Little known but highly effective anti-war movie set in no-mans land around the 38th parallel in Korea in late July 1953.
With the agreed upon armistice, by the UN and Communist forces, to go into effect within 48 hours the Communist Chinese troops launch a deadly daylight attack on the troops along what's called Sniper's Ridge. The fighting shaking up the commander of the US unit stationed there Capt. Tombolo, John Goddard. With his best man Cpl. Sharack, Jack Ging,due to leave for home Capt. Tombolo pulls strings to keep him there in order to keep his US Army company, considered the worst US combat unit on the front-lines in Korea, from going under in another determined Communist assault.
Capt. Tombolo calls Cpl. Sharack into his office and tells the startled soldier that instead of leaving this hell-hole he's sending him out on a deadly night patrol in no-mans land against a company of heavily armed Chinese Communist troops.
Sharack just comes apart and not only goes AWOL but high-jacks a medical jeep and has himself taken back to the nearest MASH unit to be considered unfit for duty and sent back home to the states. With nothing found psychically wrong with him Capl. Sharack is sent back to his front-line unit but refuses to partake in any combat. Sharack even volunteers to dig latrines behind the lines to avoid being killed or wounded with his time already served and the Korean War slated to end at 10:00PM July 27, 1953, less then 24 hours away.
The night attack, without Cpl. Sharack, on the Communist troops turned out to be a disaster for Capt. Tombolo's troops. Now with the war about to end he orders his troops to launch another senseless attack which has his man, who want to be able to live out the day, about to mutiny against him. It's then when Capl. Sharack shows just what he made of by taking control of the matter not by killing any enemy troops or even the hated and despised Capt. Tombolo but by saving his life when he foolishly tries to be a hero to not only impress the men under his command but overcome the deep insecurity he feels about himself.
Solid performances all around in this almost forgotten and unknown little war movie with Jack Gling as the heroic and at the same time troubled Cpl. Shareck. Sharecks sense of pride and honor, as well as his concern for his fellow GI's, makes him forget the past and risk his life to save a man who had no good feelings towards him but only wanted to used Cpl. Sharack's skills and ability as a combat soldier in order to promote himself as an effective combat commander.
John Goddard as Capt. Tombolo also gives a standout performance as the obsessed minded military man who want's to make points with the brass upstairs. You can see how his mind is effected by the war and his need to please his superiors and how that causes him to push his men to the point where he's worse to them then the enemy that their facing on the other side of no-mans land.
Douglas Henderson gives a touching performance as the shell shocked Sgt. Sweatish who was a hero in WWII in Europe but here in Korea is only a shell of his former self. Older and wiser about war and what it can do to scared and emotionally broken, from the effects of war, men like himself. Sgt. Sweatish just can't be the soldier that he once was and feels that he's only a burden to the men that he's in charge of where he almost wants to be busted down to private so that the only person that he's really responsible for is himself.
There's also Stanley Celements as Cpl. "Pump" Pumphrey Sgt. Sweatish's friend and war buddy from WWII. Both brave and fearless, to the point of not even taking himself serious in what he does under pressure. Pump looked up to Sweathish as the perfect soldier under fire and man you can count on where your in a fix who sees that not every one can get used to war even those who become heroes because of it.
With the agreed upon armistice, by the UN and Communist forces, to go into effect within 48 hours the Communist Chinese troops launch a deadly daylight attack on the troops along what's called Sniper's Ridge. The fighting shaking up the commander of the US unit stationed there Capt. Tombolo, John Goddard. With his best man Cpl. Sharack, Jack Ging,due to leave for home Capt. Tombolo pulls strings to keep him there in order to keep his US Army company, considered the worst US combat unit on the front-lines in Korea, from going under in another determined Communist assault.
Capt. Tombolo calls Cpl. Sharack into his office and tells the startled soldier that instead of leaving this hell-hole he's sending him out on a deadly night patrol in no-mans land against a company of heavily armed Chinese Communist troops.
Sharack just comes apart and not only goes AWOL but high-jacks a medical jeep and has himself taken back to the nearest MASH unit to be considered unfit for duty and sent back home to the states. With nothing found psychically wrong with him Capl. Sharack is sent back to his front-line unit but refuses to partake in any combat. Sharack even volunteers to dig latrines behind the lines to avoid being killed or wounded with his time already served and the Korean War slated to end at 10:00PM July 27, 1953, less then 24 hours away.
The night attack, without Cpl. Sharack, on the Communist troops turned out to be a disaster for Capt. Tombolo's troops. Now with the war about to end he orders his troops to launch another senseless attack which has his man, who want to be able to live out the day, about to mutiny against him. It's then when Capl. Sharack shows just what he made of by taking control of the matter not by killing any enemy troops or even the hated and despised Capt. Tombolo but by saving his life when he foolishly tries to be a hero to not only impress the men under his command but overcome the deep insecurity he feels about himself.
Solid performances all around in this almost forgotten and unknown little war movie with Jack Gling as the heroic and at the same time troubled Cpl. Shareck. Sharecks sense of pride and honor, as well as his concern for his fellow GI's, makes him forget the past and risk his life to save a man who had no good feelings towards him but only wanted to used Cpl. Sharack's skills and ability as a combat soldier in order to promote himself as an effective combat commander.
John Goddard as Capt. Tombolo also gives a standout performance as the obsessed minded military man who want's to make points with the brass upstairs. You can see how his mind is effected by the war and his need to please his superiors and how that causes him to push his men to the point where he's worse to them then the enemy that their facing on the other side of no-mans land.
Douglas Henderson gives a touching performance as the shell shocked Sgt. Sweatish who was a hero in WWII in Europe but here in Korea is only a shell of his former self. Older and wiser about war and what it can do to scared and emotionally broken, from the effects of war, men like himself. Sgt. Sweatish just can't be the soldier that he once was and feels that he's only a burden to the men that he's in charge of where he almost wants to be busted down to private so that the only person that he's really responsible for is himself.
There's also Stanley Celements as Cpl. "Pump" Pumphrey Sgt. Sweatish's friend and war buddy from WWII. Both brave and fearless, to the point of not even taking himself serious in what he does under pressure. Pump looked up to Sweathish as the perfect soldier under fire and man you can count on where your in a fix who sees that not every one can get used to war even those who become heroes because of it.