Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

walterffick An interesting Korean-War era film, starring Richard Widmark and Karl Malden, Take the High Ground depicts sixteen weeks of basic training at Fort Bliss. The film revolves around the differing personalities of two drill sergeants (Widmark and Malden) as they shape hopeless recruits into combat-ready soldiers. Widmark's character, Sgt. First Class Thorne Ryan is a battle-hardened veteran, who believes that toughness is the best way to prepare recruits for combat. Staff Sgt. Laverne Holt (Malden), however, relies on compassion to help his men adjust to army life. These differences present a few interesting conflicts, but overall, their static characters add little. Like most basic training films, this movie offers a few predictable laughs and trivial subplots, but fails to develop a deep plot. Elaine Stewart's adulterous character, in particular, is unnecessary and only adds confusion. Overall, however, Take the High Ground is watchable, if not memorable.

TxMike (No spoilers in this first paragraph.) The movie opens with a scene depicting a 1951 battle in Korea, Sgt. Thorne (Richard Widmark) is leading his men to take a high ridge held by enemy machine guns, when one of his men was shot and killed while stopping for a drink of water. They took the ridge after Thorne threw a grenade. Cut to 1953, training new Army recruits at Ft. Bliss near El Paso, Texas. Thorne's attitude is no matter how hard basic training is, war is even harder. The whole movie is about his desire to whip ragtag men into a strong, disciplined fighting group so that they will not be killed. A love interest is thrown in, Julie played by Elain Stewart, but the training of recruits is the thrust of this movie. Karl Malden also stars as the other Sergeant, Holt, subordinate to Thorne. Russ Tamblyn was featured as one of the recruits.Some spoilers follow in my miscellaneous observations.Much shown during basic training. Men are in chaos. Focus on Tamblyn who seems especially deficient but interesting. Training gets progressively harder, each recruit needs special attention. Rifle training by shooting through Widmark's wide spread legs, Tamblyn does his signature backflip on obstacle course, tear gas test for gas mask, horseplay in the barracks.On shooting range, Tamblyn is told he missed, "Missed? Must have gone through the same hole!" Night out, cross border to Mexico. Pretty girl (Julie) at bar with three recruits. Later Widmark suggests guys get back to base, getting late, she joins Malden and Widmark who take an interest, she mostly drunk, "property of US Army", they take her home, she passes out, put on couch, covered, they leave. Turns out she had left her Army husband who then was killed.Widmark's hard-ass style pits him against Malden, they scuffle."Darling, you can't try to have fun, you either have it or you don't" (Widmark to Julie)End of training, parade grounds, platoon has been transformed, precision unit, march in front of new recruits in disarray, "You poor miserable people will never make it!", as trained platoon boards the train. The cycle will repeat.

aa56 I could tell this plot less film would go downhill from the beginning. In the opening scene we see a platoon of soldiers attacking a North Korean position, and one of them casually stops for a drink and is shot by an enemy soldier with a U.S. Army M1 rifle! That a real soldier would do this under fire, and that the props department couldn't afford an AK-47 speaks volumes about this film.Then we go to Fort Bliss for what is supposed to be boot camp but is actually a summer camp for teenagers. I say this as an Army veteran.Richard Widmark was on loan to the studio that made this film, but I think he should have remained with his contract studio, for I don't believe "Take the High Ground" was a milestone of his career.

vmwrites The 1957 Jack Webb classic, "The D.I." bears a close relationship to "Take the High Ground," from its general theme to the presence of an inept recruit, to the main character's romance with a young woman who lives close to the base.In the Jack Webb (Marine) version, Gunnery Sergeant Jim Moore (Webb) takes on a platoon with the usual selection of raw recruits, but one who is particularly troublesome. In the Richard Widmark (Army) version, the same thing happens, with a troublesome and troubled recruit. In both versions, the recruit makes an attempt to go over the wall, and in both versions, the tough but compassionate training sergeant stops the escape and molds the recruit into shape.In both versions, the love interest is a woman who has been emotionally scarred by a former romance with a serviceman who had been killed in combat.In both versions, there is a fellow training sergeant that frustrates and annoys the main character into a showdown fistfight.At the end of both movies, the cast is reprised, with their names. The only difference is that in the MGM version (Take the High Ground), the entire platoon are actors. In the Mark VII version (The D.I.), the platoon was played by real Marines. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~' For those unfamiliar with military lingo, "boot camp" is generally used to refer to Navy recruit training (or Marine training), whereas the Army uses the term "Basic Training." In a similar vein, the Navy refers to combat simulation encampments as "maneuvers," whereas the Army uses the term "bivouac."Both movies are excellent films.