From the comments and reviews, it seems that people think that this was a clumsily handled movie about racism. It isn't.
Poitier plays a man with little practical experience, but the stripes that put him in charge. Ladd plays a man who has all the practical experience, but he lost his stripes due to unexplained incidents in his past.
Poitier has to deal with one racist guy. That's all. The rest of the outfit, including Ladd, don't care if Poitier is black.
Ladd comes close to rebelling against Poitier, but it has nothing to do with race. It has to do with Poitier's lack of experience. Even with their infighting, Ladd backs up Poitier every time there is action. Poitier was the first to run to save Alcalde. Ladd was the second.
Another point that the reviewers don't like is Ladd's age. Go ask grampa. Lots of old timers fought in WWII and Korea. It isn't a stretch at all.
And finally, there were many remarks about bad casting because they didn't use actual Koreans or Chinese. They filmed in the mountains of Montana. There wasn't a lot to choose from. The extras that they used not only were the wrong race, but were often holding the wrong weapons. That's life in a low budget flick. Nonetheless, the people that think this is a movie that champions racial equality are also the same people that accuse this movie of racism as far as the extras. Go figger. I suppose some people can have it both ways.
I've always loved Poitier. He has done many movies where race dominates. This isn't one of them. He's just a guy who is in over his head and he tries to do his best.
Poitier plays a man with little practical experience, but the stripes that put him in charge. Ladd plays a man who has all the practical experience, but he lost his stripes due to unexplained incidents in his past.
Poitier has to deal with one racist guy. That's all. The rest of the outfit, including Ladd, don't care if Poitier is black.
Ladd comes close to rebelling against Poitier, but it has nothing to do with race. It has to do with Poitier's lack of experience. Even with their infighting, Ladd backs up Poitier every time there is action. Poitier was the first to run to save Alcalde. Ladd was the second.
Another point that the reviewers don't like is Ladd's age. Go ask grampa. Lots of old timers fought in WWII and Korea. It isn't a stretch at all.
And finally, there were many remarks about bad casting because they didn't use actual Koreans or Chinese. They filmed in the mountains of Montana. There wasn't a lot to choose from. The extras that they used not only were the wrong race, but were often holding the wrong weapons. That's life in a low budget flick. Nonetheless, the people that think this is a movie that champions racial equality are also the same people that accuse this movie of racism as far as the extras. Go figger. I suppose some people can have it both ways.
I've always loved Poitier. He has done many movies where race dominates. This isn't one of them. He's just a guy who is in over his head and he tries to do his best.