Pork Chop Hill (film)
- For the Korean War battles, see Battle of Pork Chop Hill.
Pork Chop Hill | |
---|---|
Melville Productions | |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $ 3 million [1] or $1,750,000[2] |
Box office | $2.1 million (est. domestic)[3] |
Pork Chop Hill is a 1959 American
The film features numerous actors who would go on to become movie and television stars in the 1960s and the 1970s such as
Plot
In April 1953, during the
Meanwhile, at nearby
Cast
- Gregory Peck as Lt. Joe Clemons
- Rip Torn as Lt. Walter Russell
- George Shibata as Lt. Suki Ohashi (Lt. Tsugi Ohashi)
- Woody Strode as Pvt. Franklin
- Harry Guardino as PFC. Forstman
- George Peppard as Cpl. Chuck Fedderson
- Norman Fell as S/Sgt. Coleman
- Cliff Ketchum as Cpl. Payne
- Robert Blake as Pvt. Velie
- Viraj Amonsin as Chinese broadcaster
- Bob Steele as Colonel Kern (Colonel William B. Kern)
- Carl Benton Reid as American Admiral
- Charles Aidman as Lt. Harold (Lt. Thomas U. Harrold)
- Barry Atwater as Lt. Col. Davis
- Leonard Graves as Lt. Cook (Lt. Robert S. Cook)
- Martin Landau as Lt. Marshall (Lt. Arthur A. Marshall)
- Ken Lynch as Major General Trudeau
- Lew Gallo as Lieutenant of Division Public Relations (Lt. James Barrows)
- James Edwards as Cpl. Jurgens
- Biff Elliot as Pvt. Boven
- Syl Lamont as Sgt. Kuzmick (SFC Walter Kuzmick)
- Paul Comi as Sgt. Kreucheberg
- Abel Fernandez as Kindley
- Chuck Hayward as Chalmers
- Kevin Hagen as Cpl. Kissell
- Gavin MacLeod as Pvt. Saxon
- John Alderman as Lt. Waldorf
- Bert Remsen as Lt. Cummings
- Robert Williams as Soldier Runner
- Buzz Martin as Whitey
- William Wellman Jr. as Iron Man
- John McKee as Cpl. Olds
- Michael Garth as S-2 Officer (Lt. James Blake)
- Harry Dean Stanton as BAR man (uncredited)
- Clarence Williams III as Message Runner (uncredited)
- DeForest Covan as U.S. Soldier (uncredited)
Production
The film was based on Marshall's book Pork Chop Hill published in 1956.[4] The New York Times called it "unforgettable".[5]
In August 1957 the film rights were bought by
In January 1958 Lewis Milestone agreed to direct.[9] He and Bartlett wanted to cast unknowns in support of Peck and saw over 600 actors for 83 speaking parts.[10]
Strode and Edwards' portrayal of
Casting choices
George Shibata, who stars as Lt. Suki Ohashi, became the first
Filming
Filming started 19 May 1958. Some of the location shooting was conducted in California near Westlake Village and in San Fernando Valley. Two months before filming the unit moved into an Albertson Company Ranch where the bulk of the film was to be shot and created a series of trenches.[14]
Peck, although not credited, directed a few scenes despite protests by Milestone.
Milestone called it his "most interesting job in a long time."[15]
The film had an allocated shooting schedule of 40 days and ended up needing another 15 days.[16]
Clash between Peck and Milestone
Peck and Milestone clashed during filming over Peck's performance; the director wanted Peck to play his character as more insecure while Peck wanted a more conventional approach. Before the film's premier in May 1959, United Artists cut the film by nearly 20 minutes. Director Lewis Milestone claimed changes were made because Veronique Peck, the wife of star Gregory Peck, felt her husband made his first entrance too late into the picture. While that claim stands as unconfirmed, the film does show signs of post-production editing, with segments of several excised scenes showing up under the main title credits.[17]
Milestone's version reportedly featured more cross cutting between the fighting and the peace conference and made Peck's character less of a conventional hero. The director says it also featured more scenes involving the Chinese.[18]
Release
The film opened in Chicago and Detroit in the week ended May 26, 1959.[19] It opened at the Roxy Theatre in New York City on May 29 and became number one in the US.[20]
The film was a minor box office hit.[21]
Critical response
The New York Times applauded the film's "grim and rugged" style, the way it captured the "resentment" of the American GIs, and how it "tacitly points the obsoleteness of ground warfare".[22]
See also
References
- ^ Variety, 5 October 1959 p. 12
- ^ Fishgall p 206
- ^ "1959: Probable Domestic Take", Variety, 6 January 1960 p 34
- ^ Books and Authors New York Times 17 Oct 1956: 33.
- ^ Books of The Times: Unflinching Under Fire Only a Squad Holding a Hill By CHARLES POORE. New York Times 24 Nov 1956: 17.
- ^ 'THE DRAGON TREE' COMING TO SCREEN: New York Times 28 Aug 1957: 22.
- ^ Director Talks About War: Hollywood Letter By Richard Dyer MacCann. The Christian Science Monitor 17 Feb 1959: 5.
- LCCN 88036235. Retrieved 2013-12-03.
He'd given them away for Pork Chop Hill and often talked about how, as a result, he felt sick every time the film of his Korea story played on the tube and he didn't get a red cent. "I'll never let that happen again," he'd vow each time he wound up his lament on the subject.
- ^ LEWIS MILESTONE TO MAKE WAR FILM: Director Named for Peck's 'Pork Chop Hill' New York Times 1 Feb 1958: 13.
- ^ Director Talks About War: Hollywood Letter By Richard Dyer MacCann. The Christian Science Monitor 17 Feb 1959: 5.
- Yechon, in July of 1950. But the regiment had been badly bloodied since then, and with the attendant loss of many of its fine black NCOs(too many of whom were replaced by white NCOs who were unable or unwilling to bond with the troops—and vice versa), it seemed the 24th had gone to hell in a hand basket. Individually, many of its members were great... but its leadership was too thin...
- ^ "Japanese Life in Utah". Archived from the original on 2006-01-09.
- ^ pp. 77-78 Rubin, Steven Jay Combat Films: American Realism, 1945-2010, 2nd edition McFarland, 1 Jan 1981
- ^ HOLLYWOOD CANVAS: San Fernando 'Korea' -Versatile Widmark By THOMAS M. PRYORHOLLYWOOD. New York Times 15 June 1958: X7.
- ^ Milestone Films Realities of War: Milestone 'Veteran' of Three Wars Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times 7 Sep 1958: E1.
- ^ Fishgall p 207
- ^ "Pork Chop Hill (1959) - Articles - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2013-12-03.
Nevertheless, Pork Chop Hill was still cut by nearly twenty minutes, supposedly because the wife of star Gregory Peck felt that her husband made his first entrance too late into the picture. While that claim remains unconfirmed, the film does show signs of post-production editing, with segments of several excised scenes showing up under the main title credits.
- ^ Higham, Charles; Greenberg, Joel (1971). The celluloid muse; Hollywood directors speak. Regnery. p. 192.
- Archive.org.
- Archive.org.
- ^ Fishgal p 208
- New York Times. May 30, 1959. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
Notes
- Fishgall, Gary (2002). Gregory Peck. Scribner. ISBN 9780684852904.
External links
- Pork Chop Hill at IMDb
- Pork Chop Hill at AllMovie
- Pork Chop Hill at the TCM Movie Database
- Pork Chop Hill at the American Film Institute Catalog