The Bridges at Toko-Ri

Movie Review: The Bridges at Toko-Ri

Year of Release: 1954
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Mark Robson
Cast: William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney

Plot outline: Set during the Korean War, a Navy fighter pilot must come to terms with with his own ambivalence towards the war and the fear of having to bomb a set of highly defended bridges (IMDb).

This movie representation of the part of Navy fliers in the Korean war - and especially of one jet pilot who commits himself to his duty gallantly -not only is true to the original, but also succeeds in bringing the whole thing excitingly alive. The best stuff in this picture are the accounts of aircraft carrier operations and of Navy men afloat and ashore. They are the details of ready-room briefings, of shooting jet planes off cold flight decks, of crackling communications among the planes in the air, of bombing runs on Korean targets, of nerve-racking landings back on the deck and of hasty, heroic maneuvers by the helicopter fellows to fish downed pilots out of the sea. Respect for the heroic effort is immediately inspired. But, of course, there is more to this picture than the mere documenting of ships and planes. There is a poignant story of naval personnel - of a "retread" jet-plane pilot who resents having been called back for this war, of his crisply efficient group commander, his task force admiral and several more. And there is, in a brief but pregnant passage, an indication of the jet pilot's wife and of the pull of his love for his family, from which he has been torn away. In putting forth their stories, the producers and director Mark Robson have been as meticulous and authentic as they have been with Navy details. They have cast the movie to perfection and seen that it is played with rare restraint. William Holden, who plays the pilot, shows a man of mature intelligence, collecting himself for a perilous effort, from which he sees there is no backing down. Fredric March as the paternalistic admiral fairly cracks with the tension of concern, and Charles McGraw as the air group commander carries grave responsibilities with grim resolve. Grace Kelly is briefly bewitching as the pilot's wife, who visits him in Japan, and Mickey Rooney is a pint-sized tornado as a helicopter pilot who loves to clown and fight. Robert Strauss, Earl Holliman and Richard Shannon are solid as other personnel. The questions put in this picture as to the point of the Korean war and the great personal sacrifices in it are not answered, nor are the answers sought. Its purpose is not to answer questions. Its purpose simply is to show the human and professional resolution, organization and sacrifice that prosecution of the war required. And it has fulfilled this purpose in a truly efficient and moving way. (NYT)

My judgement: *** out of 4 stars