:: ''For the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

battles, see Battle of Pork Chop Hill.'' ''Pork Chop Hill'' is a 1959 American

film starring Gregory Peck,

Woody Strode Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode (July 25, 1914 – December 31, 1994) was an American athlete and actor. He was a decathlete and football star who was one of the first Black American players in the National Football League in the postwar era. Aft ...

, Rip Torn and

George Peppard George Peppard (; October 1, 1928 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as struggling writer Paul Varjak in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', and for playing commando leader Col. John "Hannibal ...

. The film, which was the final war film directed by

Lewis Milestone Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); September 30, 1895 – September 25, 1980) was a Moldovan-American film director. He is known for directing '' Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) and ''All Quiet on the Weste ...

, is based upon the book by U.S. military historian

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

S. L. A. Marshall Brigadier General Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall, also known as SLAM, (July 18, 1900 – December 17, 1977) was a military journalist and historian. He served with the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, before becoming a journalist, spec ...

. It depicts the first fierce Battle of Pork Chop Hill between the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

's 7th Infantry Division and

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

and

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

n forces in April 1953. The film features numerous actors who would go on to become movie and television stars in the 1960s and the 1970s such as

Harry Guardino Harry Guardino (December 23, 1925 – July 17, 1995) was an American actor whose career spanned from the early 1950s to the early 1990s. Biography Guardino was born to an Italian family on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and raised in Bro ...

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 196 ...

Norman Fell Norman Fell (born Norman Noah Feld; March 24, 1924 – December 14, 1998) was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom ''Three's Company'' and its spin-off, ''The Ropers'', and his fi ...

Abel Fernandez Abel Gonzalez Fernandez (July 14, 1930 – May 3, 2016) was an American actor who played in movies from 1953 to 2002. He was best known for his role as Federal Agent William "Bill" Youngfellow on the 1959–1963 ABC Television series ''The Unto ...

Gavin MacLeod Gavin MacLeod () (born Allan George See; February 28, 1931 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor best known for his roles as news writer Murray Slaughter on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ship's captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's '' The Love ...

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroes ...

, and

Clarence Williams III Clarence Williams III (August 21, 1939 – June 4, 2021) was an American actor. He played the character of Linc Hayes in the police television series ''The Mod Squad'' from 1968 to 1973. He also appeared in films such as '' Purple Rain'', '' 52 ...

. It is also the screen debut of

Martin Landau Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor, acting coach, producer, and editorial cartoonist. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's ''North ...

and George Shibata, who was a West Point classmate of Lieutenant Joe Clemons, who also acted as technical adviser on the film.

Plot

In April 1953, during the

, K Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, under the command of Lieutenant Joe Clemons, is assigned to recapture Pork Chop Hill from a larger

Chinese People's Volunteer Army The People's Volunteer Army (PVA) was the armed expeditionary forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the PVA were actually transferred from the People's Liberation Army under the order ...

force. Clemons leads 1st Platoon, puts his friend Lieutenant Tsugio Ohashi in charge of 2nd Platoon, while 3rd Platoon is kept as a reserve. They succeed in taking the hill, trench by trench, but at the cost of high casualties. Clemons is promised another company as reinforcements, but L Company is ambushed, and only about a dozen infantrymen reach him. They prepare for a large-scale Chicom counterattack. Meanwhile, at nearby

Panmunjeom Panmunjom, also known as Panmunjeom, now located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea or Kaesong, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean ...

, cease-fire negotiations continue, and U.S. Army High Command are unwilling to reinforce the hill because its value is not worth further losses. Yet they will not abandon the hill either, because it is a point of negotiation in the talks. Eventually, American negotiators come to the conclusion that the Chinese are pouring soldiers into the battle for a militarily insignificant hill to test the resolve of the Americans. Thus, the decision is made to reinforce the hill, saving the lives of the survivors of Clemons's unit.

Cast

* Gregory Peck as Lt. Joe Clemons * Rip Torn as Lt. Walter Russell * George Shibata as Lt. Suki Ohashi (Lt. Tsugi Ohashi) *

as Pvt. Franklin *

as PFC. Forstman *

as Cpl. Chuck Fedderson *

as S/Sgt. Coleman * Cliff Ketchum as Cpl. Payne *

as Pvt. Velie * Viraj Amonsin as Chinese broadcaster * Bob Steele as Colonel Kern (Colonel William B. Kern) * Carl Benton Reid as American Admiral *

Charles Aidman Charles Leonard Aidman (January 21, 1925 – November 7, 1993) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Early life Aidman was born in Frankfort, Indiana, the son of George E. and Etta (Kwitny) Aidman. Aidman graduated from Frank ...

as Lt. Harold (Lt. Thomas U. Harrold) *

Barry Atwater Garrett "Barry" Atwater (May 16, 1918 – May 24, 1978) was an American character actor who appeared frequently on television from the 1950s into the 1970s. He was sometimes credited as G.B. Atwater. Life and career The son of the landscape pai ...

as Lt. Col. Davis *

Leonard Graves Leonard Graves (1927-2000) was an American actor and singer best known for narrating the 1952 television documentary ''Victory at Sea.'' Graves was the only voice on the 26-part series, which won multiple awards, including a 1954 Emmy for Best Pu ...

as Lt. Cook (Lt. Robert S. Cook) *

as Lt. Marshall (Lt. Arthur A. Marshall) *

Ken Lynch Kenneth E. Lynch (July 15, 1910 – February 13, 1990) was an American radio, film, and television actor with more than 180 credits to his name. He was generally known for portraying law enforcement officers and detectives. He may have been bes ...

as Major General Trudeau *

Lew Gallo Lewis D. Gallo (June 12, 1928 – June 11, 2000) was an American character actor and producer, best known for his role as Maj. Joseph Cobb on the 1960s ABC World War II series '' Twelve O'Clock High''. Gallo was born in Mount Kisco, New York, ...

as Lieutenant of Division Public Relations (Lt. James Barrows) * James Edwards as Cpl. Jurgens *

Biff Elliot Biff Elliot (born Leon Shalek; July 26, 1923 – August 15, 2012) was an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as popular detective Mike Hammer in the 1953 version of ''I, the Jury'' and for his guest appearance as Schmitter i ...

as Pvt. Boven *Syl Lamont as Sgt. Kuzmick (SFC Walter Kuzmick) *

Paul Comi Paul Domingo Comi (February 11, 1932 – August 26, 2016) was an American film and television actor. Biography Paul Comi was born 1932 in Brookline, Massachusetts. Comi grew up in North Quincy, Massachusetts and joined the United States Army a ...

as Sgt. Kreucheberg *

as Kindley *

Chuck Hayward Charles Bert Hayward (January 20, 1920 – February 23, 1998) was an American motion picture stuntman and actor. He was associated particularly with the films of John Wayne. He doubled for most of the great Western and action stars of the 195 ...

as Chalmers *

Kevin Hagen Kevin Hagen (April 3, 1928 – July 9, 2005) was an American actor best known for his role as Dr. Hiram Baker on NBC's ''Little House on the Prairie (TV series), Little House on the Prairie.'' Early life Hagen was born in Chicago, Illinois, t ...

as Cpl. Kissell *

as Pvt. Saxon * John Alderman as Lt. Waldorf * Bert Remsen as Lt. Cummings * Robert Williams as Soldier Runner * Buzz Martin as Whitey * William Wellman Jr. as Iron Man * John McKee as Cpl. Olds * Michael Garth as S-2 Officer (Lt. James Blake) *

BAR Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

man (uncredited) *

as Message Runner (uncredited) *

DeForest Covan DeForest Covan (September 9, 1917 - September 8, 2007) was an American actor, dancer, and former black vaudeville performer. From his first film appearance in 1936, in ''The Singing Kid'', his acting career stretched to the 1990s. In early 1978, ...

as U.S. Soldier (uncredited)

Production

The film was based on Marshall's book ''Pork Chop Hill'' published in 1956. The ''New York Times'' called it "unforgettable". In August 1957 the film rights were bought by Melville Productions, the film company of Gregory Peck. Sy Bartlett was to produce and James Webb was to write the script. It was Webb who recommended the project to Melville. He decided to focus the action on Company K, who took up a chapter in the book, "All the King's Men", over a 24 hour period. S.L.A. Marshall reportedly disliked the fact that he had sold the movie rights to his book for next-to-nothing, and vowed not to make the same mistake again. In January 1958 Lewis Milestone agreed to direct. He and Bartlett wanted to cast unknowns in support of Peck and saw over 600 actors for 83 speaking parts. Strode and Edwards' portrayal of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

soldiers is based on the 24th Infantry Regiment, which was still

racially segregated Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

in Korea. All Black units were integrated in the summer and fall of 1951 and all Black units were integrated and closed out on 1 October 1951. Like its cinematic portrayal, the real regiment was poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly led. More than once when this all-black unit was placed on the front lines, a unit in reserve was positioned directly behind because they were expected to break. The regiment was finally considered so unreliable it was disbanded. Its personnel were reassigned to other combat units just as in the film, which portrays Edwards' character - with good leadership - becoming an effective soldier.

Casting choices

George Shibata, who stars as Lt. Suki Ohashi, became the first

Nisei is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called ). The are considered the second generation, ...

appointed to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

through the sponsorship of Sen.

Elbert D. Thomas Elbert Duncan Thomas (June 17, 1883February 11, 1953) was a Democratic Party politician from Utah. He represented Utah in the United States Senate from 1933 until 1951. He served as the Chair of the Senate Education Committee. Biography Thomas ...

. Shibata would become the first Asian American graduate of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

, Class of 1951 and he was commissioned in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

later in that same year (1951). During the

he flew an

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

out of Taegu Air Force Base. The film Pork Chop Hill was about Shibata's classmate Joseph G. Clemons, who was also a 1951 West Point graduate. This came about when Clemons accidentally bumped into his old friend Shibata at a drugstore when Clemons was in California acting as a technical adviser for the forthcoming film. He convinced Shibata to try out for the role of the Japanese-Hawaiian Executive Officer, Lt. Tsugio Ohashi when Hollywood was having a problem casting the role. During the production Clemons decided to play a joke on his Air Force pilot classmate whose accommodations during the war were more comfortable than Clemons' by ensuring that Shibata wore the only actual

flak jacket The two components of an obsolete British military flak vest. On the left, the nylon vest. On the right, the several layers of ballistic nylon that provide the actual protection A flak jacket or flak vest is a form of body armor. A flak jacke ...

in the film; the other cast members wearing foam rubber reproductions.

Filming

Filming started 19 May 1958. Some of the location shooting was conducted in California near

Westlake Village Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vill ...

and in San Fernando Valley. Two months before filming the unit moved into an Albertson Company Ranch where the bulk of the film was to be shot and created a series of trenches. Peck, although not credited, directed a few scenes despite protests by Milestone. Milestone called it his "most interesting job in a long time." The film had an allocated shooting schedule of 40 days and ended up needing another 15 days.

Clash between Peck and Milestone

Peck and Milestone clashed during filming over Peck's performance; the director wanted Peck to play his character as more insecure while Peck wanted a more conventional approach. Before the film's premier in May 1959, United Artists cut the film by nearly 20 minutes. Director Lewis Milestone claimed changes were made because Veronique Peck, the wife of star Gregory Peck, felt her husband made his first entrance too late into the picture. While that claim stands as unconfirmed, the film does show signs of post-production editing, with segments of several excised scenes showing up under the main title credits. Milestone's version reportedly featured more cross cutting between the fighting and the peace conference and made Peck's character less of a conventional hero. The director says it also featured more scenes involving the Chinese.

Release

The film opened in Chicago and Detroit in the week ended May 26, 1959. It opened at the Roxy Theatre in New York City on May 29 and became number one in the US. The film was a minor box office hit.

Critical response

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' applauded the film's "grim and rugged" style, the way it captured the "resentment" of the American GIs, and how it "tacitly points the obsoleteness of ground warfare".

References

Notes

External links

* * * * {{Lewis Milestone 1959 films 1959 war films American war films Korean War films Films scored by Leonard Rosenman Films directed by Lewis Milestone American black-and-white films Films based on non-fiction books Films set in 1953 Films set in South Korea Films shot in California War epic films United Artists films United States in the Korean War Films set in Gyeonggi Province 1950s English-language films 1950s American films