All the Young Men

1960 was an in-between year. Between Eisenhower and Kennedy. Between the Beats and the Hippies. Between Elvis and Fabian. Between Korea and Vietnam. And in that in-between year, there was a grab bag of rehashed styles in fashion and music. The 1920's were "in" for a while and remakes of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "When the Saints Go Marching In" became contemporary hits in 1960. "All the Young Men" is a grab-bag of a movie, apparently written by a committee composed of agents and accountants, which tossed in music, themes, topics, scenes, and personalities designed to appeal to the movie audience of 1960. To try to understand the film from any other historical or logical or artistic or symbolic perspective would be an exercise in futility. In 1960 we had has-beens Alan Ladd ("Shane") and Richard Davalos ("East of Eden") marching along the Korean countryside with breaking-the-color- barrier Sidney Portier, topical night club comic Mort Sahl, new face Glenn Corbett, and teen heart throb James Darren all to the tune of "The Saints" which, as mentioned, was an old song during the Korean War but a re-vamped hit in 1960. So, although the portrayed drama was of the Korean war of the early 1950's, "All the Young Men" is really a kind of filmed time capsule of 1960 America. As such, it is a combination piece of nostalgia, a reminder that 1960 really was a pretty "dumb" time in America, and a kind of scary reminder that in 1960 America was living in blissful ignorance of the horror and chaos that was to befall in a few years in the form of a presidential assassination, counter-culture struggles, and an eleven year quagmire in Vietnam.

This movie benefits from some striking monochrome photography which is particularly well in evidence during its opening scenes ;these show a US patrol proceeding through snow encrusted mountains when it comes under attack from a Communist force .In the resulting battle the platoon leader is killed and hands over authority to the unit's sole black soldier (effectively played by Sidney Poitier)rather than to its most experienced member ,Kincaid (Alan Ladd),to whom the men have always looked up . Thus racial tension and bitterness are added to the already fraught situation as the troop must find a place to make a stand against superior numbers while awaiting reinforcements .There is a difference of opinion over strategy between Ladd and Poitier and other tensions between patrol members who include a Native American ,a wisecracking New Yorker ( Mort Sahl) and a callow youth played by James Darren who also contributes a forgettable song

This is no better or worse than many another "patrol"movie with its assemblage of stock figures and seems to have been assembled with an eye to the widest demographic-Old Hollywood in Ladd , a rising newcomer in Poitier and a pop star(Darren ) for the youth market.Even the race angle was not new having featured in Home of The Brave over a decade previously

Good matinée fare but nothing special either way

Yes, folks, before he lost his soul in Disney garbage junk, as James Neilson, James B Clark, or Robert Stevenson, Hal Bartlett was a damn good director, a promising film maker, and this gritty, tough war movie - speaking of the Korean conflict - is the best proof, with a Sidney Poitier in a terrific performance, during a period when civic rights for Black people were at stake. I guess this is an underrated war film, which scheme is in the same line of THE LOST PATROL, but I admit that many war films were too. War movies and not war dramas where you can have some romance behind the front line with a female character. Here, you have only one supporting female, that's all. Unfortunately the ending is a bit lousy, ankward to me. I am sure Bob Aldrich, who could have been in charge for such a film, would have given us something totally different. Despite its quality, this movie can be seen as a didactic message. Such a shame.

I had a friend that fought in the Korean War as a combat soldier and he told me about one winter they had a 20yr snow (hip deep) and blistering cold in Korea and this movie reminded me of those kinds of conditions, many soldiers died in Korea but not only by the enemies bullets but also by freezing to death.

Not a fast paced war movie like most people prefer because of the snow and it also has a racism content as it becomes clear from the beginning that not many like the character Sgt. Towler played by Sidney Poitier and that included Sgt. Kincaid played by Allan Ladd but over time they captured each others respect.

I actually enjoyed the movie, true Poitier and Ladd carry the movie at times but IMO its not as bad as some might think based on the other review. Worth a watch IMO.

There isn't really much to be said about this movie. Poitier gives the only good performance but nobody can be said to have come out of this effort with much pride. The cast is filled with non-actors, including a stand-up comic and an ex-prize fighter. The singing is done by non-singers, including the ex-prize fighter. And the song after which the film is named is not only sung poorly, it's poorly written. The production values are low. There are some nice outdoor shots towards the beginning, a snowy mountainous slope. The majority of the time is spent in a single indoor set. And some of the outdoor shots are thoughtlessly done -- here are these marines dug into the snow on a hill top and there is neither wind nor smoking breath. The obligatory woman is shoehorned into the plot, but fortunately doesn't act as anyone's love interest; she's there mainly to provide a target for attempted rape. The action scenes aren't bad but they conform to every convention in the book. The marines occupy an isolated post and must prevent the Reds from coming through the pass. They are attacked by about two dozen faceless extras, all of whom are slaughtered. They die like flies, building up a big body count. Our guys die one at a time, and always live long enough to utter a few last lines -- "Find that farmhouse and take it," or "Navahos shouldn't have to die in the snow." The humor is limited and is provided entirely by Mort Sahl in monologues and occasional wisecracks. Come to think of it, the whole thing reminds me a bit of a Sam Fuller movie, maybe "Fix Bayonets". What in-group tension there is, is provided by the competitive clash between Alan Ladd (looking too old for this kind of business, but he was a producer) and Sidney Poitier as the sgt. who inherits command of the unit. There is also a racist Southern redneck who wises up before the film ends. There is no sociopolitical content to speak of. All in all, it's not a hateful movie -- there's nothing disgraceful about it -- but you can probably find better ways to spend your time.