Horizontes del infierno

The B-29 Superfortress bomber was essentially obsolete by the time frame (1953) of this film. It was a propeller-driven strategic bomber designed for World War II, however the jet age of the late 1940s and the jet fighters developed after the war made the plane vulnerable. The losses the USAF suffered in 1950 of B-29s on day bombing missions over North Korea to the Soviet MiG-15 jet fighter flown by the North Korean Air Force (using Soviet pilots) forced the USAF to switch to night bombing missions. After the 1953 Korean armistice, the USAF switched rapidly to jet bombers such as the B-47 and B-52. The older World War II propeller-driven bombers were phased out.

This film is one of a few films that shows a daylight bombing mission over North Korea and the plane is attacked by jet fighters. The ensuing drama of the plane getting back to Kadena Air Base (where the B-29s were stationed, unmentioned in the film) is what makes this a good war film that is worth watching. The other secondary elements of the film are watchable, but not notable.

This time it is the poster that is a bit misleading - it suggests a sultriness that is completely lacking from this documentary style tale of an American bombing crew during the Korean War. John Ireland leads the cast as the rather obnoxious "Capt. Merrill" tasked with a mission to destroy a crucial bridge over a river. The film depicts their efforts and their more perilous and suspenseful return journey with fuel gushing from an hole in the wing. Marla English ("Sami") provides what little glamour this dryly produced wartime drama allows, and though it does feature some interesting actuality footage, this film is all a bit on the flat side with little to distinguish it.

I am not the most politically correct person out there, but sometimes you certainly can understand folks being upset at a film. Take "Hell's Horizon", a movie set in the Korean War. The female lead (Marla English) is supposed to be Korean....but she seems about as Korean as a Taco Bell! She's obviously a Caucasian and they made no attempt to get her to look or sound Asian. The same can be said about some of the other 'Koreans'...folks who, in some cases, have painted kin and black wigs! The result of which is just stupid....as well as offensive...but mostly stupid.

So is the movie worth seeing despite all this foolishness? Not especially. The first portion of the film is particularly hard to get past....as the 'soldiers' seemed about as professional as the Three Stooges and it was hard to believe these were America's finest! Terrible writing is the problem with all this. And, sadly, the stupid dialog simply continues until this dopey film reaches the end. The folks who fought in this war deserved better than this drivel.

A. flight crew goes on an unescorted bombing run on the bridges over the Yalu River during the Korean War.

It's an interesting cast, with John Ireland, William Schallert, Hugh Beaumont, and Bill Williams in the crew. One of the problems with it is that it fits neatly into the World War Two Flyer Squadrom genre of the period. Change a few lines of dialogue, and convert Marla English from an Okinawan to a Scottish lassie, and you have a decent movie of the previous war. Since most of it is shot on a stage decorated like a bomber's cockpit, it's clearly a very cheap feature, with little to recommend it.

About the best use of stock footage I've seen. Make no mistake, there are ZERO shots of aircraft flying, taking off, even exteriors on the ramp that are shot for this movie, or even models. It's all tent city on a soundstage, interior of a (probably real but scrapped surplus) B29, and stock footage.

But it sorta works. They voice over things like the crew checking out the plane as the stock footage isn't that great resolution, it's mid shots, and one 50s USAF guy in all his gear looks very much like another.

Falls apart a bit in the action scenes where the footage cannot decide what altitude they are at (and it is scripted, sorta matters), the enemy aircraft are several /different/ USAF aircraft, and... oh, they bomb China. That also was briefed, but they forget when picking impact footage.

Well acted, pretty well scripted. Okay photography, and the in-aircraft scenes are awfully well done; the pilot ones are the only with pretty soundstage blocking, others feel very personal. Apparently had a good advisor, everyone does stuff that at least feels very authentic, everything deliberate.

Yes, the Korean love interest is super duper a white chick, and it's not just racist but is distractingly wrong.

Otherwise the worst thing about the film is the editing. It's just indifferent. Many shots too long, some too short and it cuts between unimportant things. The stock footage also falls prey to this; it could have used 90% less of it, and done almost everything from inside the aircraft, not just as a character study but as claustrophobic action. Those were already the best bits.