The Steel Helmet (1951)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Samuel Fuller

Writer:

Samuel Fuller (writer)

Release Date:

2 February 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

It's the REAL Korean Story!

Plot:

A ragtag group of American stragglers battles against superior Communist troops in an abandoned Buddhist temple during the Korean War.

Plot Keywords:

Buddhist Temple | Sergeant | Korean War | Japanese American | Soldier

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Gene Evans	...	Sgt. Zack
Robert Hutton	...	Pvt. Bronte
Steve Brodie	...	Lt. Driscoll
James Edwards	...	Cpl. Thompson
Richard Loo	...	Sgt. Tanaka
Sid Melton	...	Joe
Richard Monahan	...	Pvt. Baldy
William Chun	...	Short Round
Harold Fong	...	The Red
Neyle Morrow	...	First GI
Lynn Stalmaster	...	Second Lieutenant

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Deputy Corporation

Trivia:

Shot in ten days.

Goofs:

Continuity: The stock archival footage showing the positions of the Communist troops that are being shelled alternate between flat farmland and mountainous country.

Quotes:

First GI: I found a dead American.
Cpl. Thompson: Are you sure he's dead? You gotta be sure, you know.
First GI: Half his head is gone.
Cpl. Thompson: I better check.
Sergeant Zack: He said his head was gone. Save your strength.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Slanted Screen (2006)

The quintessential Fuller

Tough, gritty war story of a ragtag American patrol in Korea that finds itself trapped in a Buddhist temple by a much larger Chinese force. Sam Fuller made this for cheapjack Lippert Pictures for little more than $100,000--the Chinese "tank" that attacks them was actually constructed out of plywood--but the low budget doesn't detract from it at all. From the opening sequence where Gene Evans' tough sergeant finds himself the only survivor of a POW massacre by Chinese troops, to the climactic battle in the Buddhist temple, the film is chock full of Fuller's bizarre little touches and great storytelling. Evans is first-rate, and there's a terrific performance by the great Richard Loo--the stereotypical oily Japanese villain (although he was actually Korean) in countless Hollywood World War II movies--as a laconic, war-weary Japanese-American soldier, the only veteran that Evans has in the patchwork patrol he puts together that he knows he can count on. Don't miss this one.