R | 1h 37m | Drama, War | 1959
Before I was stationed in South Korea (not far from the DMZ, or demilitarized zone), I didn’t know that much about the Korean War. We were taught about the Vietnam War and World Wars I and II in school, but the Korean War seemed absent from academia, in general.
Instead of focusing on the earlier battles in the Korean War, “Pork Chop Hill” takes place in 1953, during the months leading up to the end of the war. Peck plays a no-nonsense officer named Lt. Joe Clemons, who leads K Company of the 7th Infantry Division. His unit has set up a reserve position near Pork Chop Hill and is facing a numerically superior force of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army.
Many of the men under Clemons’s command aren’t exactly thrilled about being there since the Panmunjeom cease-fire negotiations between Western forces and their communist counterparts are taking place only 70 miles away. In other words, it probably won’t be long before a peace agreement is reached, and the soldiers are eager to return home to the United States.
On top of that, everyone knows that Pork Chop Hill isn’t of military importance, but it’s rather an objective that can be used as a diplomatic bargaining chip for both sides of the conflict when it comes to the cease-fire negotiations.
Pfc. Forstman (Harry Guardino) is one of several grunts who lurk around the unit’s main command bunker. Anytime there is an incoming communication, he and the others listen intently to the radio operator to see if the U.S. Army High Command will be sending them home.
After one of the radio calls, Clemons’s face darkens and everyone soon learns that they have orders to attack Pork Chop Hill with everything they’ve got. The only problem is that the communists had already taken over the hill in a previous battle and have since fortified it against incursion. The enemy also broadcasts propaganda down to the soldiers from the top of the hill on a regular basis, much to their annoyance.
Clemons and his executive officer, Lt. Suki Ohashi (George Shibata), go to meet with the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Davis (Barry Atwater), and together they plan the nighttime assault. Clemons will lead K Company up one side of Pork Chop Hill but is concerned about a large uncovered flank area that could potentially spell trouble. However, Davis assures him that another unit, L Company, will arrive during the assault to cover that sector.
A Realistic War Scene
The assault itself is portrayed with a great degree of realism. There’s a lot of suspense that builds up as the men of K Company slink up the hill under the cover of night. The whispered banter back and forth between the grunts is believable, which isn’t that surprising since the film was co-written by U.S. military historian Brig. Gen. S.L.A. Marshall, who served in World War I and II as well as the Korean War (and wrote the book that the film is based on, “Pork Chop Hill: The American Fighting Man in Action”).The casting is superb, with actors who would either go on to become film and TV stars or were already on their way. These include George Peppard, James Edwards, the aforementioned Harry Guardino, George Shibata, Harry Dean Stanton, Martin Landau, Norman Fell, Robert Blake, and Woody Strode.
The action on display isn’t sugar-coated; all that’s missing (because of censors at the time) from the gritty battle sequences themselves is cursing. There is a particularly harrowing scene in which the K Company soldiers are attempting to make their way up the hill, and while their alerted enemy is firing down at them, massive spotlights shine on the grunts from an unknown source, exposing them in the darkness. Much to the soldiers’ chagrin, they discover that the lights are coming from friendly forces that are mistaking them for the enemy. It reminds us that, just like friendly fire, potentially disastrous mistakes often happen in war.
Overall, “Pork Chop Hill” is an impressive war drama that stacks up well against the other Korean War movies I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing. It has plenty of hard-boiled action scenes, great writing and dialogue, and an ample cast of talented actors.
