Combat Squad

It's hard to believe the same Cy Roth later responsible for the hilarious 'Fire Maidens of Outer Space' had earlier made this terse little actioner set in Korea in 1951 but with a decidedly forties feel, in which John Ireland takes another Walk in the Sun.

Despite the two earlier reviews dismissing this film, it's a slick job superbly shot by veteran cameraman Charles van Enger; and certainly didn't need Paul Dunlap's noisy score to generate suspense. (Even the bizarre comic interlude with the WAACs succeeds in being surreally comic.)

We don't actually see the squad use the flamethrower and phosphorus grenades they've been issued with; but simple knowing that such weapons are in use is an eye-watering prospect.

Korea .. by way of Crystal Drive, Los Angeles, CA. ! The Jeeps are sparkling , the uniforms look like they have just been delivered from the laundry , the squad moves into a wood without seeking cover to be picked off easily by the dastardly commies ... And the end of this film is the beginning of another disastrous epic about how victory was achieved in Korea ! Dreadful, from start to finish !!

John Ireland is the top sargeant in his decimated company in Korea. He pulls all the tough assignments, and keeps turning down promotions. Now he is ordered to head out into the woods and clear out some snipers.

It's a cheap, cheap second feature from Columbia, with Cy Roth taking his first of four assignments as director in between his work on second units. He concentrates on action, because the dialogue is pretty lousy, and the sets of Bronson Canyon looking pretty much like Bronson Canyon. Korea was never a popular war among film makers, and this one shows it. With Lon McAllister, George E. Stone, and Don Haggerty.

During the fifties, Hollywood displayed the ability to crank out some very good "B" war flicks-"The Steel Helmet"(1951), "The Silent Raiders"(1954, and "Paratroop Command"(1958)-however this one is not good. Surprisingly, we have here a cast and crew of tried and true low budget movies, but the bad script, miniscule budget, and lack of direction heads this one South fast. The script and direction never allow the viewer to feel any empathy for the characters, the attempts at G.I. humor fall flat. Ireland seems to be walking through this one in a stupor and it was to be the last big screen appearance for McCallister, who for so many years played the Kid in big budget productions. Maybe he saw the early rushes of this one and decided to call it quits. No one could blame him!

John Ireland leads the cast in this forgotten Korean War B-yarn which sees a battle-hardened sergeant attempt to keep his men alive. That is my take on the plot of a film that is essentially plotless. The men argue, joke around, and go from one indistinguishable skirmish to another. The script was written by a man named Wyott Ordung and he was of "Robot Monster" infamy (widely regarded as one of the worst things ever committed to celluloid), which says enough for the script.

Ireland is quite good here and he was the highpoint of the film for me. It is a completely pointless film that just runs over 70 minutes. The direction is wooden and as lacking as the script, but there is a decent bit of action that is well shot and performed. It is clearly shot on the studio lot, so it wins no points for set design; the film could really pass as either a WW2 or Korea film. It all goes no where and is quite surreal in that. Worth tracking down? No. Not even for Korea War enthusiasts.