Take the High Ground!

Take the High Ground! (1953)

From its rowdy, ribald horse-play, to its rousing marching song... from its hard-boiled hates and slugging feuds to its tough-but tender love story... this is a drama of our times... exciting, exalting, young, brave and alive!

Sgt. Thorne Ryan, who once fought bravely in Korea, now serves as a hard-nosed drill instructor to new Army recruits at Fort Bliss, Texas. But is he really the man he is often described as? His fellow instructor, and friend helps him to face the ghosts of his past experiences in Korea. One night in a bar across the border in Juarez, Mexico, Sgt. Ryan meets a lady who begins to turn his life around. Will this be enough to help him deal with the past? Or will he continue to be so hard on his troops?

Date of release
1953-10-30
TMDB
6.2 / 10 (14)
Runtime
1h 41m
Genres
Comedy, Drama, War
Director
Richard Brooks

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 0 · Nominations: 1

Take the High Ground! is a 1953 American war film directed by Richard Brooks and starring Richard Widmark and Karl Malden as Thorne Ryan and Laverne Holt, drill sergeants who must transform a batch of everyday civilians into soldiers during the Korean War. The film presents a highly fictionalized portrayal of army life.

Production

The film was originally to be shot at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, under the title The Making of a Marine based on an original by Millard Kaufman. It was later asserted that "the Marines refused to cooperate because they did not want to stir up old controversies over the toughness of their training program." The Army, however, cooperated fully with the studio, and location filming took place at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas.

It was Russ Tamblyn's first film under his contract with MGM.

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