Fixed Bayonets (1951)

Good, but not as gritty as "The Steel Helmet"

After seeing Sam Fuller's "Steel Helmet" on one of the classic channels (AMC or TCM), I bought this DVD expecting a movie of similar originality and grittiness. While "Steel Helmet" confronts the issue of racism with stark realism and grittiness, Fixed Bayonets takes a somewhat softer approach on the issue of cowardice versus leadership.

This movie describes the actions of a platoon left behind as rear-guard, to allow a badly mauled division to withdraw safely to regroup in the face of imminent Communist-Chinese attack. Richard Basehart gives a believable performance of a Corporal who shies from the thought of having to take command because he is afraid of making decisions that affect other mens' lives. Gene Evans, with an equally good performance, plays the Sergeant who ultimately convinces the Corporal that the yellow streak is not permanent. Ultimately, the Corporal's cowardice dissolves away when he confronts the responsability that is thrust upon him. Unfortunately, this point is made rather laborousily and the movie seems to lumber along part of the way.

If you are a classic war movie buff, I'd say "Fixed Bayonets" would make your B list (while "Steel Helmet" should definitely be in your A list). Another Korean war movie that should be in your collection is Antony Mann's "Men in War". July 24, 2008

We spend too much time in Richard Basehart's head

An okay movie that felt more like the original made for TV dramas of the late 1950s than a full blown movie. Appears to have been shot mostly on a sound stage, and the feel is of early video tape rather than film.

The story involves an Infantry platoon in Korea left behind to secure the withdrawal of the rest of their regiment. They are to hold a position and create a diversion while the regiment withdraws, then to withdraw themselves. The pivotal character is a corporal who does not wish to have command responsibility, but will have it thrust on him. (I think this was a theme borrowed from Henry Fonda's role in "The Imortal Sergeant"). As he agonizes over the emerging reality that he is going to be put in charge by the slow elimination of those above him, Richard Basehart's character conducts entirely too much internal monologue, which we get to share in.

The small unit Infantry tactics, weaponary, and interactions all feel quite authentic, and this is not a bad little movie, just not one I'd put on my "A" list. June 16, 2008

Good war film

Low budget war film with great script and performances. A classic film well worth watching. April 14, 2008

SAMUEL FULLER, OPUS 4

***1/2 1951. Based on a novel by John Brophy, FIXED BAYONETS! was written and directed by Samuel Fuller. After the success of The Steel Helmet, Fuller was hired by the Fox company to direct another war thriller about the Korea war that had just started. This time, it's the story of a platoon ordered to stop the red army while the rest of the regiment is trying to come back to its base. Replace the STEEL HELMET temple by a cave hidden in the middle of a hill covered by snow and you have FIXED BAYONETS!. Samuel Fuller was more interested in the study of the characters than in the originality of the plot. Anyway, after a film like THE STEEL HELMET, any movie about Korea will seem inferior. Recommended. April 12, 2008

Would I Measure Up?

This movie had haunted me ever since I first saw it on Los Angeles TV when I was twelve years old. Being the son of a career soldier it was always expected that some day I would serve in the Army. I always wondered whether I would measure up and be able to lead men in combat.

In 1991 I found myself leading a team of American soldiers advising an army in a very deadly war against a communist insurgency. Leadership in combat is the ultimate challenge and when my tour ended, I felt no different then how Richard Basehart's character did at the end of this movie.

Though a bit dated, this movie is my all time favorite and definitely a keeper. April 8, 2008

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