An interesting Korean-War era film, starring Richard Widmark and Karl Malden, Take the High Ground depicts sixteen weeks of basic training at Fort Bliss. The film revolves around the differing personalities of two drill sergeants (Widmark and Malden) as they shape hopeless recruits into combat-ready soldiers. Widmark's character, Sgt. First Class Thorne Ryan is a battle-hardened veteran, who believes that toughness is the best way to prepare recruits for combat. Staff Sgt. Laverne Holt (Malden), however, relies on compassion to help his men adjust to army life. These differences present a few interesting conflicts, but overall, their static characters add little. Like most basic training films, this movie offers a few predictable laughs and trivial subplots, but fails to develop a deep plot. Elaine Stewart's adulterous character, in particular, is unnecessary and only adds confusion. Overall, however, Take the High Ground is watchable, if not memorable.
26 Reviews
Will always be one of my favorite movies!
rpburg28 March 2008
Okay, this is not a great movie when considering it in the war movie genre or side by side with some of the classics that both Richard Widmark and Karl Malden made, but I will always think this as one of my favorites because my father is one of the extras in the movie. Take the High Ground was filmed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX in 1953 when my dad was in advanced training before being sent to Korea. When the movie crew came to the base, my dad's training platoon was "loaned" to the filmmakers by the Dept. of Defense to make the training scenes look a bit more realistic. There are the five or so "recruits" played by actors, then the rest are real U.S. Army soldiers. Whenever I watch this with my friends, I'm proud to point out my old man as one of the soldiers marching by, under the watchful eyes of Richard Widmark and Karl Malden. After the filming was over, Widmark and Malden took several of the soldiers (including my dad) out on the town to thank them for helping with the film. Both Widmark and Malden were classy men, and right away became my dad's favorite actors/stars. He just wishes that Elaine Stewart filmed her scenes in El Paso, instead of staying in Hollywood where they were shot at the studio.
Decent Wartime film about a stubborn Sergeant who once battled bravely in Korea and now serves as a tough drill instructor to new Army recruits
ma-cortes15 March 2019
From its rowdy , ribald horse play , to its rousing marching song from its hard-boiled hates and slugging feuds to its tough-but-tender love story , this is a drama of our times , exciting , exalting , young , brave , and alive .The film begins in Korea , May 1951 during the bloody War . Later on , 1953 Fort Bliss , hard-nosed Sgt Thorne Ryan (Richard Widmark) is rewarded for heroics in Korea by a return to Fort Bliss , Texas , where he takes batch after batch of soldiers and recruits who wear the shoulder patch of the 4th Army - a white four-leaf clover on a red diamond . Along the way his fellow instructor, and good friend Sgt Holt helps him to vanquish the past's ghosts . There two previous Korean War combat veterans Sgt. Laverne Holt (Karl Malden) and Sgt. Thorne Ryan work as drill sergeants and both of them meet a lady who begins to turn his life around ; things go wrong when they fall in-love for the same woman (gorgeous Elaine Stewart) . Gripes ! Gags ! Girls ! Guts ! Guys !
This is a mild , acceptable war movie in which there's never any questioning of the righteousness of America's fighting men as a force for good . The training of the group of recruits is particularly hard and the dialogue drill sergeant is presumably ripped from experiences of actual trainer sergeants in all its crude service . Compared to the likes of ¨Full Metal jacket¨by Stanley Kubrick it is all rather simple and light . Nice acting by Richard Widwark who specialised in taking authoritarian types and giving more light and shade than the screenplay sometimes allowed . As we're meant to feel his frustration seeping into his sometimes harash approach to the recruits through training , while utterly appreciating that he is the expert man for the job , as well as he has to face the ghosts of his past experiences in Korea. Support cast is pretty well such as : Russ Tamblyn , Carleton Carpenter , Russ Tamblyn , Jerome Courtland . And brief appearances from : Steve Forrest , Robert Arthur , Acquanetta , Don Haggerty and James MacArthur .
It packs an evocative ad sensitive musical score by classy composer Dimitri Tiomkin. As well as colorful and glimmering Cinematography by John Alton, being shot on location in El Paso, Texas, and Fort Bliss, Texas, USA .Well directed in professional style by Richard Brooks and screen-played by Millard Kaufman , based on his story . Brooks' liberal sympathies extend to making the most literate of the latest intake a Blackman . Richard Brooks was a fine writer/director so consistently mixed the good and average which it became impossible to know that to expect from him next . Firstly he worked regularly as a Hollywood screenwriter . After that , his initial experience of directing was one of his own screenplays called ¨Crisis¨. The Richard Brooks films that have the greatest impact are realized during the 50s and 60s as ¨Cat on a hot tin roof¨, ¨Something of value¨ , ¨Elmer Gantry¨, ¨Sweet bird of youth¨, ¨In cold blood¨ , ¨Lord Jim¨. Brooks was a writer and director of Chekhovian depth , who mastered the use of understatement, anticlimax and implied emotion . His films enjoyed lasting appeal and tended to be more serious than the usual mainstream productions . Richard directed also good Westerns as the titled ¨The professionals ¨ with various tough stars as Burt Lancaster , Lee Marvin , Jack Palance , Robert Ryan and ¨Bite the bullet¨ . ¨Take the high ground¨ is an authentic must see , not to be missed for buffs of the warlike genre . An acceptable movie , hardly noticed for its theatrical release ; however , being nowadays very well considered . Rating : Decent , and passable film , because of its awesome acting , dialog , score are world class.
This is a mild , acceptable war movie in which there's never any questioning of the righteousness of America's fighting men as a force for good . The training of the group of recruits is particularly hard and the dialogue drill sergeant is presumably ripped from experiences of actual trainer sergeants in all its crude service . Compared to the likes of ¨Full Metal jacket¨by Stanley Kubrick it is all rather simple and light . Nice acting by Richard Widwark who specialised in taking authoritarian types and giving more light and shade than the screenplay sometimes allowed . As we're meant to feel his frustration seeping into his sometimes harash approach to the recruits through training , while utterly appreciating that he is the expert man for the job , as well as he has to face the ghosts of his past experiences in Korea. Support cast is pretty well such as : Russ Tamblyn , Carleton Carpenter , Russ Tamblyn , Jerome Courtland . And brief appearances from : Steve Forrest , Robert Arthur , Acquanetta , Don Haggerty and James MacArthur .
It packs an evocative ad sensitive musical score by classy composer Dimitri Tiomkin. As well as colorful and glimmering Cinematography by John Alton, being shot on location in El Paso, Texas, and Fort Bliss, Texas, USA .Well directed in professional style by Richard Brooks and screen-played by Millard Kaufman , based on his story . Brooks' liberal sympathies extend to making the most literate of the latest intake a Blackman . Richard Brooks was a fine writer/director so consistently mixed the good and average which it became impossible to know that to expect from him next . Firstly he worked regularly as a Hollywood screenwriter . After that , his initial experience of directing was one of his own screenplays called ¨Crisis¨. The Richard Brooks films that have the greatest impact are realized during the 50s and 60s as ¨Cat on a hot tin roof¨, ¨Something of value¨ , ¨Elmer Gantry¨, ¨Sweet bird of youth¨, ¨In cold blood¨ , ¨Lord Jim¨. Brooks was a writer and director of Chekhovian depth , who mastered the use of understatement, anticlimax and implied emotion . His films enjoyed lasting appeal and tended to be more serious than the usual mainstream productions . Richard directed also good Westerns as the titled ¨The professionals ¨ with various tough stars as Burt Lancaster , Lee Marvin , Jack Palance , Robert Ryan and ¨Bite the bullet¨ . ¨Take the high ground¨ is an authentic must see , not to be missed for buffs of the warlike genre . An acceptable movie , hardly noticed for its theatrical release ; however , being nowadays very well considered . Rating : Decent , and passable film , because of its awesome acting , dialog , score are world class.
Authentic Real Time Period Piece
elcutach24 November 1999
While this may not be the movie that made me want to join the Army in 1956, it may have helped. The plot is a formulaic coming of age in basic training story, turning boys into men. The personal interactions and love affairs of Widmark and Malden, the veterans of Korea who are now leading a trainng platoon at Fort Bliss, Texas, next to El Paso are also formulaic.
The real value of this picture is as a time capsule. Nothing herein is BS, dreamed up, or recreated such as are Platoon, or Full Metal Jacket or Apocalypse Now, to mention some more modern highly praised but highly fictionalized films. Nor is it an anachronistic mish mash such or a low budget BW cheapie such as many of that period were.
Everything shown here is as it was at the time of filming and the background extras and other military individuals were actually going through infantry training with the real possibility of going to combat in Korea when it was being made. (An amusing aspect is that the opening scene of the newly arrived trainees and the disciplined troops entraining for their new assignments were filmed on the same day with the same Southern Pacific locomotive and equipment. Yet supposedly took place three months apart.)
Other time capsule films of the time are Bombers B-57, and Strategic Air Command, which prove that officially approved films can be entertaining and informative both.
The real value of this picture is as a time capsule. Nothing herein is BS, dreamed up, or recreated such as are Platoon, or Full Metal Jacket or Apocalypse Now, to mention some more modern highly praised but highly fictionalized films. Nor is it an anachronistic mish mash such or a low budget BW cheapie such as many of that period were.
Everything shown here is as it was at the time of filming and the background extras and other military individuals were actually going through infantry training with the real possibility of going to combat in Korea when it was being made. (An amusing aspect is that the opening scene of the newly arrived trainees and the disciplined troops entraining for their new assignments were filmed on the same day with the same Southern Pacific locomotive and equipment. Yet supposedly took place three months apart.)
Other time capsule films of the time are Bombers B-57, and Strategic Air Command, which prove that officially approved films can be entertaining and informative both.
Good, of its kind
rmax30482326 February 2002
The story could hardly be more familiar. A barracks worth of raw recruits from varying backgrounds arrive at Fort Bliss to go through basic training in the infantry. Widmark is the sterner of the two drill sergeants, Malden the more human, but both are friends, until . . . . Two plotlines are developed simultaneously. The first involves the mostly comic tribulations of the new grunts. They are by turns humiliated, worked to exhaustion, given to pillow fights and practical jokes on one another, as the sergeants attempt to "help you rid yourself of your winsome civilian ways". We are thankfully spared any involvement on their part with young women outside the camp. (The sort of thing, among other things, that positively ruined "Battle Cry.") Of course there has to be a romance, but it is left to Widmark and Malden, the two combat veterans who come to blows over Elaine Stewart, the pride of Montclair, New Jersey, as Julie. She's clearly more attracted to Widmark who is, after all, the male lead, but he professes to despise her because she hangs around in seedy juke joints, drinks, and makes out with soldiers like him. Malden is attracted to her too and, at least for one night, enjoys her favors, which Widmark notices. It annoys him. Widmark and Malden grow somewhat apart. Their irritation with one another increases as Widmark bears down harder on the recruits. His morality is lofty, of the "Nothing you experience in basic training will be as tough as combat," which may be true but which also provides a drill instructor with a license for outright sadism. Not to worry. The boys shape up and do some close order drill at the train platform before shipping out, leaving a new incoming group of recruits staring in awe. Julie leaves town, tearfully, by a train as well, no doubt to recapture her dignity. Widmark and Malden encounter each other on a dark street while returning from the train station, and Malden wordlessly offers Widmark a conciliatory cigarette. The processing machine grinds along and all is well. Widmark's character is oddly written. He quotes Elizabeth Barrett Browning while sneering that he's never read her. The only Browning my drill instructor ever heard of was made of metal.
From Here to Eternity in Ansocolor
RanchoTuVu2 March 2015
Richard Widmark and Karl Malden portray two US Army drill instructors whose task is to prepare a new group of recruits and draftees to face combat in the Korean War.The real basic training seems to take place off base in the bars. The film is somewhat reminiscent of From Here To Eternity with its portrayal of the military and its sordid social life. The men hang out in the bars around Fort Bliss, kind of like the bar scenes in From Here to Eternity, only but these bars are shot in cheap color. Elaine Stewart as an attractive young widow who hangs out at the bar, is sort of the Donna Reed or Deborah Kerr of this movie. This was a pretty stand out role for Richard Widmark in a movie that has slipped into obscurity.The use of Ansocolor makes the night time scenes in the bars look even more lurid than they already were.
trying
SnoopyStyle1 June 2022
It's 1953. Marines Sgt. Thorne Ryan (Richard Widmark) and Sgt. Laverne Holt (Karl Malden) return from fighting in Korea to teach new recruits at Fort Bliss, Texas. They encounter drunken Julie Mollison (Elaine Stewart) at a bar.
The harsh-talking cinematic sergeant character trope had not been fully developed at this time. Quite frankly, the real world hadn't settled on that idea either. Widmark is trying his best to be that hard drill sergeant. The realism is not always there but he's trying. There is a bit of over-acting and the story is a little melodramatic. I can do without the old style melodramatic romance. Despite all that, I appreciate that everyone is trying.
The harsh-talking cinematic sergeant character trope had not been fully developed at this time. Quite frankly, the real world hadn't settled on that idea either. Widmark is trying his best to be that hard drill sergeant. The realism is not always there but he's trying. There is a bit of over-acting and the story is a little melodramatic. I can do without the old style melodramatic romance. Despite all that, I appreciate that everyone is trying.
This Is Infantry?
bkoganbing11 August 2008
In reviewing this film I can only go by my experiences as a weekend warrior doing my basic training in July, August, and September of 1971 in that garden spot of the earth, Fort Polk, Louisiana. Take the High Ground was not anything like I remember basic training.
But one has to remember at the time this was post Korea which ended in a stalemate, but it was a conventional war as we knew them. It was not Vietnam, a jungle guerrilla war where we kept pouring draftees into an endless pit. The draft at that time was an unwelcome, but accepted as still necessary for the country's defense.
Richard Widmark is a veteran of Korea now assigned state side to train the troops to go overseas. The film is about one of his training cycles and the men of the platoon he has to train. They're the usual kind you would find in just about any war film from the previous decade.
One thing I will praise Take The High Ground for is the fact that MGM recognized our army was now an integrated one with the presence of William Hazard as a black recruit in the platoon. It was in keeping with the spirit of the times which were a changing.
But I will say that a recruit like Russ Tamblyn would have been cured of his smart mouth from day one. Richard Widmark would have not risked death or becoming a eunuch in order to give Jerome Courtland confidence with a weapon. And no way would have he worried so much about Robert Arthur deserting. He's have just let the MPs deal with him.
Of course being shot in and around Fort Bliss and El Paso, Texas did give Take the High Ground good authenticity. But view it as an army recruiting film and you can certainly understand why the government so eagerly gave cooperation back in the day.
I do remember the drill sergeants having their little conflicts which you could pick up on when you weren't worried about them getting on your case for something which was 95% of the time. But there ain't no way that Karl Malden would have slugged Widmark out in the open during training in front of several witnesses among the recruits. Both would have realized that would have undermined authority, something the military just doesn't let happen.
I wish I could have said something better about Take The High Ground because I certainly like its talented cast, it's talented director Richard Brooks, even the silly theme by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington, fresh from their Oscar a year before for High Noon. The film actually got an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay and story by Millard Kaufman. It must have been for Kaufman's vivid imagination.
But one has to remember at the time this was post Korea which ended in a stalemate, but it was a conventional war as we knew them. It was not Vietnam, a jungle guerrilla war where we kept pouring draftees into an endless pit. The draft at that time was an unwelcome, but accepted as still necessary for the country's defense.
Richard Widmark is a veteran of Korea now assigned state side to train the troops to go overseas. The film is about one of his training cycles and the men of the platoon he has to train. They're the usual kind you would find in just about any war film from the previous decade.
One thing I will praise Take The High Ground for is the fact that MGM recognized our army was now an integrated one with the presence of William Hazard as a black recruit in the platoon. It was in keeping with the spirit of the times which were a changing.
But I will say that a recruit like Russ Tamblyn would have been cured of his smart mouth from day one. Richard Widmark would have not risked death or becoming a eunuch in order to give Jerome Courtland confidence with a weapon. And no way would have he worried so much about Robert Arthur deserting. He's have just let the MPs deal with him.
Of course being shot in and around Fort Bliss and El Paso, Texas did give Take the High Ground good authenticity. But view it as an army recruiting film and you can certainly understand why the government so eagerly gave cooperation back in the day.
I do remember the drill sergeants having their little conflicts which you could pick up on when you weren't worried about them getting on your case for something which was 95% of the time. But there ain't no way that Karl Malden would have slugged Widmark out in the open during training in front of several witnesses among the recruits. Both would have realized that would have undermined authority, something the military just doesn't let happen.
I wish I could have said something better about Take The High Ground because I certainly like its talented cast, it's talented director Richard Brooks, even the silly theme by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington, fresh from their Oscar a year before for High Noon. The film actually got an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay and story by Millard Kaufman. It must have been for Kaufman's vivid imagination.
take the high ground
mossgrymk10 August 2023
To say, as the previous reviewer did, that this film about a tough drill instructor falls short of "Full Metal Jacket" is to state the painfully obvious. Hell, I doubt if it's even as good as Jack Webb's "The DI". Not only is Richard Brooks' directorial pacing as slow as a hypnotized elephant, and Elaine Stewart's limitations as an actress an effective subverter of all her scenes with Richard Widmark, but Millard Kaufman's screenplay, which inexplicably was nominated for an Oscar, (well, maybe not so inexplicably when you consider the aesthetics of the Academy), both fails to set up the key conflicts between Widmark and his GI charges until midway through the film and then too quickly and neatly and happily resolves all of them. The result is a too sanitized, emotionally and dramatically uninvolving movie that, were it not for the usual good work of Widmark and Karl Malden, would be completely unwatchable. Solid C.
PS...Is it just me or is the great black and white, noir-ish cinematographer John Alton not at his best in Ft. Bliss Texas, in color?
PS...Is it just me or is the great black and white, noir-ish cinematographer John Alton not at his best in Ft. Bliss Texas, in color?
Uninspiring
drjgardner7 August 2016
All things considered there's nothing "wrong" with this film, but there isn't much right with it anyway.There are far more engaging films about basic training. The "DI" (1957) came out about this time and was far superior. Since then films like "The Boys of Company C" (1978), "An Officer and a Gentleman" (1982), "Full Metal Jacket" (1987) and "Tigerland" (2000) have all improved this genre. Of course nothing beats "Buck Privates" (1941) but that's an entirely different POV.
As far as the time period, consider that in the same year as this film came out, "From Here to Eternity" and "Stalag 17" appeared, and these were far superior films about war.
As far as the time period, consider that in the same year as this film came out, "From Here to Eternity" and "Stalag 17" appeared, and these were far superior films about war.
Two Combat Veterans Lead New Recruits Through Basic Training
shelton_harry7 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The staple of war movies is the Basic Training Movie, where raw recruits are transformed from peace loving civilians into competent and capable fighting men. Thorne Ryan (Richard Widmark) and subordinate LaVerne Holt (Karl Malden) have returned from combat duty in Korea to Fort Bliss, Texas where they are assigned Drill Sargent duty. Ryan loathes his seemingly thankless task of running the recruits through uniform issue, close order drill, and rifle cleaning, preferring instead to fight communists in Korea. Ryan starts his recruits off with the proclamation, "You will never make it!" Laverne seems more content in his job and is happy to be in his station. The two then proceed to train the cross section of city boys, country boys, educated boys, goof-balls, idiots and klutzes into fighting machines.
Two subplots emerge; first the meeting of Julie Mollison (Elaine Stewart), the ex-wife of a combat casualty, who it is suggested to somehow have brought about the soldier's death by her desertion of their marriage after he deployed. Ryan and Holt, nevertheless, compete for her affections. Ryan holds her with disdain at the outset, but is soon overcome by her seeming helplessness. Holt does not care to judge her at all. He accepts her as she is. Julie seems to only to like the soldier with the highest rank.
The other weaker subplot involves the rivalry between Sargents, pitting Ryan against a Master Sargent who outranks him but does not have the hallowed Infantry Badge (a symbol of combat experience). There are the requisite fights and male posturing typical in military situations. The young recruits suffer exhaustion, panic, and rage at their Drill Instructors as they master the craft of soldiering. The location of the border town of El Paso provides an interesting twist in the off duty experiences of the recruits where they somehow find the only Anglo woman in the bars of Juarez while the Mexican women populate the background shots with barely any attention at all.
One of the stars of the movie is the desert background of El Paso, Texas where location filming took place. The end of the movie is somewhat predictable and comes off as a recruiting tool for the U.S. Army, but as war buddy movies go this one has sufficient tension to keep most viewers entertained.
Two subplots emerge; first the meeting of Julie Mollison (Elaine Stewart), the ex-wife of a combat casualty, who it is suggested to somehow have brought about the soldier's death by her desertion of their marriage after he deployed. Ryan and Holt, nevertheless, compete for her affections. Ryan holds her with disdain at the outset, but is soon overcome by her seeming helplessness. Holt does not care to judge her at all. He accepts her as she is. Julie seems to only to like the soldier with the highest rank.
The other weaker subplot involves the rivalry between Sargents, pitting Ryan against a Master Sargent who outranks him but does not have the hallowed Infantry Badge (a symbol of combat experience). There are the requisite fights and male posturing typical in military situations. The young recruits suffer exhaustion, panic, and rage at their Drill Instructors as they master the craft of soldiering. The location of the border town of El Paso provides an interesting twist in the off duty experiences of the recruits where they somehow find the only Anglo woman in the bars of Juarez while the Mexican women populate the background shots with barely any attention at all.
One of the stars of the movie is the desert background of El Paso, Texas where location filming took place. The end of the movie is somewhat predictable and comes off as a recruiting tool for the U.S. Army, but as war buddy movies go this one has sufficient tension to keep most viewers entertained.
Solid Korean War movie
HotToastyRag1 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Real life friends Richard Widmark and Karl Malden made a few movies together, but the most enjoyable is Take the High Ground! Since they play fellow soldiers training young kids in boot camp together. The setting is the Korean War, and Dick is anxious to get transferred back to active duty. As a result, he's a little harsh with the new recruits - but when some of the kids have that "Daddy-O" attitude, like Russ Tamblyn, you really can't blame him. His job is to toughen those kids up for war, and it's not going to be easy.
Nominated for Best Screenplay at the Academy Awards, Millard Kaufman's solid screenplay only took a dip when the romance came into play. I would have enjoyed the movie far better if it focused solely on the boot camp experience. I liked seeing Russ and the other kids mature, and as the movie continued, we got to understand Dick's point of view more.
But one night on leave, Dick and Karl get drunk in Mexico and both fall in love with the same woman they meet in a bar: Elaine Stewart. Their friendship is tested, but neither one of them is really given a "true love" romance to make you understand why it becomes so important in their lives. The ending of the film (no spoilers here, don't worry) is very touching, though. If you're looking for a Korean War movie, you won't find many. Take the High Ground!, Retreat, Hell!, and One Minute to Zero are some of the very few Hollywood made at the time, and they're all pretty good. In fact, Retreat, Hell! Won Best Picture at the Hot Toasty Rag awards of 1952.
Nominated for Best Screenplay at the Academy Awards, Millard Kaufman's solid screenplay only took a dip when the romance came into play. I would have enjoyed the movie far better if it focused solely on the boot camp experience. I liked seeing Russ and the other kids mature, and as the movie continued, we got to understand Dick's point of view more.
But one night on leave, Dick and Karl get drunk in Mexico and both fall in love with the same woman they meet in a bar: Elaine Stewart. Their friendship is tested, but neither one of them is really given a "true love" romance to make you understand why it becomes so important in their lives. The ending of the film (no spoilers here, don't worry) is very touching, though. If you're looking for a Korean War movie, you won't find many. Take the High Ground!, Retreat, Hell!, and One Minute to Zero are some of the very few Hollywood made at the time, and they're all pretty good. In fact, Retreat, Hell! Won Best Picture at the Hot Toasty Rag awards of 1952.
Cute to Watch
paulm-1891023 January 2021
I watched this movie for the first time and then read a few of the reviews. Not to call out any of the reviewers, as we all have our opinions, but I felt this was, for the most part, a very hokey film about basic training. I tried to keep in mind the year it was produced, but found some of the scenes entirely unrealistic. When the recruits first arrived and are greeted by Sergeants Ryan & Holt, there is a lot of talking in formation, smiling, and friendly chit chat back and forth with the sergeants. During formations in the barracks, the recruits are casually talking with the sergeants. In other scenes during basic training, there was gum chewing, fights, and other instances that I just found too hard to believe. I will concur with another review which called in something to the effect of a summer camp for adults. It some scenes, it was just too silly to take seriously.
It's somewhat entertaining, but there are far more realistic movies covering basic training. This movie didn't even come close, not once, to what I experienced October 1969, Fort Bragg, NC. Not even remotely close, but then again, maybe this was how it was in the early 50's?? Anyone?
It's somewhat entertaining, but there are far more realistic movies covering basic training. This movie didn't even come close, not once, to what I experienced October 1969, Fort Bragg, NC. Not even remotely close, but then again, maybe this was how it was in the early 50's?? Anyone?
Conventional but entertaining Boot Camp movie
lorenellroy10 June 2003
An opening scene set in the Korean war combat zone leads us ,briefly , to expect a war movie but the picture is actually about the training of a new batch of army recruits at Fort Bliss ,Texas .The drill instructor is teak tough Sergeant Ryan ( Richard Widmark )who bullies , browbeats and cajoles the assorted recruits into effective soldiers.His methods ar harsh but effective and bring him into conflict with the somewhat more avuncular sergeant played by Karl Malden
The recruits are a mixed bag --the black ,poetry reading intellectual ,the farm boy ,a brash young kid ,a Native American etc .The army as melting pot , in other words ,coming together as a smoothly functioning machine.
It is pretty obviously an "approved " movie shot at an actual training camp and this is not the revisionist view of the military that was so prominent in the following decade but a picture that could well be designed as a recruitment vehicle. Elaine Stewart as the girl who comes between the two sergeants is the only major female star in an otherwise testosterone heavy picture heavy on male bonding and the military virtues .Widmark is as ever excellent ,and he is backed up by the always reliable Malden.
A strong genre piece and a reminder that military excellence is not achieved by accident.
The recruits are a mixed bag --the black ,poetry reading intellectual ,the farm boy ,a brash young kid ,a Native American etc .The army as melting pot , in other words ,coming together as a smoothly functioning machine.
It is pretty obviously an "approved " movie shot at an actual training camp and this is not the revisionist view of the military that was so prominent in the following decade but a picture that could well be designed as a recruitment vehicle. Elaine Stewart as the girl who comes between the two sergeants is the only major female star in an otherwise testosterone heavy picture heavy on male bonding and the military virtues .Widmark is as ever excellent ,and he is backed up by the always reliable Malden.
A strong genre piece and a reminder that military excellence is not achieved by accident.
A Recruiting Poster Has More Personality
LeonLouisRicci27 February 2015
Dull, Clichéd, and Uninteresting Boot Camp Movie with Nothing Much to say except these are America's Fighting Men and the Military is well, the Military. This is without doubt the most Boring Film Ever made about Drill Sergeants and the "Young People" They turn into Soldiers.
Richard Widmark, Karl Malden, and Director Richard Brooks Can Not Save this Conservative Piece of Propaganda and elevate it beyond the Mundane. The Soldiers mostly Overact, especially Russ Tamblyn, and the Film is made in such a Pedestrian way that as Entertainment it Fails Miserably.
Unlike the WWII Films of the Forties, This one, Ironically like the Korean Conflict, comes Off as Half Hearted, listless, and Uncommitted. It is Truly one of the most Unimpressive Movies ever made about the Military, Soldiers, or War. A Failure from Frame One.
Note The Movie does reflect the newly implemented integration of the Army and gives a Black Actor a prominent Role.
Richard Widmark, Karl Malden, and Director Richard Brooks Can Not Save this Conservative Piece of Propaganda and elevate it beyond the Mundane. The Soldiers mostly Overact, especially Russ Tamblyn, and the Film is made in such a Pedestrian way that as Entertainment it Fails Miserably.
Unlike the WWII Films of the Forties, This one, Ironically like the Korean Conflict, comes Off as Half Hearted, listless, and Uncommitted. It is Truly one of the most Unimpressive Movies ever made about the Military, Soldiers, or War. A Failure from Frame One.
Note The Movie does reflect the newly implemented integration of the Army and gives a Black Actor a prominent Role.
Familiar territory, but wow was that Sergeant a nut-job!!
planktonrules12 September 2010
This is a very, very familiar sort of film. It features a group of raw recruits going through basic training with a tough as nails Sergeant--the same sort of thing you'd see in "Battle Cry", "Sands of Iwo Jima" and even "Full Metal Jacket" and a bazillion other war flicks made by Hollywood. There are only a few other differences--this was a Korean War-era film (and they didn't make all that many compared to the more 'popular' wars like WWII) and the Sergeant really is a nut-job! While other Sergeants SEEM like crazy men, Richard Widmark's version really is emotionally disturbed--like the sort of guy you might see on "The Jerry Springer Show" as they slap or get slapped by their woman! And, since there are so many BETTER but similar sorts of films, my recommendation is to see them first. This one isn't bad, but I just felt that the psychological aspects of it and the twisted relationship between Widmark and a lady me loved to emotionally torment really detracted from the movie.
What to dislike about the film--Widmark was a nut. What to like--Karl Malden was very good, as always.
What to dislike about the film--Widmark was a nut. What to like--Karl Malden was very good, as always.
Many interesting elements inside and outside of training.
mark.waltz19 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
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.
You Know the Drill
wes-connors6 August 2010
At Fort Bliss, Texas in 1953, tough-as-nails drill sergeant Richard Widmark (as Thorne Ryan) prepares the usual motley crew of potential soldiers for service, humphing, "You will never make it!" Assistant sergeant Karl Malden (as Laverne Holt) gives Mr. Widmark a knowing look. Probably, he's seen Widmark whip a series of recruits into fighting shape. In fact, the film might even end with a reprise of the opening scene. Beautiful widow Elaine Stewart (as Julie Mollison) provides the star with romantic interest. "Take the High Ground!" covers familiar territory with no imagination. Everyone is competent, with supporting actor Russ Tamblyn (as Paul Jamison) obviously kicking it up a notch.
***** Take the High Ground! (10/30/53) Richard Brooks ~ Richard Widmark, Karl Malden, Elaine Stewart, Russ Tamblyn
***** Take the High Ground! (10/30/53) Richard Brooks ~ Richard Widmark, Karl Malden, Elaine Stewart, Russ Tamblyn
It went downhill
aa567 September 2004
I could tell this plot less film would go downhill from the beginning. In the opening scene we see a platoon of soldiers attacking a North Korean position, and one of them casually stops for a drink and is shot by an enemy soldier with a U.S. Army M1 rifle! That a real soldier would do this under fire, and that the props department couldn't afford an AK-47 speaks volumes about this film.
Then we go to Fort Bliss for what is supposed to be boot camp but is actually a summer camp for teenagers. I say this as an Army veteran.
Richard Widmark was on loan to the studio that made this film, but I think he should have remained with his contract studio, for I don't believe "Take the High Ground" was a milestone of his career.
Then we go to Fort Bliss for what is supposed to be boot camp but is actually a summer camp for teenagers. I say this as an Army veteran.
Richard Widmark was on loan to the studio that made this film, but I think he should have remained with his contract studio, for I don't believe "Take the High Ground" was a milestone of his career.
FULL METAL JACKET thirty years before
searchanddestroy-124 November 2022
At least Kubrick's film for its first part; in other words, the best movie ever made about military drills in a boot camp, far better for me than Ridley Scott's GI JANE, just a joke for me. Here, Richard Widmark is simply awesome, though the story could have been far darker, more dramatic, but I think the director Richard Brooks refused the idea to "disgust" the bulk of his audiences with a too gloomy atmosphere. The purpose was to denounce the harsh, brutal, sadistic methods of the US ARMY, or Marine Corps. That's what I got, what I understoood. And I was very amused to discover that, in the late eighties, a commercial for Lucky Strike cigarettes used a man with a face very close to Widmark's one for a sequence taking place precisely in a boot camp, where the sadistic instructor - with Widmark's face - pushes the young soldiers beyond the human resistance limit, showing that they were not lucky, like the cigarette brand.... Not very subtle but that tribute amused me much.
Undistinguished, To Say The Least
dougdoepke31 December 2013
An utterly routine military film, minus anything that might distinguish it from the many other recruiting posters of the time, e.g. The DI (1957), Battle Cry (1955), et al. Except for the first few minutes of combat in Korea, the remainder is taken up with Basic Training at Fort Bliss, TX. Widmark gets the stereotypical role of an emotionally crippled drill sergeant, while Malden is wasted as his straight-arrow assistant. Third billed Stewart is the required love interest, who unfortunately is all hair and little talent. The remainder of the cast fills out the ranks of recruit trainees, with the usual array of witty or problem personalities. The movie's one notable feature turns up in the multi-racial ranks of the trainees, a relatively new updating for Hollywood.
As a guy who went through Basic (at Ft. Bliss in the 60's), I have to agree with reviewer bkoganbing. Many of the incidents portrayed in the film would never have occurred in real training, especially Malden slugging Widmark in front of the trainees. But I guess the screenplay needed more action at that point. Then too, the language was really cleaned up for public viewing. I had to laugh every time Widmark benignly called the recruits "young people".
What surprises me is the movie's director, Richard Brooks. How he got the job of supervising this sort of pablum is a puzzle, having built a reputation for highly serious work as a screenwriter, Brute Force (1948), Crossfire (1947), et al. Anyway, the movie is fairly typical of the sanitized type of military drama of the 1950's, before the stark realities of Vietnam sank in. (Contrast Basic Training here with it's more starkly realistic counterpart in Full Metal Jacket {1987}.) All in all, Take The High Ground is little more than a bland period curiosity.
As a guy who went through Basic (at Ft. Bliss in the 60's), I have to agree with reviewer bkoganbing. Many of the incidents portrayed in the film would never have occurred in real training, especially Malden slugging Widmark in front of the trainees. But I guess the screenplay needed more action at that point. Then too, the language was really cleaned up for public viewing. I had to laugh every time Widmark benignly called the recruits "young people".
What surprises me is the movie's director, Richard Brooks. How he got the job of supervising this sort of pablum is a puzzle, having built a reputation for highly serious work as a screenwriter, Brute Force (1948), Crossfire (1947), et al. Anyway, the movie is fairly typical of the sanitized type of military drama of the 1950's, before the stark realities of Vietnam sank in. (Contrast Basic Training here with it's more starkly realistic counterpart in Full Metal Jacket {1987}.) All in all, Take The High Ground is little more than a bland period curiosity.
Most likely served as basis for The D.I. (1957)
vmwrites6 September 2004
The 1957 Jack Webb classic, "The D.I." bears a close relationship to "Take the High Ground," from its general theme to the presence of an inept recruit, to the main character's romance with a young woman who lives close to the base.
In the Jack Webb (Marine) version, Gunnery Sergeant Jim Moore (Webb) takes on a platoon with the usual selection of raw recruits, but one who is particularly troublesome. In the Richard Widmark (Army) version, the same thing happens, with a troublesome and troubled recruit. In both versions, the recruit makes an attempt to go over the wall, and in both versions, the tough but compassionate training sergeant stops the escape and molds the recruit into shape.
In both versions, the love interest is a woman who has been emotionally scarred by a former romance with a serviceman who had been killed in combat.
In both versions, there is a fellow training sergeant that frustrates and annoys the main character into a showdown fistfight.
At the end of both movies, the cast is reprised, with their names. The only difference is that in the MGM version (Take the High Ground), the entire platoon are actors. In the Mark VII version (The D.I.), the platoon was played by real Marines. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~' For those unfamiliar with military lingo, "boot camp" is generally used to refer to Navy recruit training (or Marine training), whereas the Army uses the term "Basic Training." In a similar vein, the Navy refers to combat simulation encampments as "maneuvers," whereas the Army uses the term "bivouac."
Both movies are excellent films.
In the Jack Webb (Marine) version, Gunnery Sergeant Jim Moore (Webb) takes on a platoon with the usual selection of raw recruits, but one who is particularly troublesome. In the Richard Widmark (Army) version, the same thing happens, with a troublesome and troubled recruit. In both versions, the recruit makes an attempt to go over the wall, and in both versions, the tough but compassionate training sergeant stops the escape and molds the recruit into shape.
In both versions, the love interest is a woman who has been emotionally scarred by a former romance with a serviceman who had been killed in combat.
In both versions, there is a fellow training sergeant that frustrates and annoys the main character into a showdown fistfight.
At the end of both movies, the cast is reprised, with their names. The only difference is that in the MGM version (Take the High Ground), the entire platoon are actors. In the Mark VII version (The D.I.), the platoon was played by real Marines. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~' For those unfamiliar with military lingo, "boot camp" is generally used to refer to Navy recruit training (or Marine training), whereas the Army uses the term "Basic Training." In a similar vein, the Navy refers to combat simulation encampments as "maneuvers," whereas the Army uses the term "bivouac."
Both movies are excellent films.
Basic training during Korean war with a stellar performance by Richard Widmark.
rogercg126 June 2010
This is an overlooked military film about basic training during the Korean War. Although it's far less probing and gut-wrenching than "Full Metal Jacket," it's still an enjoyable movie with a stellar performance by Richard Widmark. It's one of his best roles. There are also fine performances by Karl Malden, Carleton Carpenter, Robert Arthur, a very athletic Russ Tamblyn, and Elaine Stewart delivers a poignant and tender portrayal as the troubled Julie (God, she is beautiful here!)Most of the scenes were shot at Fort Bliss, Texas. Yes, it's formula in many ways, but what makes it work is Widmark, surely one of the most underrated actors ever in the movies. He died in 2008 at the age of 93. For years, friends in the Motion Picture Academy tried to get him an honorary Oscar, but the votes were never there. So, watch "Take the High Ground" for Widmark. He'll evoke sympathy and you'll care about him. Oh,by the way,few actors have ever offered so many variations of a simple smile. You'll see them on display here. Young actors take note.
Straightforward story of one Sergeant's mission to prepare recruits for war.
TxMike30 December 2004
Warning: Spoilers
(No spoilers in this first paragraph.) The movie opens with a scene depicting a 1951 battle in Korea, Sgt. Thorne (Richard Widmark) is leading his men to take a high ridge held by enemy machine guns, when one of his men was shot and killed while stopping for a drink of water. They took the ridge after Thorne threw a grenade. Cut to 1953, training new Army recruits at Ft. Bliss near El Paso, Texas. Thorne's attitude is no matter how hard basic training is, war is even harder. The whole movie is about his desire to whip ragtag men into a strong, disciplined fighting group so that they will not be killed. A love interest is thrown in, Julie played by Elain Stewart, but the training of recruits is the thrust of this movie. Karl Malden also stars as the other Sergeant, Holt, subordinate to Thorne. Russ Tamblyn was featured as one of the recruits.
Some spoilers follow in my miscellaneous observations.
Much shown during basic training. Men are in chaos. Focus on Tamblyn who seems especially deficient but interesting. Training gets progressively harder, each recruit needs special attention. Rifle training by shooting through Widmark's wide spread legs, Tamblyn does his signature backflip on obstacle course, tear gas test for gas mask, horseplay in the barracks.
On shooting range, Tamblyn is told he missed, "Missed? Must have gone through the same hole!"
Night out, cross border to Mexico. Pretty girl (Julie) at bar with three recruits. Later Widmark suggests guys get back to base, getting late, she joins Malden and Widmark who take an interest, she mostly drunk, "property of US Army", they take her home, she passes out, put on couch, covered, they leave. Turns out she had left her Army husband who then was killed.
Widmark's hard-ass style pits him against Malden, they scuffle.
"Darling, you can't try to have fun, you either have it or you don't" (Widmark to Julie)
End of training, parade grounds, platoon has been transformed, precision unit, march in front of new recruits in disarray, "You poor miserable people will never make it!", as trained platoon boards the train. The cycle will repeat.
Some spoilers follow in my miscellaneous observations.
Much shown during basic training. Men are in chaos. Focus on Tamblyn who seems especially deficient but interesting. Training gets progressively harder, each recruit needs special attention. Rifle training by shooting through Widmark's wide spread legs, Tamblyn does his signature backflip on obstacle course, tear gas test for gas mask, horseplay in the barracks.
On shooting range, Tamblyn is told he missed, "Missed? Must have gone through the same hole!"
Night out, cross border to Mexico. Pretty girl (Julie) at bar with three recruits. Later Widmark suggests guys get back to base, getting late, she joins Malden and Widmark who take an interest, she mostly drunk, "property of US Army", they take her home, she passes out, put on couch, covered, they leave. Turns out she had left her Army husband who then was killed.
Widmark's hard-ass style pits him against Malden, they scuffle.
"Darling, you can't try to have fun, you either have it or you don't" (Widmark to Julie)
End of training, parade grounds, platoon has been transformed, precision unit, march in front of new recruits in disarray, "You poor miserable people will never make it!", as trained platoon boards the train. The cycle will repeat.
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