Sargento Ryker

In this legal drama -- not unlike Anatomy of a Murder, A Few Good Men, and Compulsion -- ambiguity permeates the courtroom like humidity in August -- in Florida. Who's right? Who's wrong? No one can tell, yet decisions have to be made. Peppering the proceedings with plot twists and flashbacks that recall film noir and Sergio Leone, the story maintains a quick pace that overcomes its clearly low cost shooting budget. Lee Marvin burns brightest in the film's constellation of great character actors (like Peter Graves, Murray Hamilton, and Norman Fell), largely because of The Big Gray One's tendency to switch from calm menace to scary violence, on a dime. Jaded critics bang and hack at Sgt. Ryker, calling it trite and stale. The film doesn't warrant this sort of hostility. It is simple, direct, and powerful. Who cares if it isn't a re-invention of a very old sort of wheel?

After Lee Marvin won his Oscar for Cat Ballou and had great critical and popular success also with Ship of Fools and The Dirty Dozen, this former two part television episode from the Kraft Suspense Theater was edited together for release as a feature film. Sergeant Ryker casts Lee Marvin in the role of a soldier who was convicted of treason during the Korean War and sentenced to hang.

Sergeant Ryker could have been a whole lot better though. It has the look and feel of a made for television film, but more important than that, the editing probably left a lot out.

We come into the story with Bradford Dillman who has just successfully prosecuted Marvin now having doubts about what he did. The military more than most organizations does not like to admit mistakes and Dillman's doubts are raising all kinds of problems for him and for the United States Army.

Dillman has other problems as well, he's falling for Marvin's wife Vera Miles and she him. Still he persists in the quest and does get Marvin a new trial, courtesy of General Lloyd Nolan.

Marvin says he was given a confidential assignment to defect and gather intelligence. Problem is that the officer who allegedly gave him that assignment was killed and no record of it was found.

The trial takes an interesting turn and Dillman does a skillful job for his client. Yet the end of the movie will leave the viewer with a lot of unanswered questions.

Look also for good performances from Norman Fell as the sergeant who gives Dillman some key evidence, Murray Hamilton as Dillman's good drinking buddy and prosecutor Peter Graves.

The Korean War was a tragedy for its participants. There were more collaborators and deserters in this war than ALL other American wars COMBINED. Why? Because the American leadership that got the US involved in a non-winnable war in the first place, failed all the honorable thousands of men under their command in the Korean theater of war. Only Douglas McArthur was able to salvage a tie through his military expertise.

This war was Truman's biggest failure, the Pentagon's biggest failure, and the State Department's biggest failure up to that point in time of American History. Sergeant Ryker (well-played by Lee Marvin) is an American soldier convicted of collaborating with the enemy. The film goes on to describe his circumstances and trials, with Brad Dillman as his defense attorney. Dillman is also very good in the film.

The film shows military justice for what is really is in real life; extraordinarily mediocre. Military justice is to justice as military music is to music; mediocre at best. The film has some things in common with "A Few Good Men", but not overwhelmingly so. What is very clear is that this conflict was a great tragedy for all that served in it.

Sergeant Ryker is accused of being a traitor during the Korean War, a hanging offense. A long drawn out court-marshal ensues during which time the Sgt. must remain in a military jail. After much investigation the defense attorney attempts to exonerate the doomed non-com with an eleventh hour ploy. Very good picture.

Engaging, riveting tale of captured US army turncoat who has to prove his innocence to avoid the hangman. Paul Ryker dodges friendly fire in a seemingly doomed attempt to convince a military court that he was actually a US spy on a secret mission in Korea. In the vein of classic courtroom dramas, "Sergeant Ryker" is an extremely well crafted mystery, ably guided by an outstanding cast, director Kulik's constant momentum, and effective plot twists and turns.

This film was originally made for television in 1963 (released theatrically in '68 to capitalise on Marvin's ascendance) and spawned the short-lived TV series 'Court Martial' also starring Dillman, spot-on as the doubting defence attorney, whose attentions sometimes stray to the personal plight of Ryker's supportive, yet somewhat distant wife, played with aplomb by Vera Miles. Rounding out the frontline is Peter Graves for the prosecution, and Norman Fell and Murray Hamilton in key supporting roles.

Marvin's interpretation of the Paul Ryker character is a balanced depiction of a simple but dedicated man whose normally laid back demeanour is challenged by the desperate circumstances in which he's placed. Marvin switches perfectly from resigned indifference, to impassioned denial of the charges, giving a convincing, often intense performance that is the highlight of this otherwise small-scale drama. It's this performance that should elevate the film to a platform where it occupies a place on the best-ever lists of courtroom dramas.

However, despite its apparent obscurity, 'Sergeant Ryker' (released as 'Torn Between Two Values' on VHS in Australia) still remains a taut and compelling examination, like a book that you just can't put down. Highly recommended.