Good idea lost in the noise

A-maz-ing

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

From the comments and reviews, it seems that people think that this was a clumsily handled movie about racism. It isn't.Poitier plays a man with little practical experience, but the stripes that put him in charge. Ladd plays a man who has all the practical experience, but he lost his stripes due to unexplained incidents in his past.Poitier has to deal with one racist guy. That's all. The rest of the outfit, including Ladd, don't care if Poitier is black.Ladd comes close to rebelling against Poitier, but it has nothing to do with race. It has to do with Poitier's lack of experience. Even with their infighting, Ladd backs up Poitier every time there is action. Poitier was the first to run to save Alcalde. Ladd was the second.Another point that the reviewers don't like is Ladd's age. Go ask grampa. Lots of old timers fought in WWII and Korea. It isn't a stretch at all.And finally, there were many remarks about bad casting because they didn't use actual Koreans or Chinese. They filmed in the mountains of Montana. There wasn't a lot to choose from. The extras that they used not only were the wrong race, but were often holding the wrong weapons. That's life in a low budget flick. Nonetheless, the people that think this is a movie that champions racial equality are also the same people that accuse this movie of racism as far as the extras. Go figger. I suppose some people can have it both ways.I've always loved Poitier. He has done many movies where race dominates. This isn't one of them. He's just a guy who is in over his head and he tries to do his best.

The U.S. armed forces were officially desegregated in 1948, and the Korean War (1950-1953) was the first modern conflict in which Americans of every heritage fought side by side. This less-than-spectacular GI movie -- albeit with a couple of big names -- is one of the few instances in which Hollywood has dealt with racial tensions in "America's Forgotten War."The story, set in the dead of a Korean winter, focuses on a squad of Marines holed up in a farmhouse behind Chinese lines. The two main characters are the unit's only black member (played by Sidney Poitier) and its oldest and most seasoned member (played by Alan Ladd). When the young black man finds himself thrust into command of his comrades, the white old-timer is resentful.Poitier and Ladd are the best part of the movie. These two pros have great "anti-chemistry." They play off each other superbly, portraying a mutual dislike that has a grudging undertone of respect. When "All the Young Men" was made, Ladd's star was sinking and Poitier's was rising, and that gives an added poignancy to their confrontation.Unfortunately, the movie doesn't give Ladd's character any identifiable racial motivation, however misguided. Instead, the sin of bigotry is embodied in a lone Marine, a stereotypical white Southerner (played by veteran TV villain Paul Richards). He's not just a racist, he's loathsome in every way. This is a cop-out. Institutionalized racism would never have lasted so long without the acquiescence or subtle support of many "decent" people.And speaking of cop-outs, why does a movie about racial issues give us a Korea almost devoid of Asians? The "Chinese" soldiers keep their faces covered. The main Korean character is played by an Argentine actress wearing Charlie Chan-style eye makeup. In 1960, this sort of thing should have been over. (Though the character sounds Latin American, the movie's explanation of her looks and accent is that she is half-French. The French presence in Korea was never very great, but apparently Hollywood was already starting to confuse Korea with Indochina.)I have to mention the motley crew of supporting characters. The casting is truly offbeat, with such non-actors as comedian Mort Sahl and boxing great Ingemar Johansson. James Darren is on hand to carry a rifle and sing a song, and even Johansson warbles a tune. The least believable scene in the film (and many are none too convincing) is when combat-weary Marines laugh themselves silly over Sahl's meandering monologue about bureaucracy and society. It's the kind of jabber that would put real Marines to sleep.Returning briefly to the issues of race and realism, the character of "Chief," who's supposed to be a Navajo Indian, is played by an actor who looks nothing like a Navajo. But at least he's not wearing eye makeup.

***SPOILERS*** Picked off by a Communist Chinese sniper USMC Let. Earl Toland, Charles Quinlivan, as he's about to go under turns over command of his squad to the green and inexperienced in leading men into combat Sgt. Eddie Towler,Sidney Poitier. The thing that ticks off the men that Sgt. Towers is now in charge of is not that he's green and inexperienced but that he's black! And it's now up to Sgt. Towers, who didn't want the job anyway, to lead them out of the wilderness, or Communist North Korea, and across the 38th parallel before the Chinese Communist and their North Korean allies make mince meat out of all of them!Under Sgt. Towers' command and leadership the men in his unit capture a key position, a farm house, that's the only place where a battalion of some 1,000 retreating US Marines can make it to safety and link up with UN forces to the south preventing them from being massacred by the Communist forces. It's that position that Sgt. Towers is determined to hold to the last man grenade and round of ammunition even if he ends up being killed by one of his fellow Marines in doing it!As the Communist Chinese key in on Sgt. Towers position tensions beings to build up between him an the Marines under his command. Sgt. Kincaid, Alan Ladd, who felt that he being in the Corps for 11 years was passed over in favor of Sgt. Towers never lets him forget about it. Still Kincaid knows that by bickering with each other will only give the surrounding Communist Chinese the advantage in overrunning the farm house and reluctantly takes orders from him. It's the racist Pvt. Bracken, Paul Richards, who never lets up in letting Sgt. Towers know where to stay in his place ,the back of the bus or squad, that really gets under Sgt.Towers' black skin.The both racist as well as horny Pvt. Bracken really goes over the top when after getting good and drunk on Korean home made wine attempts to rape Eurasian, half French and half Oriental, woman of the house Maya, Ann Maria Lynch. It's then that Sgt. Towers who tried to tolerate him, for the both good and safety of the Marine unit, lost his cool and not only worked Bracken over but almost has him shot for undisciplined and un-US Marine Corps conduct! The Communist Chinese using human wave assault tactics slowly ground down the Marines defending the farmhouse and it's now up to Sgt. Towers to make the faithful decision to either abundant the farm house and leave the 1,000 US Marines who need it to brake through commie lines to their fate or die defending it!The Chinese Communists bringing in their big guns, tanks and amour units, for a final breakthrough has both Sgt. Towers and Kincaid try to disable the lead tank with Molotov cocktails, they by then ran out of grenades, with Kincaid ending up almost roasted alive in the fighting! Needing an immediate blood transfusion as well as leg amputation to save his life Kincaid is saved by both the skillful surgery, his in fact first amputation, of medic Pvt. Wade, Glenn Corbett, and Sgt. Towers who donated at least three pints of blood-O positive-to keep Kincaid from going under just like Let. Toland did earlier in the movie.***SPOILERS*** With what now looked like the end for Sgt. Towers and his Marines with the Chinese Communist troops making a major assault on the farm house the US Calvary or USAF finally comes to their rescue. As the US Air Force saber jets start blasting the Chinese Reds to bits an elated Sgt. Towers going along with them, as ground support, picks them off one by one, sniper style, with his sub-machine-gun as they try to run for cover! P.S The movie also has the then Heavyweight Champion of the World Ingemar Johansson as recently naturalized American citizen and Swedish immigrant GI Torgil. Despite his being the champ in real life Johansson instead of fighting was seen in the film mostly singing Swedish folk songs to keep the men in his Marine unit entertained!

During the Korean War, up in the snowy mountains, a marine platoon is attacked and their lieutenant is killed. But just before he dies he places the platoon sergeant, Eddie Towler, in charge. Towler is black and has to get his men to safety amidst racial tension and constant in fighting.All The Young Men is a Saturday afternoon time filler of a movie. Not brilliant, but certainly not bad. Sidney Poitier takes the lead role as Towler and gives it his usual guts and emotional thunder. Alongside Poitier is Alan Ladd, who at 47 was coming to the end of his career. Now if one can cast aside that Ladd was a bit old to be bombing around the snow laden mountains, then his interplay with Poitier is actually very good. It certainly gives the character's edge, and thus keeps the picture being the character driven piece it's meant to be.This is no stock war film with blitzkrieg battles and dirty dozen like shenanigans, this is men holed up in a mountain station forced to win the battles amongst themselves in order to win the war. Nicely shot in stark black and white on location at the Glacier National Park, Montana, All The Young Men is very much a mood piece. Odd then that the makers shoehorn in some light relief courtesy of Mort Sahl's Corporal Crane. It's not Sahl's fault of course, but it doesn't sit right in context with the story. It's as if someone said to director and writer Hall Bartlett, you can't make an overtly bleak mood piece, put some fun in there!Still this was one I had a real good time with, partly because of its two lead actors and partly because of the locale. It's recommended on proviso that you expect character over action, oh yes sir. 7/10