Die Brücken von Toko-Ri

For those who remember it, the war in Korea remains an enigma from murky beginning to wobbly close (1950-1953). It wasn't even called a 'war'. Instead politicians dubbed it a 'police action', which of course fooled no one (30,000 plus, dead Americans). Toko-ri stands as perhaps the only film to capture the popular uncertainty of that conflict. Some reviewers characterize the movie as anti-war, but it's not. Instead it reflects an American public's longing for peacetime following the horrific sacrifices of WWII and the fresh sacrifices of a new war they neither understood nor desired. In the movie, Fredric March's fatherly admiral makes the official case for intervention. In a key scene with a skeptical Grace Kelly, he lectures on communist aggression and the necessity of stopping them where they stand. In a routine actioner that would have been enough. It's not enough for William Holden's Captain Brubaker, however. And the fact that the Holden character continues to question his personal role reflects the mixed feelings of ordinary Americans, who continued to be torn between patriotic duty, on one hand, and the exotic nature of the conflict, on the other. To the film's lasting credit, the ending does not cop-out in a blaze of heroics that might have undercut the script's ambivalent message. And it is this message of moral uncertainty that makes Bridges arguably the most accurate memorandum from that long-ago war.

The movie itself remains an A-grade production with some fine aerial photography, shipboard action, and special effects. It's also one of Holden's best understated performances, superior to his Oscar role in Stalag 17. Not to be overlooked is the Mickey Rooney character which remains a revealing one. His buoyant hijinks and rowdy behavior amount to a holdover of a familiar WWII stereotype. Yet the clowning here fails to gel with the prevailing mood, and would vanish from serious treatments by the time Vietnam rolled around. Then too, by the time of the movie's release (1954), audiences were eager to get back to the certainties of WWII, and studios responded with a spate of popular WWII fare, such as, Mr. Roberts (1955), Battle Cry (1955), and Operation Petticoat (1959). Except for a straggler or two, Hollywood would make no more Korean war films. And so, the process of forgetting that "Forgotten War" had begun. But, in retrospect, this was one of the few films of the decade to foreshadow the Vietnam trauma that was to follow, while the final shot of Holden's Captain Brubaker proved to be far more suggestive of war on the Asian mainland than critics could have anticipated (Toko-ri was not well received). It's only now, many years later, that viewers can appreciate the prophetic value of that final image along with the peculiar merits of this 1950's Hollywood oddity.

William Holden is sent to bomb the "Bridges at Toko Ri" in the 1954 film also starring Frederic March, Grace Kelly, and Mickey Rooney. It's a very good film about the carrier operations in Korea, and according to one of the posters here, very accurate. The Korean War was the first war that utilized jets, meaning that the pilots had to be educated in new techniques to take off and land on aircraft. Sometimes there were problems, and they had to ditch into freezing water and be saved via helicopter. There were a lot of technical aspects of the work of the pilots shown in this film.

Holden plays an attorney who is called into service and has to leave his practice and family. He is chosen by his commander (March) to perform a very dangerous mission bombing bridges from the air - in this case, there's no way to hide from the enemy; they can see you coming.

There are some very exciting moments and some striking air fights throughout the film, as well as good acting. It's a little heavy on star power - why was Grace Kelly in this? She has a very small role that could have been played by any young leading woman. Nevertheless, she's lovely and very pretty, certainly a good match for Holden. Holden was an ideal film star, and ideal for this sort of film, with that rugged, handsome face and very masculine persona. He also plays the role with a likability and vulnerability - you really can't lose with him. Frederic March gives a strong performance as his commander. The showiest role belongs to possibly the showiest actor, Mickey Rooney, as a brave helicopter pilot who is a little bit short-tempered while on leave. As the jailer in Tokyo tells Holden, "Keep an eye on him. There's still a part of Tokyo that's unharmed." All in all, a very good and sobering film. The old men send the young men off to war - and they're still doing it.

This is an exceptional picture, which clearly depicts the personal difficulties, particularly which Fighter Pilots must endure in times of combat. Mr Holden and Grace Kelly give fine portrayals of the young married couple, who must overcome the obstacles of a dangerous mission--A certain bombing Raid ( mentioned in the title) As the left behind wife, Kelly does a wonderful job, showing empathy for her husband, concern for herself, etc, and Holden is equally compelling as a troubled aviator in a difficult situation--All in all a fine Movie--good performances all around. T(W) G.

There's a moment in Mark Robson's The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) when the viewer begins to seriously suspect that the protagonist of this story, Harry Brubaker (William Holden) isn't going to see his wife and children again. Set in the second half of the "Police Action" known as the Korean War, when both the United Nations' forces and the Communists were locked in a stalemate, Brubaker, a disgruntled lawyer, called up to fulfill his reservist duty as a pilot on an aircraft carrier, fumes at the injustice of having to fly again. "I've done my part!" Lt. Brubaker seethes at his commanding officer. Nothing will stop him from his boiling resentment, nor can he stop thinking about his family; his wife (Grace Kelly) and two daughters come to see him on liberty in Japan, only adding to his internal misery.

Then there are the heavily defended bridges that channel freight through a mountain range in North Korea. To attack the bridges, the carrier pilots must fight their way through murderous anti-aircraft fire. The bridges are important, but more than that, they symbolize how far the U.S. and its allies are willing to go to defeat the Communists.

And this will cost lives.

In this age of computer-generated wizardry, the special effects of BTR really stand up. Using models for jet aircraft attacking the bridges actually works here; the viewer gets the feel for the claustrophobic geography of the place where the aviators must strike. The movie is filmed extensively on one of the navy's Pacific Fleet carriers, adding to the general realism.

But good SFX won't take away the sting of the tragic end Brubaker faces, first in his learning of how hard it will be to survive the attack, then as the North Koreans close in on him after being shot down. The rescue chopper's pilot (Mickey Rooney), also shot down, hunkers in a muddy drainage ditch with Brubaker, taking shots at the North Koreans while dodging grenades lobbed at them.

The last third of the movie is excruciating to watch. And to think this was made in the land of vanilla, the early 1950s!

My recommendation is to see The Bridges at Toko-Ri with your expectations of a happy ending locked away, and your appreciation of the real pilots who fought in this dirty, little war way out front. As Brubaker's commanding admiral (Frederick March) says in quiet and emotional admiration, "Where do we get these men?"

I was a sailor assigned to the Oriskany and observed the filming; and I met Mickey Rooney and Earl Holliman. Those are some fine men; and they entered our shipboard environment seamlessly. During the filming, on his off time, Mickey Rooney performed for the crew with his own one-man show in one of the hanger bays. He played drums like one would never expect him to. He was a good musician, and great fun to be around. I would sure like to thank Rooney and Holliman for making our lives pleasant in such a distant and lonely place.

Once I was walking down a passageway and saw a very small pilot in a flight suit. I didn't think that one would find pilots that short because of the Navy's requirements for aviators. Then, I saw his face, and it was Mickey Rooney. Rooney and the film crew stayed on board for Thanksgiving, and that has to be the most memorable Thanksgiving I ever had.

To me, that film is a time capsule, and every time I see it, it brings back fond memories of life on the Oriskany. The Oriskany was the last Essex class aircraft carrier built, and it was about three years old when I was on it. Sadly, it's been scuttled, and turned into fish habitat.

Anyway, like I said, Holliman and Rooney are excellent people; I never met Holden, but he was there too.