While there are a few elements of this Korean war era marine recruitment training drama that are quite troublesome, much of the film is brilliant written and directed. Drill sergeants Karl Malden and Richard Widmark have a group of recruits to prepare for combat, and face all sorts of obstacles as they deal with their duties in different ways.
There's also a beautiful young woman, wonderfully played by Elaine Stewart, who looks on the surface like a femme fatale, but Is dealing with some troublesome issues from her past, and needs a lot of help. She is a party girl suffering from guilt, and even after Widmark rebukes her, he finds that there's something really sad about her that he wants to help fix.
Of the recruits, Russ Tamblyn gets the most material, a prankster who gets into all sorts of scrapes with bemused reactions from Malden (mainly on how he predicts the strict Widmark will deal with him), and fortunately, he does start to grow up. Carlton Carpenter, Steve Forrest and Robert Arthur are also among the recruits, but they're all outranked by a stage actor in his only film.
William Hairston is excellent as the intelligent and idealistic black recruit who is presented with a surprising dignity usually not given to black characters in the 50's. Had he continued to act in films, Hairston could have been another Sidney Poitier. The direction by Richard Brooks is tight, and the script strong. Widmark and Malden are terrific in the leads.
There's also a beautiful young woman, wonderfully played by Elaine Stewart, who looks on the surface like a femme fatale, but Is dealing with some troublesome issues from her past, and needs a lot of help. She is a party girl suffering from guilt, and even after Widmark rebukes her, he finds that there's something really sad about her that he wants to help fix.
Of the recruits, Russ Tamblyn gets the most material, a prankster who gets into all sorts of scrapes with bemused reactions from Malden (mainly on how he predicts the strict Widmark will deal with him), and fortunately, he does start to grow up. Carlton Carpenter, Steve Forrest and Robert Arthur are also among the recruits, but they're all outranked by a stage actor in his only film.
William Hairston is excellent as the intelligent and idealistic black recruit who is presented with a surprising dignity usually not given to black characters in the 50's. Had he continued to act in films, Hairston could have been another Sidney Poitier. The direction by Richard Brooks is tight, and the script strong. Widmark and Malden are terrific in the leads.