THE STEEL HELMET (1951)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
The toughest, bravest, riskiest director of the 40's and 50's and beyond was Samuel Fuller, the equivalent of Martin Scorsese of a different era. From "Pickup on South Street" to "I Shot Jesse James," Fuller has always featured angry emotions exploding into violent fireworks. "The Steel Helmet" is one of the best war pictures ever made, an assured tale of the madness of war, using a more anti-American approach that was unusual in its day (by anti-American, I mean that heroism is not an issue in the film). I think only "Paths of Glory" could compare to what Fuller achieved during the 50's.
The famous opening shot establishes tension and surprise immediately. The opening credits are superimposed over a steel helmet with a bullet hole. At first, we assume it is another casualty of the Korean War. As it turns out, it is Sergeant Zack (Gene Evans), who is revealed to be alive as he climbs over a hill, still tied up and with a wounded leg. A supposed enemy arrives, barefoot and carrying a rifle. Zack pretends to be dead but he fails and, to our surprise, the enemy is a young South Korean kid (William Chun) with no intention to harm. The kid cuts Zack's hands free but all Zack can do is incorrectly call him a "gook" and gives him a nickname, Short Round (that's right Indiana Jones fans - this is where the name came from). Zack is not the apologetic kind but he lets the kid tag along as they look for a Buddhist temple that serves as the infantry's observation post.
Eventually, they come across a black medic, Cpl. Thompson (James Edwards, whom you may recognize from Kubrick's "The Killing"), whose own unit had been killed, and a wandering infantry unit headed by Lt. Driscoll (Steve Brodie). Zack hates Driscoll, mostly because Driscoll has no real field experience - Zack has Normandy experience where he saw real blood and guts. Nevertheless, they all head to the Buddhist Temple, ready to fight the Reds who had tortured and killed many American soldiers. Unfortunately, a sniper may be hiding in the temple. And it will take a lot for Zack to protect Short Round, whom he always commands to "eat rice" anytime an enemy combatant is near. Despite Zack's insolence and cynicism, Short Round places a Buddhist prayer on Zack's back shirt - the kid will do anything for the man. The soldiers are not as hesitant to protect the angry Zack but they all come to learn the value of human life. It takes longer for Zack who can't fathom why one soldier carries an organ along given to him by a priest. But his moment of cynicism arrives when a dead American soldier is seen by him as another corpse whom no one will care about. Chilling statement.
Parts of "The Steel Helmet" may sound like a sentimental war picture but it is far from it. This is a gutsy, humane film that places equal importance on every character regardless of race, religion or creed. Let's not forget that one member of this infantry is Japanese, Sgt. "Buddhahead" Tanaka (Richard Loo), who was once in those internment camps in World War II. There is of course the black medic Thompson, who is not above barking orders at Zack, and the fact that Zack does not react violently shows how far ahead Fuller was in his time - he dared to show racial tension without making it explicit. There is one honest scene where a captured Red questions Thompson about his race and the problems of equality in America, namely having to sit in the back of the bus. In war, Thompson may be treated equally amongst other soldiers, but the real war to fight was back home. Scenes like this were barely common in movies of the 50's, and the fact that Fuller was willing to detail the hypocrisies of America in a war film is remarkable.
For pure action and moments of true terror, no one could do it better than Samuel Fuller. The film was a low-budget flick from Lipperton studios, and one can see that studio shooting with foggy landscapes and a set with the statue of Buddha overseeing all was primary in getting the film on-budget (location shooting was expensive). But the film's roughness and crudeness adds a lot to the film, depicting the raw nature of war and the fragility of command when the enemy was so near. Not one of these soldiers ever appears to be truly heroic or stand for anything - even Thompson admits that he better get paid for his services. But it is the subtle emotional relationship between Zack and Short Round that provides the heart for "The Steel Helmet." The message seems to be that no matter who you are or where you came from, a war is still a war and we all need to survive.
