Harrison's Reports (1951)

2 HARRISON’S REPORTS January 6, 1951 “The Steel Helmet” with Gene Evans, Robert Hutton and Steve Brodie (Lip pert, Feb. 2; time, 84 min.) The first honest-to-goodness Korean war melodrama. It is destined to take its place among the best war pictures ever produced. It has been directed by Samuel Fuller so skillfully that the spectator’s attention is held as if in a vice from the beginning to the end. The lives of the characters are, at times, not worth two cents because of the danger they are subjected to. Every one in the cast does fine work, but Gene Evans, who up to this time has appeared in a few minor parts, walks away with the acting honors. As the rough sergeant, he appears to be a heartless fellow, but down deep he shows that he not only has a heart but is intelligent and knows war. His deep feelings come to the surface when the twelve-yearold Korean boy, who had saved his life, is shot and killed by a North Korean sniper. Although he does not break down, he does come close to it and, as a result, he plays havoc with the spectator’s emotions. This is due to the fine direction and script work, as well as to Mr. Evans’ fine acting. The little Korean lad captures the heart of the spectator from the very beginning, and the surprising part of his exceptionally good performance is the fact that this is his first screen appearance. The scenes at the temple, where the Americans establish an observation post, are full of suspense because of the menace of, not only the enemy as a whole, but also the North Korean major, who had concealed himself and had taken the life of one American soldier before being discovered. The photography is sharp and clear, except in the night scenes: — William Chun, a twelve-year-old Korean orphan, hates the Communists because they had killed his parents. While wandering in the fields, he comes upon Evans, wounded and with his hands tied behind his back; his company had been wiped out by Korean guerillas. The lad cuts his bounds, puts sulfa drugs into his wounds, and then follows him as he leaves the scene of slaughter. Evans orders the boy away, telling him that he is thankful for having saved his life, but the lad, reciting some teachings of Buddha, tells him that he must follow him. Unable to shake him off, Evans takes him along. The boy, however, proves to be an asset, because of his knowledge of the country. Both come across James Edwards, an American negro medic, who joins them after identifying himself as the only survivor of another group of soldiers. As the three head back for the American lines they come across a patrol of American soldiers headed by Steve Brodie, who had been ordered to establish a radio outpost for the purpose of pin-pointing enemy targets for the U.S. Artillery. The patrol included among others Robert Hutton, who had been a conscientious objector at first, Richard Loo and Richard Monahan. Evans, who remembered Brodie as having used influence to evade combat duty in the previous war, hated him as a shirker, but he agrees to lead the patrol, with William’s help, to a Buddha temple they were trying to reach. Arriving at the temple, the patrol quickly establishes radio communications and settles down to await action. Hidden in the temple is Henry Fong, a diminutive but experienced and cunning North Korean major, who watches the movements of the Americans. Fong finds one of the GI’s alone and stabs him to death. The Ameri cans search the temple high and low but are unable to find the murderer. They fear for their lives, but before long Evans discovers the major and captures him. Because the high command had ordered that prisoners be brought in for interrogation, Brodie takes charge of the major. Meanwhile a sniper, hidden in a tree, had shot and killed William. Missing the little fellow, Evans, who had become attached to the lad, asks for him. He is told of the killing and handed a paper written in Korean. When the paper is translated it is found to be a prayer by little William to Buddha to make Evans like him. The major laughs at the prayer and spits in Evans’ face. Infuriated, Evans shoots him dead, for which act he is severely reprimanded by Brodie. Before his capture the major had succeeding in putting the American’s radio out of action, and Monahan works furiously to repair it. The enemy attacks the temple and, during the fierce fighting that ensues, Monahan repairs the radio and communicates the patrol’s predicament to headquarters. Artillery fire helps to repulse the attack, but most of the enemy soldiers are decimated by the patrol’s machine-gun fire. Brodie, however, is killed along with some others. American help finally arrives and Evans, Edwards, Loo and Monahan, the patrol’s only survivors, join the main body of troops. It was written, produced and directed by Samuel Fuller. William Berke was associate producer. There is nothing morally wrong with the picture, but nervous children may not be able to sleep after seeing it. “Call of the Klondike” with Kirby Grant and Anne G Wynne (Monogram, Dec. 17; time, 67 min.) Good program fare. There is human interest and suspense, because the lives of the sympathetic characters are often placed in jeopardy. To the lovers of the outdoors, however, the picture’s greatest value will prove to be the beauty of the exterior scenery, which is enhanced by excellent photography. Kirby Grant does good work; he is clean-cut and wins the spectator’s sympathy at once. The direction is competent:— While on his way to Healey’s Crossing in the Canadian wilds with Anne Gwynne, who was searching for her missing father, Kirby Grant, a Mountie, barely escapes a killer’s ambush as he paddles his canoe into town. Grant reports to Russell Simpson, the trading post factor, who had sent for the police because a number of men had disappeared from the area mysteriously. Grant inquires about Anne’s father and is told that no one in those parts had ever heard of him. Leaving Anne with Tom Neal and Lynne Roberts, his sister. Grant, accompanied by Chinook, his faithful dog, begins an investigation. After a fight with Mark Krah, the number one suspect, Grant discovers the body of one of the missing men in a ravine nearby. Meanwhile Anne, hearing the name of Krah, recollects that he was her father’s partner in a lost gold mine. She ransacks Krah's cabin for a clue and finds her father’s wallet. When she reports her find in the trading post, Simpson and others head for the cabin to kill Krah. Grant arrives in time to prevent murder but forces Krah to admit that he had come to Healey’s Crossing with Anne’s father and had found the lost gold mine, but that her father had disappeared immediately afterwards.