Diagonaldi Very well executed

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Forumrxes Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

jarrodmcdonald-1 When viewing The Steel Helmet I had to keep reminding myself that this was made and shown to audiences while the Korean War was actually in its earliest stages. Writer-Director Samuel Fuller smartly depicts the relationship of an American soldier and a Korean boy in a non-stereotypical, yet poignant way. Needless to say, it is devastating when the boy is killed in the line of fire. There are some loose ends in this picture, though, that leave the viewer with unanswered questions. For example, it may have helped to know more about what led one of the characters, a conscientious objector, to eventually join the military. Also, viewers would probably like to know what it was like for the black medic to get drafted. His lines regarding segregation and sitting on the back of the bus give us a unique window into another culture. He has come upon foreign land with the hope that civil rights are not only valued back home in the U.S., but also in an Asiatic battlefront threatened by the encroachment of communism.

zetes The first movie ever made about the Korean War, filmed only a few months into its start, this film is very much influenced by director Fuller's own WWII experience. Gene Evans stars as a cigar-chomping, hard-bitten last survivor of his regiment. He joins up with a small Korean boy, whom he nicknames Short Round (obviously Spielberg and Lucas took the name for Indiana Jones' little Asian sidekick in Temple of Doom), and they eventually find a bunch of other survivors. The group holes themselves up in a Buddhist temple and create an observation post. Soon, they are surrounded by the enemy. This was obviously cheaply done, but it's extremely well done for the price. The climactic battle scene does become a little silly, though. Evans in general is good, but his prickliness and know-it-all-ness started to get on my nerves after a while. Still, very good.

pdodig-3 I remember seeing this film when it was first released back in 1951. I am quite sure there was a scene deleted from the versions now being shown. When Sgt Zack and the squad come upon a group of Korean refugee's, he shoots a North Korean soldier, on a hunch, posing as a woman. The Lt. & Zack argue about the shooting.If you recall, earlier in the film, the Lt. (Steve Brodie's character) has a disagreement, with Zack about getting the dog tags of a dead American GI that causes the death of the soldier sent to get the tags. Zack remarked that it would be wise not to touch the body. The Lt. ordered the tags be retrieved, causing resentment between both of them.I could be mistaken but the film's continuity seems to jump ahead during the refugee sequence. I could be wrong, fifty-eight years dulls the memory.

Scarecrow-88 A grumpy infantry sergeant, a South Korean kid, and a black Medic officer meet each other within the war torn wilderness of Korea, soon lending a helping hand to a troop of green officers, who will engage in combat with a flurry of North Korean soldiers, their fort and refuge a Buddhist temple.Gene Evans plays the hard, snake-skin tough infantry soldier who seems to put his priorities over everyone else, but is the first in line when it comes to engage in combat with the enemy. He's an imperfect, flesh-and-blood man who lays it on the line when needed the most..an admirable, but flawed character which adds a realism often missing from films during this period in cinema. William Chun is the Buddhist child who Evans grows fond of(..although, he puts up a front as if he doesn't)often writing prayers for those he feels need them. James Edwards is the black medic(..who patches up Evans and others), a dependable, wise man, thankfully a role that transcends the use of African-American actors, and Richard Loo lands a great role as a Japanese American Sgt, who actually assists Evans in downing North Korean soldiers shooting from atop trees in an early sequence. The film voices aloud racism and how minorities have been singled out in unfortunate ways at home..by a North Korean POW, no less, they capture within the Buddhist temple. The combat sequence at the end, between the limited American troops in the temple against the North Korean battalion coming from the hills towards them, as bombs drop from afar, along with a tank blasting off and rounds of ammunition giving off smoke that's hard to see through, is astonishing.It's a testament to Sam Fuller's abilities as a director that he was able to make such a phenomenal little war film for such little money, in only a span of days. Fuller's script takes time establishing unique characterizations, anchored by Evans(..his experience in the field used to enhance his infantry man), and what I think makes STEEL HELMET such a success is how realistic and human they really are.