Target Zero | |
---|---|
Directed by | Harmon Jones |
Written by | James Warner Bellah Sam Rolfe |
Produced by | David Weisbart |
Starring | Richard Conte Peggie Castle Charles Bronson Richard Wyler L. Q. Jones Chuck Connors |
Cinematography | Edwin B. DuPar |
Edited by | Clarence Kolster |
Music by | David Buttolph |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Target Zero is a 1955 American war and drama film directed by Harmon Jones and written by James Warner Bellah and Sam Rolfe.The film stars Richard Conte, Peggie Castle, Charles Bronson, Richard Wyler, L. Q. Jones and Chuck Connors. The film was released and published by Warner Bros. on November 15, 1955. [1] [2]
During a Korean War retreat, United Nations relief worker Ann Galloway (Peggie Castle) is slightly injured and her Korean assistant killed after their car is forced down a hillside by enemy shell fire. As Communist forces retake the region, she is rescued by the British crew of a U.S. Army M4A3E8 Sherman tank they are manning. They are then found by an American patrol led by Lt. Tom Flagler (Richard Conte), a soldier's soldier, who is admired by his men. Finding themselves behind enemy lines, they try to break through to rejoin Easy Company on "Sullivan's Muscle," a prominent hilltop they occupy. On the way they acquire a lost mortar team, consisting of Private George and his loader, known only as the "Strangler".
The British sergeant named Kensemmit (Richard Wyler) bears a grudge against American soldiers because one had misused his sister back in England. He is particularly contemptuous of Flagler, as well as possibly interested in Ann romantically, though this latter point is never made clear and seems deliberately left unclear. SFC Vince Gaspari (Charles Bronson) vouches for Tom completely as a born leader, although he acknowledges Ann's conclusion that Tom cares about nothing else than his military duty is correct. By contrast the other two British tank soldiers, Harry (pronounced "'arry" due to his working-class accent) Fontenoy (Terence De Marney) and Cpt. Devon Enoch (John Alderson) both get along very well with the Americans, and in two scenes explicitly criticize Sgt. Kensemmit for his unnecessary hostile attitude. During one scene Pvt. Geronimo, a Native American soldier (played by Abel Fernandez) from the Apache reservation in Arizona says to Private Felix O'Hara (L. Q. Jones), a southern-accented white American soldier, that Native Americans were in this war so that they could get practice fighting for the eventual day when they reconquer the United States. Pvt. Harry "'arry" Fontenoy says to Private O'Hara, "Don't worry mate, if they chuck you out, we'll take you back!" to which Private O'Hara says, "Thanks ole buddy, but the problem with that is I don't speak the language!"
When the squad returns to "Sullivan's Muscle," Tom discovers that Easy Company has been massacred and their position in the line left open, leaving him dejected. However, under orders to hold the line until help can arrive, they dig the tank in, set up fire zones and are promised air and naval bombardment support. They are ready when the Communist troops climb the hill and open fire, ambushing them at close range. After stopping the enemy with help from Air Force F-80 Shooting Star fighters and a Navy battleship firing its 16-inch guns from the coastal waters 20 miles away, Flagler and Kensemmit reconcile their differences, with Kensemmit apologizing and saying that "I just woke up on the wrong side of the world this morning", to which Flagler replied, "No worries, you're a handy guy to have around" in reference to a previous scene in which Kensemmit's command of the tank proved crucial to a victory against the Communists. In victory, Flagler and Kensemmit both come to realize that Ann represents the very kind of thing they have been fighting for all along.
This is an early appearance of Aaron Spelling, as one of the doomed mortar team. He went on to become a top producer in Hollywood.
Charles Bronson also appears as an Army sergeant. In the early 1970s he became the world's number one box office star.
The F-80 Shooting Star aircraft were flown by the 120th Fighter Squadron of the Colorado Air National Guard. [3] The film was shot at Fort Carson, Colorado and in Arizona. [4]
The film opened at the Paramount Theatre in New York City but only lasted 8 days with a gross of just $30,000. [5]
David Janssen was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive (1963–1967). Janssen also had the title roles in three other series: Richard Diamond, Private Detective; O'Hara, U.S. Treasury and Harry O.
Nicholas Peter Conte, known professionally as Richard Conte, was an American actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1939 through the 1970s, including I'll Cry Tomorrow, Ocean's 11, and The Godfather.
To Hell and Back is a Technicolor and CinemaScope war film released in 1955. It was directed by Jesse Hibbs and stars Audie Murphy as himself. It is based on the 1949 autobiography of the same name and is an account of Murphy's World War II experiences as a soldier in the U.S. Army. The book was ghostwritten by his friend, David "Spec" McClure, who served in the U.S. Army's Signal Corps during World War II.
Stafford Alois Repp was an American actor best known for his role as Police Chief Miles Clancy O'Hara on ABC's Batman television series.
Private's Progress is a 1956 British comedy film directed by John Boulting and starring Ian Carmichael, Peter Jones, William Hartnell and Terry-Thomas. The script was by John Boulting and Frank Harvey based on the novel of the same name by Alan Hackney.
John Francis Regis Toomey was an American film and television actor.
Don Haggerty was an American actor of film and television.
Don "Red" Barry, also known as Red Barry was an American film and television actor. He was nicknamed "Red" after appearing as the first Red Ryder in the highly successful 1940 film Adventures of Red Ryder with Noah Beery Sr.; the character was played in later films by "Wild Bill" Elliott and Allan Lane. Barry went on to bigger budget films following Red Ryder, but none reached his previous level of success. He played Red Doyle in the 1964 Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Simple Simon".
Never So Few is a 1959 CinemaScope Metrocolor war film directed by John Sturges and starring Frank Sinatra, Gina Lollobrigida, Peter Lawford, Steve McQueen, Richard Johnson, Paul Henreid, Brian Donlevy, Dean Jones, Charles Bronson and Philip Ahn, and featuring uncredited roles by renowned Asian actors Mako, George Takei and James Hong. The script is loosely based on an actual OSS Detachment 101 incident recorded in a 1957 novel by Tom T. Chamales. Sinatra's character of Captain Tom Reynolds is based on a real OSS officer and, later, sheriff of Sangamon County, Illinois, U.S. Navy Lt. Meredith Rhule.
Henry Rowland was an American film and television actor. He is remembered for his role as Count Kolinko in the Zorro television series.
Willis Ben Bouchey was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films and television shows. He was born in Vernon, Michigan, but raised by his mother and stepfather in Washington state.
One Minute to Zero is a 1952 American romantic war film starring Robert Mitchum and Ann Blyth, set during the opening phases of the Korean War, and produced by Howard Hughes as his last film as producer. Victor Young's score for the film includes the first appearance of "When I Fall in Love", as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". The film showcases the contributions of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, the South Korean Army, the United Nations, the British Army and the Royal Australian Air Force during the early days of the Korean War. The effects of air power in the Korean War were also vividly depicted through the use of combat footage.
John Crawford was an American actor. He appeared in a 1961 episode of The Twilight Zone, called "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim", and in several Gunsmoke episodes. He had a key role in the 1975 film Night Moves, a crime thriller starring Gene Hackman, played the mayor of San Francisco in 1976's The Enforcer and the third Dirty Harry film featuring Clint Eastwood, as well as the Chief Engineer in Irwin Allen's classic 1972 box-office smash and disaster-film epic The Poseidon Adventure.
Joe Sawyer was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1927 and 1962, and was sometimes billed under his birth name.
Francis Thomas Sullivan, known professionally as Frank Sully, was an American film actor. He appeared in over 240 films between 1934 and 1968. Today's audiences know him best as the dumb detective in the Boston Blackie features, and as the foil in many Three Stooges comedies.
Douglas Henderson was an American film and television actor.
William Tyler McVey was an American character actor of film and television.
Robert Francis Hoy, was an American actor, stuntman and director.
Richard Stapley, also known by the stage name Richard Wyler, was a British actor and writer.
Walter Sande was an American character actor, known for numerous supporting film and television roles.