Very Cool!!!

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

RETREAT, HELL! is a fun and patriotic little Korean War movie with a greater emphasis on characterisation than most B-flicks of the era. Shot in black and white on a low budget with the copious use of (decent) stock footage of the real war, this follows a reluctant captain (played by CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON's Richard Carlson) as he leads his men against overwhelming numbers of Chinese and North Koreans during that violent escapade. The film's script is snappy and the characters are well drawn, even if only a few of them get our focus: Frank Lovejoy's no-nonsense lieutenant colonel stands out here, as does Russ Tamblyn's ever-so-youthful recruit (and it must have been one of the few times that an actor's age matched that of the character he played). RETREAT, HELL! doesn't have the finest action scenes you'll see, but it doesn't prove to be boring either, and I rather liked it.

This is a state supported war movie in which a Marrine Battalion Commander leads an amphibious landing, fights his way into North Korea and then makes a hasty retreat when the Chinese Army launches a massive assault.In other words, it's "Saving Private Ryan" on a minuscule budget. The film even contains a mother who loses several of her sons in battle and receives a message from the President of the United States authorising the safe and immediate return of her surviving son. Of course the boy so loves the military, so loves the bonds and camaraderie of the army, that he refuses to leave and instead stays for one final battle.The film is entirely generic - but then all war movies fall into only 5 categories. This one is rooted firmly in the "platoon genre", focusing entirely on the one dimensionality of the enemy, the weary camaraderie of the men, the horrors of combat, the importance of the mission and the ubiquity of death. Orders are always obeyed and no attempt is ever made to put the war in any meaningful context. Though the mission is always treated with scepticism, it is made clear that it must be completed at any cost.6/10 - Director Joseph H. Lewis helms this film, but he is unable to recapture the magic of his early noir, "Gun Crazy". At least John Wayne's "The Sands of Iwo Jima" was dark in its portrayal of a drunk and emotionally damaged Marine Sergeant. Everyone in this film, in comparison, is ridiculously squeaky clean.Worth one viewing.

Reteat hell is a great movie for those that enjoy the old black and white war classics. Frank Lovejoy plays a good role as all the actors are in this movie ,and the battle scenes are great. What i can't understand is why this movie is not on DVD it seems that the studios are finally starting come around and starting to release the movies that are worth watching and putting in your collection two other movies that should be on DVD are PT109 with Cliff Robertson from 1963 and Merrill's Muraders with Jeff Chandler from 1962. Sam Fuller's Steel Helmet is in a box set with some other films by Fuller but what gets me is that you figure that you could buy Steel Helmet bye its self but you can only get the movie by buying the whole set.

This is a war movie which focuses more on the feelings, emotions and insecurities of the platoon as well as providing a shed load of action & explosions. For this to work, you have to care about the characters. The hard edged Colonel is well portrayed and you can see the humanity leaking out of him as the pressure intensifies. The Captain who is centre of attention early n, fades into the background somewhat. The real star is young, fresh faced McDermid. You feel as if you are with him every step of his journey, you feel his nerves, pain & bravery. Although in black and white, you can almost see the red mist descend in one poignant scene. There are loads of explosions and plenty of action for the late night viewer but this is a war film with a deeper than average plot line.