Take the High Ground (1953)
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"You guys will never be soldiers!" With these words Richard Widmark opens and closes Take the High Ground. Widmark plays a tough drill sergeant, whipping his recruits through basic training in preparation for shipment to Korea. Carleton Carpenter is the standard-issue private who just can't seem to cut it, despite Widmark's relentless special attention. To prove that the behemoth sergeant has a tender side, the script contrives a romantic triangle involving Widmark, Elaine Stewart, and Karl Malden. The film is an amalgam of rugged realism and Hollywood hokiness, with Widmark terrific as the topkick you love to hate. Filmed at Fort Bliss, Texas, Take the High Ground utilizes several real-life soldiers in the drill sequences (you can recognize the real ones; they aren't afraid of Richard Widmark). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Complete Cast:
- Richard Widmark - Sgt. Thorne Ryan
- Elaine Stewart - Julie Mollison
- Carleton Carpenter - Merton Tolliver
- Jerome Courtland - Elvin Carey
- Maurice Jara - Franklin D. No Bear
- Bert Freed - Sgt. Vince Opperman
- Karl Malden - Sgt. Laverne Holt
- Russ Tamblyn - Paul Jamison
- Steve Forrest - Lobo Naglaski
- Robert Arthur - Donald Q. Dover IV
- Chris Warfield - Soldier
- Regis Toomey - Chaplain
- Director(s):
- Richard Brooks
- Writer(s):
- Millard Kaufman
- Producer(s):
- Dore Schary
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