PORK CHOP HILL
DIRECTED BY LEWIS MILESTONE
PRODUCED BY SY BARTLETT
MELVILLE PRODUCTIONS
MGM-PATHE COMMUNICATIONS CO.
Information from IMDb
Plot Summary
Grim story of one of the major battles of the Korean War.
While negotiators are at work in Panmunjom trying to bring the conflict to a negotiated end,
Lt. Joe Clemons is ordered to launch an attack and retake Pork Cop Hill.
It's tough on the soldiers who know that the negotiations are under way
and no one wants to die when they think it will all soon be over.
The hill is of no particular strategic military value but all part of showing resolve
during the negotiations.
Under the impression that the battle has been won,
battalion headquarters orders some of the men withdrawn when in fact
they are in dire need of reinforcements and supplies.
As the Chinese prepare to counterattack and broadcast propaganda over loudspeakers, the men prepare for what may be their last battle. Written by garykmcd
Full Cast
Gregory Peck ... Lt. Joe Clemons
Harry Guardino ... Pvt. Forstman
Rip Torn ... Lt. Walter Russel
George Peppard ... Cpl. Chuck Fedderson
Carl Benton Reid ... American Admiral at Peace Conference
James Edwards ... Cpl. Jurgens
Bob Steele ... Col. Kern
Woody Strode ... Pvt. Franklin
George Shibata ... Lt. Suki Ohasha
Norman Fell ... Sgt. Coleman
Lew Gallo ... Lieutenant, Division Public Relations
Robert Blake ... Pvt. Velie
Cliff Ketchum ... Cpl. Payne (radio operator)
Biff Elliot ... Pvt. Boven
Charles Aidman ... Lt. Harrold
Barry Atwater ... Lt. Col. Davis (battalion commander)
Viraj Amonsin ... Chinese Broadcaster
Michael Garth ... S-2 Officer
Leonard Graves ... Lt. Cook
Martin Landau ... Lt. Marshall
Ken Lynch ... Maj. Gen. Trudeau
Paul Comi ... Sgt. Kreucheberg
Syl Lamont ... Sgt. Kuzmick
Abel Fernandez ... Kindley
Kevin Hagen ... Cpl. Kissell
Chuck Hayward ... Chalmers
John Alderman ... Lt. Waldorf
Gavin MacLeod ... Pvt. Saxon
John McKee ... Cpl. Olds
Bert Remsen ... Lt. Cummings
Robert Williams ... Soldier Runner
Buzz Martin ... 'George' Company Radioman
William Wellman Jr. ... Iron Man (as Bill Wellman Jr.)
Henry Amargo ... U.S. Soldier with Bazooka (uncredited)
DeForest Covan ... U.S. Soldier (uncredited)
Titus Moede ... U.S. Soldier (uncredited)
Harry Dean Stanton ... U.S. Soldier with BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) (uncredited)
Clarence Williams III ... Message Runner (uncredited)
Writing Credits
S.L.A. Marshall (book) (as Brig. Gen. S.L.A. Marshall USAR)
James R. Webb (screenplay)
Original Music
Leonard Rosenman
Cinematography
Sam Leavitt
Trivia
Film debut of Martin Landau.
The French premiere was received with criticism on grounds of racism, as the character played by Woody Strode was shown to be a coward during the initial attack on the Chinese position.
Gregory Peck personally chose Lewis Milestone to direct because Milestone's All Quiet on the Western Front had made a deep impression on him.
Film debut of Clarence Williams III.
According to director Lewis Milestone, Pork Chop Hill was cut by nearly 20 minutes because the wife of Gregory Peck felt that her husband made his first entrance too late into the picture. True or not, the film does show signs of post-production tampering, with flashes of several excised scenes showing up under the main title credits.
Goofs
Continuity
Just before the American attack on the hill, the commanding officer is pointing out positions on a 3D clay model of the hill with his M4 bayonet. He lays his bayonet on the table and covers it with a paper map, then steps over to the radio man in conversation. He then steps back to the map table and the paper map has disappeared.
Factual errors
Real American hand grenades had a narrow yellow band painted around the tapered upper section to quickly identify them as live fragmentation grenades. However, the grenades in the movie have no such bands, indicating that they are either inert training grenades or movie props.
All of the American officers are wearing their bright rank insignia and Infantry branch insignia. In reality, officers rarely wore these items in the front lines because they identified those men as leaders, who then became prime targets for the enemy.
Revealing mistakes
Most of the weapons used by both sides do not eject any empty cartridge cases when they are fired.
Filming Location
Westlake Village, California, USA