The Bridges at Toko-Ri
The Bridges at Toko-Ri | |
---|---|
James Michener | |
Produced by | William Perlberg George Seaton |
Starring | William Holden Mickey Rooney Fredric March Grace Kelly Robert Strauss |
Cinematography | Loyal Griggs |
Edited by | Alma Macrorie |
Music by | Lyn Murray |
Production companies | Perlberg-Seaton Productions Paramount Pictures Corp. |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
rentals)[3] |
The Bridges at Toko-Ri is a 1954 American war film about the Korean War and stars William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney, and Robert Strauss. The film, which was directed by Mark Robson, was produced by Paramount Pictures.[Note 1][5] Dennis Weaver and Earl Holliman make early screen appearances in the film.
The screenplay is based on the 1953 novel
Plot
) Nestor Gamidge.Forney had often been in trouble for brawling and sporting a non-regulation green top hat and scarf while flying his helicopter as encouragement to downed pilots in the water. Back aboard his ship, the aircraft carrier USS Savo Island,
The Savo Island returns to port in Japan, where Brubaker is given a three-day shore leave in Tokyo with his wife Nancy and their children. The reunion is interrupted when Gamidge comes to Brubaker asking his help in bailing Forney out of the brig after a brawl. Nancy expresses her bewilderment to Tarrant, who explains that Forney saved her husband from freezing to death when he had to ditch his jet at sea and warns her that when they return to Korea, Brubaker will have to attack the dangerous bridges at Toko-Ri. He advises her to face the reality that Harry might be killed, which neither his wife nor daughter-in-law did, and thus were crushed by despair. Late that night Nancy asks Brubaker about the bridges.
Back on a carrier off Korea, Brubaker flies as wingman for Commander Lee, the carrier air group commander known as "CAG" (from his position as Commander, Air Group in the carrier), on a dangerous reconnaissance to photograph the bridges. Lee briefs his pilots on the coming mission using the film he took and Brubaker loses his nerve. However, he cannot bring himself to quit the mission or write a final letter to Nancy. Forney crosses the captain of the Savo Island once too often, and then he is exiled to a helicopter scow. As he is leaving the ship, he notices Brubaker's distress, and relates a "cure" for bad nerves that has worked for him. Brubaker follows his advice and finds renewed strength within himself.
In the attack on the bridges, the
Cast
- William Holden as LT Harry Brubaker
- Grace Kelly as Nancy Brubaker
- Fredric March as RADM George Tarrant
- Mickey Rooney as CPO (NAP) Mike Forney
- Robert Strauss as "Beer Barrel"
- Charles McGraw as CDR Wayne Lee
- Keiko Awaji as Kimiko
- Earl Holliman as AMN (NAC) Nestor Gamidge
- Richard Shannon as Lieutenant Olds
- Dennis Weaver as Flight Intelligence Officer (uncredited)
- US Navy Commander Marshall Beebe as Pilot
Production
Writing
Michener based his novel on actual missions flown against the
The pilot's rescue attempt at the climax of the novel and film was a composite of a pair of unrelated rescue attempts on February 8, 1952, both in the area of
In the attacks against the historical bridges, the
Development
Film rights were purchased for $100,000 by the team of George Seaton and William Perlberg, who had a production unit at Paramount.[11] They wanted Spencer Tracy for the role of admiral, but this was played by Frederic March.[12]
Filming
Exteriors were shot aboard
Location filming was also done in
Release
Although the film was released in Canada in December, 1954, it opened in the rest of the world, including the U.S., in 1955.[1][2]
Reception
The Bridges at Toko-Ri was well received by critics and public alike.[7] As an example of the films that came out of the Korean War, it was considered more of a multi-faceted account that dealt with both ordinary seamen and command officers involved in combat.[16] Typical of the reviews was one by Bosley Crowther of The New York Times, who noted how the film adaptation was true to the original story and was "vividly and movingly developed in this punctilious film." The movie also premiered at the Radio City Music Hall. [17] The close cooperation of the U.S. Navy led to spectacular aerial scenes as well as carrier action.[18][19] A raid sequence with large scale models intercut with combat footage was a particularly effective scene that was later recognized in the Academy Awards.[20]
Awards and honors
The Bridges at Toko-Ri won the
Anti-war Themes
Atypical of the World War II movies produced by Hollywood, The Bridges at Toko-Ri was considered a quiet anti-war [23] themed movie. The Korean War never got the same attention in media as World War II as its geopolitical purpose in world security was considered dubious. Brubaker's character questions the purpose of the Korean War with the Rear Admiral and others. The final scenes of the movie document the hopeless deaths of the main protagonists as they lie in a muddy ditch in a foreign land. As the movie progresses through dangerous missions(ditching, flak fly throughs), Brubaker experiences moments of panic and PTSD as the Bridge mission looms closer and closer. Grace Kelly's character being a metaphorical representation of the country's confusion over the Korean War but remaining dutiful and unquestioning in its purpose.
In Popular Culture
In a scene from the 2021 movie Licorice Pizza, Sean Penn plays an aging actor named "Jack Holden" who starred with Grace Kelly in a film called The Bridges of Toko-San. Despite the name changes, this scene is an obvious allusion to William Holden and The Bridges at Toko-Ri (as is Tom Waits' character, director "Rex Blau", an obvious allusion to Mark Robson, director of Toko-Ri, in the same scene).
References
Notes
- ^ Robson had earlier directed I Want You (1951), also dealing with the Korean War.[4]
- ^ The real USS Savo Island (CVE-78) was actually decommissioned after World War II, before the Korean War
- Frank Coghlan, Jr., who was also a serving U.S. naval officer, provided the armed forces liaison for the film.[13]
Citations
- ^ a b Vancouver News-Herald, December 31, 1954, p. 7
- ^ a b "New Hollywood Cast System," New York Daily News, January 15, 1955, p. 94
- Archive.org.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. "The Screen in Review: Samuel Goldwyn's 'I Want You' opens run at Criterion; Script by Irwin Shaw." Archived 2021-05-13 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times, December 24, 1951. Retrieved: August 30, 2013.
- ^ a b Frietas 2001, p. 86.
- ^ Harribine, YNCS Don. "The Bridges at Toko-Ri: The Real Story by Capt Paul N. Gray, USN, Ret, USNA '41, former CO of VF-54." Archived 2008-10-07 at the Wayback Machine uss-bennington.org. Retrieved: August 29, 2012.
- ^ a b Tatara, Paul. "Articles: The Bridges at Toko-Ri." Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: August 30, 2013.
- ^ Kaufman, Richard F. (March–April 2002). "Behind the Bridges At Toko-Ri" (PDF). Naval Aviation News. p. 22.
- ^ Sears 2010, pp. 225–248.
- ^ Sisk, Richard. "Hollywood Captured Armstrong's Korean War Missions." Archived 2013-01-17 at the Wayback Machine Military.com News, 2012. Retrieved: August 27, 2012.
- ^ "Par, Metro Hot After Michener Latest". Variety. August 26, 1953. p. 3. Retrieved March 12, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Pryor, Thomas M. (October 26, 1953). "TRACY IS SOUGHT FOR KOREA FILM". The New York Times. p. 26. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ Wise and Rehill 2007, p. 131.
- ^ "Naval Rescue". sikorskyarchives.com.
- ISBN 9781476663494.
- ^ Dolan 1985, p. 111.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. "Movie Review: The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)." Archived 2021-05-13 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times, January 21, 1955.
- ^ Harwick and Schnepf 1989, p. 54.
- ^ Evans 2000, p. 32.
- ^ Parish 1990, p. 78.
- ^ "Awards: The Bridges at Toko-Ri." Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: May 10, 2012.
- ^ "Awards: 'The Bridges at Toko-Ri' (1954)." Archived 2014-02-28 at the Wayback Machine IMDb. Retrieved: May 10, 2012.
- ^ Betzold, Michael. "The Bridges of Toko Ri". AllMovie.
Bibliography
- Dolan, Edward F. Jr. Hollywood Goes to War. London: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-86124-229-7.
- Evans, Alun. Brassey's Guide to War Films. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. ISBN 1-57488-263-5.
- Frietas, Gary A. War Movies: The Belle & Blade Guide to Classic War Videos. Bandon, Oregon: Robert D. Reed Publishers, 2011. ISBN 978-1931741385.
- Harwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies". The Making of the Great Aviation Films, General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.
- Parish, James Robert. The Great Combat Pictures: Twentieth-Century Warfare on the Screen. Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, 1990. ISBN 978-0-8108-2315-0.
- Provencher, Ken. "Bizarre Beauty: 1950s Runaway Production in Japan". Archived 2016-03-04 at the ISSN 1542-4251. (Subscription required.)
- Sears, David. "Chapter 12: Epics in failure." Such Men as These: The Story of the Navy Pilots Who Flew the Deadly Skies over Korea. ISBN 978-0-306-81851-6.
- Wise, James E. and Anne Collier Rehill. Stars in Blue: Movie Actors in America's Sea Services. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-59114-944-6.