***SPOILERS*** Picked off by a Communist Chinese sniper USMC Let. Earl Toland, Charles Quinlivan, as he's about to go under turns over command of his squad to the green and inexperienced in leading men into combat Sgt. Eddie Towler,Sidney Poitier. The thing that ticks off the men that Sgt. Towers is now in charge of is not that he's green and inexperienced but that he's black! And it's now up to Sgt. Towers, who didn't want the job anyway, to lead them out of the wilderness, or Communist North Korea, and across the 38th parallel before the Chinese Communist and their North Korean allies make mince meat out of all of them!
Under Sgt. Towers' command and leadership the men in his unit capture a key position, a farm house, that's the only place where a battalion of some 1,000 retreating US Marines can make it to safety and link up with UN forces to the south preventing them from being massacred by the Communist forces. It's that position that Sgt. Towers is determined to hold to the last man grenade and round of ammunition even if he ends up being killed by one of his fellow Marines in doing it!
As the Communist Chinese key in on Sgt. Towers position tensions beings to build up between him an the Marines under his command. Sgt. Kincaid, Alan Ladd, who felt that he being in the Corps for 11 years was passed over in favor of Sgt. Towers never lets him forget about it. Still Kincaid knows that by bickering with each other will only give the surrounding Communist Chinese the advantage in overrunning the farm house and reluctantly takes orders from him. It's the racist Pvt. Bracken, Paul Richards, who never lets up in letting Sgt. Towers know where to stay in his place ,the back of the bus or squad, that really gets under Sgt.Towers' black skin.
The both racist as well as horny Pvt. Bracken really goes over the top when after getting good and drunk on Korean home made wine attempts to rape Eurasian, half French and half Oriental, woman of the house Maya, Ann Maria Lynch. It's then that Sgt. Towers who tried to tolerate him, for the both good and safety of the Marine unit, lost his cool and not only worked Bracken over but almost has him shot for undisciplined and un-US Marine Corps conduct! The Communist Chinese using human wave assault tactics slowly ground down the Marines defending the farmhouse and it's now up to Sgt. Towers to make the faithful decision to either abundant the farm house and leave the 1,000 US Marines who need it to brake through commie lines to their fate or die defending it!
The Chinese Communists bringing in their big guns, tanks and amour units, for a final breakthrough has both Sgt. Towers and Kincaid try to disable the lead tank with Molotov cocktails, they by then ran out of grenades, with Kincaid ending up almost roasted alive in the fighting! Needing an immediate blood transfusion as well as leg amputation to save his life Kincaid is saved by both the skillful surgery, his in fact first amputation, of medic Pvt. Wade, Glenn Corbett, and Sgt. Towers who donated at least three pints of blood-O positive-to keep Kincaid from going under just like Let. Toland did earlier in the movie.
***SPOILERS*** With what now looked like the end for Sgt. Towers and his Marines with the Chinese Communist troops making a major assault on the farm house the US Calvary or USAF finally comes to their rescue. As the US Air Force saber jets start blasting the Chinese Reds to bits an elated Sgt. Towers going along with them, as ground support, picks them off one by one, sniper style, with his sub-machine-gun as they try to run for cover!
P.S The movie also has the then Heavyweight Champion of the World Ingemar Johansson as recently naturalized American citizen and Swedish immigrant GI Torgil. Despite his being the champ in real life Johansson instead of fighting was seen in the film mostly singing Swedish folk songs to keep the men in his Marine unit entertained!
Under Sgt. Towers' command and leadership the men in his unit capture a key position, a farm house, that's the only place where a battalion of some 1,000 retreating US Marines can make it to safety and link up with UN forces to the south preventing them from being massacred by the Communist forces. It's that position that Sgt. Towers is determined to hold to the last man grenade and round of ammunition even if he ends up being killed by one of his fellow Marines in doing it!
As the Communist Chinese key in on Sgt. Towers position tensions beings to build up between him an the Marines under his command. Sgt. Kincaid, Alan Ladd, who felt that he being in the Corps for 11 years was passed over in favor of Sgt. Towers never lets him forget about it. Still Kincaid knows that by bickering with each other will only give the surrounding Communist Chinese the advantage in overrunning the farm house and reluctantly takes orders from him. It's the racist Pvt. Bracken, Paul Richards, who never lets up in letting Sgt. Towers know where to stay in his place ,the back of the bus or squad, that really gets under Sgt.Towers' black skin.
The both racist as well as horny Pvt. Bracken really goes over the top when after getting good and drunk on Korean home made wine attempts to rape Eurasian, half French and half Oriental, woman of the house Maya, Ann Maria Lynch. It's then that Sgt. Towers who tried to tolerate him, for the both good and safety of the Marine unit, lost his cool and not only worked Bracken over but almost has him shot for undisciplined and un-US Marine Corps conduct! The Communist Chinese using human wave assault tactics slowly ground down the Marines defending the farmhouse and it's now up to Sgt. Towers to make the faithful decision to either abundant the farm house and leave the 1,000 US Marines who need it to brake through commie lines to their fate or die defending it!
The Chinese Communists bringing in their big guns, tanks and amour units, for a final breakthrough has both Sgt. Towers and Kincaid try to disable the lead tank with Molotov cocktails, they by then ran out of grenades, with Kincaid ending up almost roasted alive in the fighting! Needing an immediate blood transfusion as well as leg amputation to save his life Kincaid is saved by both the skillful surgery, his in fact first amputation, of medic Pvt. Wade, Glenn Corbett, and Sgt. Towers who donated at least three pints of blood-O positive-to keep Kincaid from going under just like Let. Toland did earlier in the movie.
***SPOILERS*** With what now looked like the end for Sgt. Towers and his Marines with the Chinese Communist troops making a major assault on the farm house the US Calvary or USAF finally comes to their rescue. As the US Air Force saber jets start blasting the Chinese Reds to bits an elated Sgt. Towers going along with them, as ground support, picks them off one by one, sniper style, with his sub-machine-gun as they try to run for cover!
P.S The movie also has the then Heavyweight Champion of the World Ingemar Johansson as recently naturalized American citizen and Swedish immigrant GI Torgil. Despite his being the champ in real life Johansson instead of fighting was seen in the film mostly singing Swedish folk songs to keep the men in his Marine unit entertained!