Fixed Bayonets!

Fixed Bayonets completes director Samuel Fuller's one-two of 1951 movies about the Korean War, the other being the equally (maybe even slightly better) gritty and gripping The Steel Helmet. For those unfamiliar with Fuller's style, let's just say it is as far removed as possible from what Hollywood passes for war movies the past 20 years. No sentimentality and schmaltz here, just a straight-forward and fine-tuned soldier movie, from the boys, for the boys.

Fuller, a war veteran himself, takes a no-frills, realistic approach. With a tight script that weaves themes of courage and confronting one's fears into superb suspense and action scenes that have stood the test of time admirably, Fixed Bayonets does exactly what it says on the cover. The miniature work is decent enough and the studio backlot that passes for the Korean mountains completes the illusion without distractions. It's still a low-budget b-movie but it's holding well at the seams. The acting is all-around solid with Gene Evans once again stealing the show as the gruffy, no-nonsense Sgt. Rock.

Having worked as a journalist for New York newspapers in his younger years, Fuller understands the importance of story above all. Sure, he's not exactly the epitome of subtle - the inner monologues for example should have been avoided altogether. But I'm willing to ignore that because his movies have a sense of urgency and conviction that is hard to find: he's a man with a story to tell, he grabs you by the shoulder and says "this is how it happened, now watch this". And "this" is not about the politics or dramatization of war but war itself, men killing other men in some snowy hills in the middle of nowhere.

Fixed bayonets! is directed by Sam Fuller and Fuller writes the screenplay which is based around a novel by John Brophy. It stars Richard Basehart, Gene Evans, Michael O'Shea, Richard Hylton, Craig Hill and Skip Homeier. Music is by Roy Webb and cinematography by Lucien Ballard.

The Korean War, and a platoon of GIs are tasked with diverting the enemy to allow the command units time to regroup and prepare for a counter attack.

"Somebody's got to get left behind, get their bayonets wet. It's tough picking out an outfit, but it's got to be picked"

Samuel Fuller was a real life infantryman combat veteran of WWII, so any time he chose to direct a war film it was time to sit up and take notice, Fixed bayonets! finds him in prime form. All his great traits are here, how things are so understated yet so potent, how his characters are stripped to a very real human form, there's no fuss, filler or pointless flab here. Every line of dialogue and the various combat scenarios positively beg our utmost attention, so as to get some sort of feel as to just what it must have been like in war.

Plot revolves around 48 men holding a rearguard action so as to give 15,000 others a break. The odds aren't really in their favour, because not only do they have to face the oncoming enemy and all their numbers, but they have to battle the terrain, for they are up in the snowy mountains, the harsh coldness a fitting accompaniment to the psychological pangs at work in the platoon. The main narrative thread is based around Basehart's Cpl. Denno, who has trouble shooting an enemy soldier, which is not great since there's a very real chance he may soon have to take command. Ouch! The pressure of impending command...

Combat action scenes are thrilling, artillery warfare in the snow constructed with skillful thought. While this wouldn't be a Fuller film without some edge of seat drama, with the stand out here a breath holding sequence of events in a minefield. Tech guys come up trumps, the sound mix is bang on (a haunting cacophony of Asian bugles really rattles the head), Ballard's black and white photography is crisp and captures the pending peril vibe suitably, and Webb's musical compositions are unobtrusive and rightly keeping focus on the human drama.

A lesson in being simple yet so potently effective, Fuller on blob. 8/10

This film is about a small group of soldiers who are given the unenviable task of slowing down the oncoming Korean/Chinese army in order to allow the rest of the army to bid a hasty retreat. It is assumed that few, if any, of these brave men will survive and it's all a matter of digging in and waiting for the inevitable.

Writer/Director Sam Fuller was the first to make a Korean War film when he made STEEL HELMET. This film was made with a minuscule budget, yet was a terrific war film due to his excellent touch--along with acting of wonderful roguish actors, such as Gene Evans. Well, only months after creating this film, Fuller is back with FIXED BAYONETS! and in many, many ways the film is highly reminiscent of the earlier film. Both featured a small group of brave American soldiers who have become separated from the rest of the army. As a result, they are forced to make a brave stand against the odds. And, like STEEL HELMET, you see little bits and pieces about each man--often just before they are killed. Of the two films, I definitely preferred STEEL HELMET because it managed to do so much with the tiniest budget and because it seemed more original. FIXED BAYONETS! was almost like a retooling of the original format.

FIXED BAYONETS! had a larger budget and cast than the previous film, though it still was a very economically made film--mostly due the use of character actors instead of big-name stars. Once again, the exceptional Evans was on hand to play, what else, a battle-hardened and wise non commissioned officer. Richard Basehart, a wonderful actor, played co-lead with Evans and that was a good thing, as he was as capable as any actor in Hollywood but was still relatively unknown (i.e., cheap). Look closely, and you might spot James Dean in a small role and there are many other exceptional actors that give the film lots of color and gritty realism. Because of all these factors, FIXED BAYONETS! is still a very good film and Fuller is really in his element with these war films--probably because he lived the life himself during WWII. No major surprises--just a realistic, simple and effective war film.

Fixed Bayonets! (1951)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Well made Korean war film shares some similarities with Fuller's THE STEEL HELMET released the same year. In this film a group of American soldiers get held up along a mountain pass where they must try and stop advancing Korean soldiers. The main goal is to be smart and try to make the Koreans think they have a large group of people when in reality there's only forty-eight. This isn't the greatest war film ever made and I'd put it a few notches behind THE STEEL HELMET but fans of Fuller will still want to check this out as his style is all over this thing. I think the greatest thing about the film is certainly the direction as Fuller really makes a great atmosphere and a very claustrophobic one at that. The men are constantly being shown one on top of the other and the tight cinematography really makes you feel as if you're sitting along side the men and after a while you really begin to feel things getting tighter and tighter as the suspense builds up. One of the best sequences in the film is when a land mine, buried in the snow, traps one of the men and another soldier must walk to him, never knowing when he might step on one of the mines. This entire sequence is full of great suspense and it's doubtful you'll forget it once you see it. The cast includes good performances from Richard Basehart, Gene Evans and Michael O'Shea as well as a very brief appearance from an uncredited James Dean. I think the film's one major flaw is that some of the dialogue is extremely weak and many of the dialogue sequences just aren't strong enough to stand up to the action sequences. I think there were way too many short sentences and in the long run the dialogue just wasn't strong enough to carry the film.

The premise of this film is factually based on Task Force Faith in the Korean War:In late November 1950, the Chinese struck, along the Chongchon River, and overran several ROK divisions and landed an extremely heavy blow into the flank of the remaining UN forces. The resulting withdrawal of the United States Eighth Army was the longest retreat of an American unit in national history. In the east, at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir (November 26–December 13) a 3,000 man unit from the US 7th Infantry Division, Task Force Faith, was virtually wiped out, with numerous hand to hand fighting. The Marines fared better; though surrounded and forced to retreat, they inflicted heavy casualties on the Chinese who committed 6 divisions while trying to destroy the Marines.

Of the Task Force Faith and the 2,500 troops trapped by the Chinese, about 1,500 eventually made it back to American lines, the majority of them wounded or badly frostbitten. Roughly 300 able-bodied survivors were formed into a provisional battalion which was attached to the Marines and fought with them in the breakout of the 1st Marine Division during the remainder of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Over 1,000 soldiers of Task Force Faith were killed or died in Chinese captivity.

This film is a very accurate, no frills look at the emotions that come with perceived lost causes during war.