THE HUNTERS 1958This 20th Century Fox Cinemascope production was director Dick Powell's follow up to the excellent 1957 war film, THE ENEMY BELOW. This one also stars Robert Mitchum in the lead role. This time however the action takes place in the air over Korea in 1952. Also in the cast are, Richard Egan, Lee Phillips, May Britt and Robert Wagner. This one starts at an Air base in Japan. Personal are off loaded from the States, then, transferred to their units in South Korea. Mitchum plays a World War Two veteran pilot with the nickname, "Ice Man". He is one cool and deadly pilot. This will be his first action flying jets (F-86) in combat. Commanding his unit is another WW2 vet, Richard Egan. Also in the squadron is Lee Phillips, who has an over fondness for beverages of the alcohol variety. Staying in Japan is the pretty wife of Phillips, May Britt.The men end up at a base in Korea and are assigned to fly patrols in "Mig Alley", an area just south of the border with Red China. This is where the various Red Air forces are trying to gain the upper hand. Each side is out to eliminate the other using ambush tactics and flying skill. At the moment, the Americans have the upper hand, but not without losses on their part. There are several Red pilots making a name for themselves, particularly one who goes by the handle, Casey Jones. Of course Phillips' wife, May Britt and Mitchum are soon locking lips every time Mitchum is in Tokyo. But, as much as Mitchum would like to step up the action, he can see that Britt is still in love with Phillips. He makes it his mission to whip the drunk into a first rate pilot. Now enters hotshot jet jockey, Robert Wagner fresh from the States. The kid can fly, and after a rough start with Mitchum, is soon knocking Reds out of the sky at a fast rate. While on a patrol over Mig Alley, there is a nasty round of combat between the Americans and the Reds. Phillips is shot up and takes to his chute. Mitchum gets some payback by finally getting the best of the Red Ace, Casey Jones. He then decides to see where Phillips had bailed out.Mitchum spots Phillips hanging from a tree, and decides to crash land his Sabre nearby. He feels obligated to help Phillips. There is soon a squad of North Korean infantry closing in. Said infantry are shot up by Robert Wagner who is then shot down by ground fire. Mitchum and Wagner are now hauling the badly wounded Phillips towards the United Nations lines. They tackle a couple of North Korean soldiers at a guard post and arm themselves with several burp guns. Then they run into a family of refugees also heading south. Another squad of North Korean types show and liquidate the civilians. Wagner and Mitch step up and pay the Red swine in kind.Taking the dead civilians cart, they load up Phillips and continue south. They are soon grabbed up by a U.N. unit of Greeks and sent back for medical attention. Phillips is patched up and will be sent back to the States. Britt and Mitchum say their goodbyes as Britt thanks Mitch for saving her husband.For the most part, the film works quite well with some nicely handled action sequences. The film however slows to a snail's pace every time Miss Britt is on screen. The love triangle bit is just not needed, or should have been trimmed by a good 15 minutes. Still, it is a great looking Cinemascope production with excellent color. Powell does good work as the helmsman, while four time, Oscar nominated, Charles G Clarke, handles the cinematography duties.May Britt was another of a string of Swedish actresses who were to be the next, Ingrid Bergman. The list would include, Marta Toren, Viveca Lindfors, Signe Hasso and Inger Stevens. None of them were.

This was Dick Powell's last directorial assignment for 20th Century Fox, as it fulfilled his contract.The Hunters is a big, sprawling color film from 1958 about fighting the Korean War from the air. Robert Mitchum, Richard Egan, Lee Phillips, Robert Wagner, and May Britt star.Mitchum plays Ceve Saville, an older pilot looking to fly again. He becomes commander of an air squadron led by his old WWII leader, Dutch Imil (Egan). Ceve forms his squadron with a young, hep, hotshot pilot, Lt. Pell (Wagner), a gentler type, Corona (John Gabriel), an alcoholic, Carl Abbott (Phillips) and a more brazen type (Stacy Harris). Somehow they are successful in their missions.Meanwhile, Ceve falls for Abbott's beautiful and unhappy wife (Britt), and she with him. The flying sequences are wonderful, filmed over the southwest U.S., and one gets the idea of great speed. Very few models were used; it was mostly real jets. Very exciting.The rest of the film is fairly derivative. The acting was good, with Robert Wagner injecting some verve into the proceedings with his "mans" and "daddy-os." The last mission is especially poignant and involving.

Until reading the first review on this page I had no idea that the author of the novel, on which the film is loosely based, was born James Horowitz. My (late) father, Leonard Horowitz, a WWII veteran of the Normandy invasion, became an aerospace engineer and worked for Republic. He designed components of the cockpit air-conditioning system of the F84F Thunderstreak, the plane used in the movie to simulate MIG 15s. My dad also designed the hydraulic system of the landing gear on Republic's Mach II fighter bomber, the F105 Thunderchief, (aka the "Thud"). When I was 10, Dad took the family to an open house at the Farmingdale NY plant, during which the Thunderbirds performed. Afterward I used my saved up allowance for my first ride in an airplane, a 15 minute flight in a Cessna at adjacent Zahn's airport. Given this background I will watch any movie involving airplanes or spaceships. While my wife is out of town this weekend I will be at a theatre watching George Lucas' new movie "Red Tails."

Although James Salter's novel was the basis for the film The Hunters, the real inspiration dates much further back than that. In fact right back to the Old Testament where jet fighter ace Robert Mitchum faces the temptations of King David himself.This was the second of two films that Dick Powell directed starring Mitchum and the last big screen project Powell was ever involved in behind the camera. Mitchum, newly assigned to Korea and just checked out on the new jet fighters is assigned a squad with two big problems in it. The first is Lee Phillips who is drinking heavily and has brought his wife over to Japan where the squadron is based. The other problem is Robert Wagner, a would be Tom Cruise of his day with a smart mouth and a bad attitude.Bathsheba comes in the form of May Britt who is Phillips's wife and Mitchum falls hard for her. They call him the Ice Man because combat is just a game to him, but he's anything but ice around the curvaceous Britt.The troubles start when all three are downed over North Korea and have to get back to the South in which a wounded Phillips is a handicap. What happens to the trio making it back to their lines is what you see the film to find out.In Lee Server's book on Robert Mitchum it mentions that Mitchum originally signed on because he thought the film would be shot in the Orient and he would get a free trip there. Once signed sad to say the whole thing was shot stateside.The best thing about The Hunters are the aerial action sequences which aviation buffs should really like. The human performers are definitely outshone and outflown by the jet planes.