Stranded behind enemy lines, an American lieutenant tries to steer his troops to safety amid scattered sniper attacks in this Korean War movie starring Robert Ryan. The film feels heavily influenced by Sam Fuller (think 'Fixed Bayonets!'; 'The Steel Helmet') with a heavy emphasis on dialogue and the non-combat aspects of war. The movie also bears some similarity to John Ford's 'The Lost Patrol', though it is a decidedly more an episodic affair, with seeming every imaginable wartime horror (at times awkwardly) squeezed in. Episodic as the film may be, it remains a potent experience the whole way through. It is hard say what the film's most powerful scene is: a "sleeping" soldier discovered to be dead, a soldier driven mad after seeing a land mine, a close-up on a soldier's eyeball moving back and forth as he hears a sniper approach him from behind -- it is all very potent stuff. A subplot involving Aldo Ray as a soldier from another outfit obsessed with driving his shell-shocked colonel to the nearest hospital is initially jarring but ultimately blends in well too as we gradually see the genuine affection he has for his mentor, reluctantly forced by Ryan to postpone his quest to drive the sick man to safety. The film additionally benefits from a rousing if seldom used Elmer Berstein score and Ernest Haller's sumptuous black and white photography is very immersive.

A small group of survivors works through enemy territory to reach their HQ, along the way they meet a Sargent, a catatonic Colonel and their Jeep, who reluctantly join the fight. The 3 display heroics and are interesting characters who leave much for the viewer to consider long after the film. I found the lack of extras and huge enemy forces welcoming as it aided the sense of isolation and vulnerability the men feel. Also the metaphysical connection between the Jeep and the Colonal is a creative device. Not a great over all flick and it lacks some historical depth but it does have its powerful moments and does succeed at being what it is, a simple war story, not glamorous no glitzy.

Anthony Mann's low budget "Men in War" (1957) is notable for his not receiving any help from the Pentagon during filming. Seems the top brass at the Pentagon didn't approve of the script and its depiction of US soldiers without the slightest bit of discipline. Instead, Director Manns simply concentrated on the scenery and tightened the characterizations of his story. There's not much in the way of pyrotechnics or explosions in this film, but it's still worth a viewing mainly because of the performances of Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray. The plot centers on an infantry patrol that's cut off from their main element and deep inside enemy territory during the Korean War (circa 1950). Ryan is the only officer left and his platoon consists of battle-weary troopers Vic Morrow, Nehemiah Persoff, and L.Q. Jones. Nearly out on their feet from exhaustion, Ryan and his men encounter a speedy jeep with an out-of-control sergeant (Ray) and a near-comatose colonel (Robert Keith looking like a zombie). Ray's only concern is to get "his" colonel back to the rear but Ryan reluctantly recruits him (and the jeep) into the fight despite Ray's lousy attitude and erratic behavior. Ray turns out to be a cracker-jack soldier and spectacularly good with his automatic rifle, killing snipers and potential POWs with reckless abandon. He and Ryan have a parting-of-the-ways after Ray's continued insubordination, but their separation is brief. Meanwhile the North Koreans begin picking off Ryan's men one-by-one and soon there's only a skeleton force available to attempt a final albeit needless assault. Why Ryan allows his dwindling number of soldiers to try this suicide mission belies any tactical reasoning, but it does bring the film to a shattering conclusion. The comatose colonel miraculously wakes up in time to grab a rifle and join in the festivities. His bold actions shame old Aldo into rejoining the fight. When the dust clears only three men are left standing. Reinforcements arrive (late as usual) as the men contemplate their survival and the deaths of their comrades-in-arms.With his limited budget, director Anthony Mann does his best with the resources available. Having a heavyweight cast like Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Nehemiah Persoff etc. certainly helps his cause. Mann would later receive almost unlimited funds for epics such as "El Cid" and "The Fall of the Roman Empire." "Men in War" is not on the level of those films but it's a well-done movie with its own timely message of the futility and ravages of war.

For me this movie goes back a long way!! I saw it when it was first released in 1957, in "Ann Arbor"!! I was 10 years old! "Ann Arbor", at that time showed only "1st" run movies!! Even back then, I felt that something was wrong with, the scene with "James Edwards" I was 10 years old, and I felt that I would have never done, what "Killian"(the part played by "Edwards"), would have done! I also saw this scene in saving "Private Ryan", with "Ken Vesel", remember?? Even in the "tv" series "combat", you see it again!! What it is,is a "reluctance", "inability" or,"outright refusal" to portray "black" soldiers in a positive, competent light!! But then again, "who was writing the scripts"!! If you know what I mean??!! I enjoyed the movie none the less, then and now!! I saw this movie at the "Michigan" theater, when it was first released in "Ann Arbor"!! Just as an aside!!