A Hill in Korea (a.k.a. Hell in Korea; 1956)

Directed by Julian Ames; produced by Anthony Squire

A small, detached unit of British soldiers is sent to reconnoitre a village during the Korean War. Most of the men, as well as the lieutenant in command, are National Servicemen, putting in their time as conscripts. When they find themselves cut off by Chinese units, it will take all the intelligence of the commander, the experience of his sergeant and the tenacity of his men to reach their own lines again.

The only remarkable aspect of A Hill in Korea is the number of actors in it who would achieve bigger things - some very big indeed - in their careers. The most famous of these are Michael Caine and Robert Shaw, who have small but prominent roles.

Stanley Baker (who would re-unite with Caine in 1964’s Zulu) was on the verge of stardom, as was Stephen Boyd, while George Baker, who is less known these days, plays the lieutenant. Also in the cast is tough Harry Andrews, and character actors Michael Medwin and Victor Maddern. Of note is Ronald Lewis as a disaffected private; Lewis had the makings of a star before his decline due to drinking.

All of this on-screen talent does not, however, translate to a superior movie. A Hill in Korea is certainly not bad. It has some good action scenes and decent dialogue, but nothing that really lifts it above the average.

The writing, for example, fills the unit with the usual diverse characters, and while the actual talk is entertaining, it is spoken by men we have seen in a dozen other war movies. There is the clever fellow, the one who thinks he’s better than the rest, the old campaigners, the grumblers, etc. And despite its obvious intent to laud the National Serviceman, it doesn’t really portray him as different than the regulars. A much better film about conscripts in war is The Way Ahead (1944), though what each film wanted to accomplish was a great contrast to the other.

The story-line is fairly routine, as well, with the men holding off enemy attacks with varying degrees of stolidity, while engaging in typical army banter, and periodically getting on each other’s nerves. Most war movies fall into sub-genres, and this one is squarely in the ‘small unit action’ category. It is not different from others in the field.

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While a passable time-filler, A Hill in Korea, despite the rare setting - it is, I think, the first British movie to have been placed in the Korean War - is not special. Even recognizing the actors is probably a more profitable game for movie-buffs, than for the general audience.