FIXED BAYONETS! is an American-made Korean war movie about a platoon of soldiers who agree to fight a desperate rearguard action to hold off enemy troops to allow the rest of the army to depart from the area. The majority of the running time sees said platoon holed up in an icy cave and struggling to cope with everything the enemy throws at them.
This is a simply-plotted film without much in the way of characterisation, although the action scenes are well handled and emphasis suspense over effects, which is always good. Richard Basehart plays the sweating corporal who discovers himself inching nearer and nearer to command as each of his superiors is killed in turn by the fighting. It's this internal conflict which propels the story but I did find it largely stretched out and uninteresting. The camaraderie and dialogue scenes are well handled however and the humour is a welcome asset. Watch out for James Dean in a cameo role.
This is a simply-plotted film without much in the way of characterisation, although the action scenes are well handled and emphasis suspense over effects, which is always good. Richard Basehart plays the sweating corporal who discovers himself inching nearer and nearer to command as each of his superiors is killed in turn by the fighting. It's this internal conflict which propels the story but I did find it largely stretched out and uninteresting. The camaraderie and dialogue scenes are well handled however and the humour is a welcome asset. Watch out for James Dean in a cameo role.