of bitter fighting the US military has already lost 5,685 men killed and missing as well as 15,000 to 17, 000 wounded. With the US and it's South Korean allies' back to the sea and facing utter destruction from the advancing North Korean infantry and amour divisions a US infantry unit lead by Let. Benson, Robert Ryan, is desperately trying to reach it's main company at hill 465 some six mile away. It's then out of almost nowhere that a US jeep carrying Sgt. Montana, Aldo Ray, and his battalion commander he Colonel, Robert Keith, unexpectedly arrives.

Right away there's friction between Lt. Benson and Sgt. Montanna. Sgt. Montana dislikes taking orders from his superior officer Lt. Benson whom he feels is not up to the job at hand in bringing his unit back across North Korean-enemy-lines. This is complicated by the Colonel who after suffering the shock of getting hit by a North Korean stun grenade has completely lost it and is now just a shell of his former self. Having no choice but to work with each other in order to survive both Lt. Benson and Sgt. Montana make their way back to hill 465 fighting off North Korean snipers and artillery bombardments along the way. That's until they finally get to hill 465 where the North Koreans, who had since captured it from the defending US infantry, have a big surprise waiting for them!

Hard hitting Korean War movie with both Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray at their gritty best as battle weary GI's doing their best to survive the war and at the same time save the men that their in charge of along with them. There's also the touching story of Sgt. Montana and the Colonal who are the only survivors of their battalion that was annihilated, off camera, by the North Koreans. Feeling responsible in getting the colonel, who treated him like a son, to the safety of a US military hospital field unit Sgt. Montana constantly risks his life as well as his fellow GI's in trying to get him there.

***SPOILERS*** Losing more then half his men Lt. Benson finally makes it to hill 465 only to find it crawling with North Korean infantrymen. In the ensuing battle for the hill the Colonel suddenly comes to life and to the shock of Sgt. Montana takes it, with a submachine gun, straight to the enemy! Thus making it possible for Sgt. Montana Lt. Benson and the last surviving member of the unit Sgt. Riordan, Phillip Pine, to dislodge the North Koreans. It also in the end cost the Colonel's life but in this case unlike in the rest of the movie, where he was more dead then alive, he gave a good account of himself!

The film "Men in War" shows the futility of what was the War in Korea for both the US as well as North Korean and later Red Chinese servicemen who fought in it. It also showed at least in the case of Lt. Ryan and his men how they were motivated to both fight and survive that war not for any political or moral reasons but for just their own self preservation and nothing else.

Korea, 1950. Robert Ryan is a lieutenant in command of what's left of his platoon, a dozen or so men. They are alone, surrounded, and unable to communicate with their division, so they face a dreary trudge of many miles in the most promising direction. They're shortly joined by a jeep carrying a stunned and insensible major (Keith) and his gruff, hostile sergeant (Ray). Ray is built like a Panzer and his neck is a very short telephone pole. His head is so large that his helmet doesn't sit on it, it encases his skull like a watch cap. All the men are scared, weary, or sick, except Ray. He exercises his combat skills until Ryan finally accepts him and his catatonic major into the group -- not that Ray gives a damn one way or the other.

The enemy are treacherous and, worse, they're real SNEAKY. They camouflage themselves with bushes and branches. "They move like cats!", exclaims one sergeant (Persoff).

The movie isn't too inventive or realistic, on the whole. James Edwards, while bringing up the rear, learns that you should never sit down, decorate your helmet with flowers, and take off your shoes while you're alone. Every soldier in a war movie knows that you can't relax, even for a moment, when the enemy are around. (They should never climb a tree either.) We've seen it before. There's little in the way of believability either. When Ray and his major first arrive, Ray has his Thompson sub-machine gun pointed at Ryan's chest as he disobeys one order after another. When Ryan finally relieves him of the gun, Ray pulls a knife and prepares to attack the officer. Yet a few minutes later, Ryan returns the gun to Ray. Would you do that? The story, for all it danger and suspense, doesn't seem to have been well thought out. The platoon drags itself along from one dangerous incident to another with little clear direction of what their goal is. Bayonets are always fixed. They must survive an ambush and snipers, run through an artillery barrage, step gingerly through a mine field, take a hill occupied by the enemy. Bonds are formed but remain unexplained. Why did James Edwards insist on taking care of the frightened Vic Morrow? Nobody else cares. And what is the nature of Aldo Ray's utter devotion to "my colonel"? Why would two frightened soldiers manning a light machine gun, shout, "Let's get outta here!", and then run up the hill toward the enemy, firing their rifles?

I may be too hard on the film. It doesn't insult the audience. I don't mean to suggest that it's putrid, just routine. I'm sure the production was hampered by a low budget. The dusty hills and gum trees are in Los Angeles, not Korea. We never see more than a handful of men. At the end, when the cavalry comes too late, the single man on guard comes tumbling down the slope to announce their arrival -- but we don't see them. No acting is called for but the men we observe do professional jobs.

Good for a watch, but probably not a second.

MEN IN WAR is a fine black-and-white Korean War movie from director Anthony Mann, who was best known for his series of quality westerns teaming him with star James Stewart throughout the 1950s. In many respects, MEN IN WAR is even better than Mann's westerns, because it tells an excellent pared-down story that exemplifies quality acting from the entire cast and oodles of suspense.

The 'men on a mission' journey narrative is really nothing special but that doesn't matter when the quality of the film-making is so good. In essence, MEN IN WAR portrays a dwindling group of soldiers attempting to overcome various obstacles in their bid to return to their own lines. They face the threats of snipers, bombing, and treachery, while at all times must cope with their own moral integrity.

Not only are the characters well-written, but they're well-acted too. Robert Ryan is an ever-present delight as the hard-bitten lieutenant but the real star of the show is Aldo Ray whose tough yet caring character becomes the film's brutish heart. Ray is magnificent in undoubtedly a career-best performance. Supporting players like Vic Morrow, L.Q. Jones, and Nehemiah Persoff round out the cast, with special mention to Robert Keith's shell-shocked colonel.

I recall seeing the film on first release and being much impressed. It compared well to other war films of the 40's and 50's in terms of what I understood to be combat realism. Besides, the great Robert Ryan could make a one-man invasion appear believable. Now, it looks like an extension of the war films of that pre-Vietnam era, cut basically from the same triumphant cloth. Yes, there are the casualties, the guys we see and the guys we like. They die in a variety of inglorious ways—knife, gunshot, explosion. But they die cleanly, no screaming, weeping, or fetal positions. And, of course, the star survives, the guy we most identify with. Sure, the medal ceremony suggests certain ironies, but the sacrifices are not in vain—the objective is gained and the enemy annihilated.

My point is that in terms of combat realism and resolutions, the movie is very much a creature of its time. That's not to say the production lacks in dramatic values or entertainment. Running the artillery gantlet is genuinely nerve-wracking (though no one seems concerned with shrapnel spray) and so is the treacherous minefield (though that trails off inexplicably). However, I'm with the reviewers who find the assault on the hill poorly done, lacking in basic military intelligence on the enemy's part. And I agree that director Mann is much better at staging noir than at staging battle. Nonetheless, it's an excellent cast. Ray and Ryan play off one another very effectively, and there's none of that cutesy WWII banter that was so Hollywood. Other good touches for the time include the depiction of racial harmony (Morrow & Edwards) and passing glimpses of a fully human enemy.

However, fifty years have passed and I now better understand the gap between what's on the movie screen and what isn't, and, most importantly, why. Director Mann and the screenwriters worked as best they could within the constraints of budget and Cold War requirements. After all, too much realism or futility and people would be less ready to march off to war. Anyway, as a whole and within those limitations, the movie remains an entertaining artifact of its time.

A small group of survivors works through enemy territory to reach their HQ, along the way they meet a Sargent, a catatonic Colonel and their Jeep, who reluctantly join the fight. The 3 display heroics and are interesting characters who leave much for the viewer to consider long after the film. I found the lack of extras and huge enemy forces welcoming as it aided the sense of isolation and vulnerability the men feel. Also the metaphysical connection between the Jeep and the Colonal is a creative device. Not a great over all flick and it lacks some historical depth but it does have its powerful moments and does succeed at being what it is, a simple war story, not glamorous no glitzy.

Anthony Mann's low budget "Men in War" (1957) is notable for his not receiving any help from the Pentagon during filming. Seems the top brass at the Pentagon didn't approve of the script and its depiction of US soldiers without the slightest bit of discipline. Instead, Director Manns simply concentrated on the scenery and tightened the characterizations of his story. There's not much in the way of pyrotechnics or explosions in this film, but it's still worth a viewing mainly because of the performances of Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray. The plot centers on an infantry patrol that's cut off from their main element and deep inside enemy territory during the Korean War (circa 1950). Ryan is the only officer left and his platoon consists of battle-weary troopers Vic Morrow, Nehemiah Persoff, and L.Q. Jones. Nearly out on their feet from exhaustion, Ryan and his men encounter a speedy jeep with an out-of-control sergeant (Ray) and a near-comatose colonel (Robert Keith looking like a zombie). Ray's only concern is to get "his" colonel back to the rear but Ryan reluctantly recruits him (and the jeep) into the fight despite Ray's lousy attitude and erratic behavior. Ray turns out to be a cracker-jack soldier and spectacularly good with his automatic rifle, killing snipers and potential POWs with reckless abandon. He and Ryan have a parting-of-the-ways after Ray's continued insubordination, but their separation is brief. Meanwhile the North Koreans begin picking off Ryan's men one-by-one and soon there's only a skeleton force available to attempt a final albeit needless assault. Why Ryan allows his dwindling number of soldiers to try this suicide mission belies any tactical reasoning, but it does bring the film to a shattering conclusion. The comatose colonel miraculously wakes up in time to grab a rifle and join in the festivities. His bold actions shame old Aldo into rejoining the fight. When the dust clears only three men are left standing. Reinforcements arrive (late as usual) as the men contemplate their survival and the deaths of their comrades-in-arms.

With his limited budget, director Anthony Mann does his best with the resources available. Having a heavyweight cast like Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Nehemiah Persoff etc. certainly helps his cause. Mann would later receive almost unlimited funds for epics such as "El Cid" and "The Fall of the Roman Empire." "Men in War" is not on the level of those films but it's a well-done movie with its own timely message of the futility and ravages of war.