This refers only to films I have watched
Military / Naval / War
Not my favourite genre, I'll have to admit, which may colour my review of these films. I guess you can say they're still good; whether one likes them or not is a different matter. Interesting that we seem to have a couple of pairs here; one of military trials (Time Limit and Judgment at Nuremberg) and one of submarine hunting (Hell and High Water and The Bedford Incident).
Down the Sea in Ships (1949) - I'm not sure this really belongs in this category - see also 'Drama' but it stars Widmark as a young officer on a whaling ship, so that's naval...
Slattery's Hurricane (1949) - if you like men in uniform, Widmark does turn out well in Navy whites though most of the time he's in civvies in this film and the drama is more about his life outside the Navy than in it. (See 'Drama').
The Frogmen (1951) - Not the most gripping title in the world - it certainly put me off - but another war film that I really liked (see next) and very highly rate. It's b/w, set in the Pacific, following Widmark as Lt Commander Lawrence as he leads an Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) in some dangerous missions in very hostile waters. Problem is, his men have lost a commander they liked and respected and don't care for the replacement. Widmark is a real martinet and this may be the only one of his military characters that doesn't try to go round breaking the rules left right and centre. It's gripping stuff and despite being b/w the underwater shots are amazing. (I think it may have been b/w due to using actual WW2 footage - it certainly looks like it, in places).
Halls of Montezuma (1951) - Wow, a war film that I really liked. This is really very well done. Widmark is Lt Anderson leading Marines into battle in Japanese territory. Turns out the Japanese have rockets and the Marines have to find where they're hidden. Tense and action-packed with good use of flashbacks to happier times, and lots of pathos. Nice to see Karl Malden again as his sergeant, the unit's doctor. Highly rate this one. And it's in colour as well.
Destination Gobi (1953) - an American Anabasis, you might say, set in WW2. Navy Chief Petty Officer Sam McHale is seconded to a weather station in the Gobi desert, which is attacked by the Japanese. He then leads the remaining men 800 miles north to the sea, dealing as best he can with Mongolian nomads and Chinese traders, not knowing who to trust. Enjoyable enough.
Take the High Ground! (1953) - Widmark as a tough drill sergeant during the Korean War; a veteran who is fed up with going through basic training and longs to get back to the shooting war. He takes his frustrations out on the recruits and on his friend, fellow-sergeant Holt (Karl Malden) and comes to realise what a loner he truly is. However it's quite a light film. If you want a harsh, sneering commander riding roughshod over his men you need to go for The Bedford Incident rather than this film. He doesn't appear that harsh to the viewer and it's only by listening to the bitter comments of the young recruits, some of whom actually want to kill him before the end of basic training, that you get a sense of what they're being put through. The love interest with Julie (Elaine Stewart) is rather well done.
Hell and High Water (1954) - A group of international scientists fund a mission headed by commander Adam Jones (Widmark) to find the location of a Russian A-bomb in Chinese waters. They end up hunting a Chinese submarine. Gripping, tense cold-war drama. This was the debut film for Bella Darvi as the lovely French assistant scientist. The sense of claustrophobia and danger on the sub is very well done.
A Prize of Gold (1955) - What a car-crash of a film! As soon as the action gets going you can't possibly see how this is all going to work out - and the ending doesn't go quite the way you might think. Set at the end of WWII in post-war Germany, Widmark is in the air force this time, as a military policeman. The problem is, he's the biggest rule-breaker of them all and always getting into trouble. Most of this is thoughtless scrapes but he takes it too far when a ton of gold bars is discovered and he - with the best motive in the world (helping German orphans and more importantly the lovely woman who is caring for them) - decides to liberate some of that gold. A very young George Cole (with Scottish accent) plays the British officer. Widmark at his insouciant best and a nice adventure movie albeit with the most ridiculous little car ever made.
Flight from Ayshiya (1964) - co-starring Yul Brynner and George Chakiris, this tells the backstory of the three main characters as they fly a rescue mission in the waters off Japan, helping save people that a few years ago, they regarded as bitter enemies. Tragic backstories; Widmark's love story reduced me to tears and I thought Brynner's was even more moving (funny how he could pass for half-Japanese; he was actually Russian!) Chakiris' may be the weakest of the three but it's still a good film all round.
The Bedford Incident (1965) - Shot in black and white, as opposed to HHW which was in colour; also co-produced by and starring Widmark as Captain Eric Finlander who drives his crew so roughshod and hard it leads to tragic consequences. It's a big crew; it's a big ship; and who could tell it was all shot in studio? Incredible. Nice to see Sidney Poitier again, this time as the nuisance journalist. This is a grim cold-war film though, apparently following the anti-nuclear satire Dr Strangelove (and thanks to Hawkwind, we all know how that ended) .
Time Limit (1957) - Widmark as the good guy this time, a military lawyer seeking the truth behind a case going to tribunal. Something happened in a North Korean prison camp but no-one is talking. Shot in b/w, not well-known but very well done.
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) - this is the more famous of this pair. Widmark is again a military lawyer, this time a prosecutor in some of the Nuremberg trials in Berlin following the end of World War II. He's angry though, seemingly with the entire German nation and their attitude of denial as to what was going on with forced sterilisations and the concentration camps. There's some graphic news images - real ones - of a huge pile of bodies being buried at one of the camps. It's reminiscent of the much later Schindler's List in some ways and very very moving. Only watched it once; this is not light entertainment.
Military / Naval / War
Not my favourite genre, I'll have to admit, which may colour my review of these films. I guess you can say they're still good; whether one likes them or not is a different matter. Interesting that we seem to have a couple of pairs here; one of military trials (Time Limit and Judgment at Nuremberg) and one of submarine hunting (Hell and High Water and The Bedford Incident).
Down the Sea in Ships (1949) - I'm not sure this really belongs in this category - see also 'Drama' but it stars Widmark as a young officer on a whaling ship, so that's naval...
Slattery's Hurricane (1949) - if you like men in uniform, Widmark does turn out well in Navy whites though most of the time he's in civvies in this film and the drama is more about his life outside the Navy than in it. (See 'Drama').
The Frogmen (1951) - Not the most gripping title in the world - it certainly put me off - but another war film that I really liked (see next) and very highly rate. It's b/w, set in the Pacific, following Widmark as Lt Commander Lawrence as he leads an Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) in some dangerous missions in very hostile waters. Problem is, his men have lost a commander they liked and respected and don't care for the replacement. Widmark is a real martinet and this may be the only one of his military characters that doesn't try to go round breaking the rules left right and centre. It's gripping stuff and despite being b/w the underwater shots are amazing. (I think it may have been b/w due to using actual WW2 footage - it certainly looks like it, in places).
Halls of Montezuma (1951) - Wow, a war film that I really liked. This is really very well done. Widmark is Lt Anderson leading Marines into battle in Japanese territory. Turns out the Japanese have rockets and the Marines have to find where they're hidden. Tense and action-packed with good use of flashbacks to happier times, and lots of pathos. Nice to see Karl Malden again as his sergeant, the unit's doctor. Highly rate this one. And it's in colour as well.
Destination Gobi (1953) - an American Anabasis, you might say, set in WW2. Navy Chief Petty Officer Sam McHale is seconded to a weather station in the Gobi desert, which is attacked by the Japanese. He then leads the remaining men 800 miles north to the sea, dealing as best he can with Mongolian nomads and Chinese traders, not knowing who to trust. Enjoyable enough.
Take the High Ground! (1953) - Widmark as a tough drill sergeant during the Korean War; a veteran who is fed up with going through basic training and longs to get back to the shooting war. He takes his frustrations out on the recruits and on his friend, fellow-sergeant Holt (Karl Malden) and comes to realise what a loner he truly is. However it's quite a light film. If you want a harsh, sneering commander riding roughshod over his men you need to go for The Bedford Incident rather than this film. He doesn't appear that harsh to the viewer and it's only by listening to the bitter comments of the young recruits, some of whom actually want to kill him before the end of basic training, that you get a sense of what they're being put through. The love interest with Julie (Elaine Stewart) is rather well done.
Hell and High Water (1954) - A group of international scientists fund a mission headed by commander Adam Jones (Widmark) to find the location of a Russian A-bomb in Chinese waters. They end up hunting a Chinese submarine. Gripping, tense cold-war drama. This was the debut film for Bella Darvi as the lovely French assistant scientist. The sense of claustrophobia and danger on the sub is very well done.
A Prize of Gold (1955) - What a car-crash of a film! As soon as the action gets going you can't possibly see how this is all going to work out - and the ending doesn't go quite the way you might think. Set at the end of WWII in post-war Germany, Widmark is in the air force this time, as a military policeman. The problem is, he's the biggest rule-breaker of them all and always getting into trouble. Most of this is thoughtless scrapes but he takes it too far when a ton of gold bars is discovered and he - with the best motive in the world (helping German orphans and more importantly the lovely woman who is caring for them) - decides to liberate some of that gold. A very young George Cole (with Scottish accent) plays the British officer. Widmark at his insouciant best and a nice adventure movie albeit with the most ridiculous little car ever made.
Flight from Ayshiya (1964) - co-starring Yul Brynner and George Chakiris, this tells the backstory of the three main characters as they fly a rescue mission in the waters off Japan, helping save people that a few years ago, they regarded as bitter enemies. Tragic backstories; Widmark's love story reduced me to tears and I thought Brynner's was even more moving (funny how he could pass for half-Japanese; he was actually Russian!) Chakiris' may be the weakest of the three but it's still a good film all round.
The Bedford Incident (1965) - Shot in black and white, as opposed to HHW which was in colour; also co-produced by and starring Widmark as Captain Eric Finlander who drives his crew so roughshod and hard it leads to tragic consequences. It's a big crew; it's a big ship; and who could tell it was all shot in studio? Incredible. Nice to see Sidney Poitier again, this time as the nuisance journalist. This is a grim cold-war film though, apparently following the anti-nuclear satire Dr Strangelove (and thanks to Hawkwind, we all know how that ended) .
Time Limit (1957) - Widmark as the good guy this time, a military lawyer seeking the truth behind a case going to tribunal. Something happened in a North Korean prison camp but no-one is talking. Shot in b/w, not well-known but very well done.
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) - this is the more famous of this pair. Widmark is again a military lawyer, this time a prosecutor in some of the Nuremberg trials in Berlin following the end of World War II. He's angry though, seemingly with the entire German nation and their attitude of denial as to what was going on with forced sterilisations and the concentration camps. There's some graphic news images - real ones - of a huge pile of bodies being buried at one of the camps. It's reminiscent of the much later Schindler's List in some ways and very very moving. Only watched it once; this is not light entertainment.
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