Take the High Ground! (1953)
Real life friends Richard Widmark and Karl Malden made a few movies together, but the most enjoyable is Take the High Ground! since they play fellow soldiers training young kids in boot camp together. The setting is the Korean War, and Dick is anxious to get transferred back to active duty. As a result, he’s a little harsh with the new recruits – but when some of the kids have that “Daddy-O” attitude, like Russ Tamblyn, you really can’t blame him. His job is to toughen those kids up for war, and it’s not going to be easy.
Nominated for Best Screenplay at the Academy Awards, Millard Kaufman’s solid screenplay only took a dip when the romance came into play. I would have enjoyed the movie far better if it focused solely on the boot camp experience. I liked seeing Russ and the other kids mature, and as the movie continued, we got to understand Dick’s point of view more.
But one night on leave, Dick and Karl get drunk in Mexico and both fall in love with the same woman they meet in a bar: Elaine Stewart. Their friendship is tested, but neither one of them is really given a “true love” romance to make you understand why it becomes so important in their lives. The ending of the film (no spoilers here, don’t worry) is very touching, though. If you’re looking for a Korean War movie, you won’t find many. Take the High Ground!, Retreat, Hell!, and One Minute to Zero are some of the very few Hollywood made at the time, and they’re all pretty good. In fact, Retreat, Hell! won Best Picture at the Hot Toasty Rag awards of 1952.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Richard Widmark movies here!
Nominated for Best Screenplay at the Academy Awards, Millard Kaufman’s solid screenplay only took a dip when the romance came into play. I would have enjoyed the movie far better if it focused solely on the boot camp experience. I liked seeing Russ and the other kids mature, and as the movie continued, we got to understand Dick’s point of view more.
But one night on leave, Dick and Karl get drunk in Mexico and both fall in love with the same woman they meet in a bar: Elaine Stewart. Their friendship is tested, but neither one of them is really given a “true love” romance to make you understand why it becomes so important in their lives. The ending of the film (no spoilers here, don’t worry) is very touching, though. If you’re looking for a Korean War movie, you won’t find many. Take the High Ground!, Retreat, Hell!, and One Minute to Zero are some of the very few Hollywood made at the time, and they’re all pretty good. In fact, Retreat, Hell! won Best Picture at the Hot Toasty Rag awards of 1952.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Richard Widmark movies here!