Anthony Mann, one of my favorite Hollywood genre directors, excelled in noirs and Westerns; however, in this film - and the subsequent THE HEROES OF TELEMARK (1965) - he showed that he was almost as equally adept at war movies, too.
Despite the fact that the film is little more than a standard actioner, one of the countless tough black-and-white combat films to emerge in the wake of A WALK IN THE SUN (1946), Mann handles the proceedings admirably; significantly enough, he nabbed a Directors Guild Award nod for this film rather than for his other more highly-regarded works like, say, WINCHESTER '73 (1950), THE NAKED SPUR (1953) and MAN OF THE WEST (1958).
The combat sequences certainly deliver the goods (particularly the killing of a black member of the outfit by the silent enemy and an intense mine-field crossing sequence) and the battle-of-wits between the rugged Robert Ryan and the tough Aldo Ray - who later teamed up again under Mann's direction for GOD'S LITTLE ACRE (1958) - as well as the unusual relationship between shell-shocked Colonel Robert Keith and Ray keep one watching. The film also features notable roles for Nehemiah Persoff (who goes crazy under the strain of combat and perishes for it) and Vic Morrow as a cowardly soldier who makes good in the end by agreeing to join on a suicidal mission; Elmer Bernstein's score, then, is suitably evocative, effectively complementing the on-screen action.
Despite the fact that the film is little more than a standard actioner, one of the countless tough black-and-white combat films to emerge in the wake of A WALK IN THE SUN (1946), Mann handles the proceedings admirably; significantly enough, he nabbed a Directors Guild Award nod for this film rather than for his other more highly-regarded works like, say, WINCHESTER '73 (1950), THE NAKED SPUR (1953) and MAN OF THE WEST (1958).
The combat sequences certainly deliver the goods (particularly the killing of a black member of the outfit by the silent enemy and an intense mine-field crossing sequence) and the battle-of-wits between the rugged Robert Ryan and the tough Aldo Ray - who later teamed up again under Mann's direction for GOD'S LITTLE ACRE (1958) - as well as the unusual relationship between shell-shocked Colonel Robert Keith and Ray keep one watching. The film also features notable roles for Nehemiah Persoff (who goes crazy under the strain of combat and perishes for it) and Vic Morrow as a cowardly soldier who makes good in the end by agreeing to join on a suicidal mission; Elmer Bernstein's score, then, is suitably evocative, effectively complementing the on-screen action.