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The Steel Helmet (1951)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
6/24
6/24:
The best film Samuel Fuller ever made?
Why...it has to be The Steel Helmet. Yes, Merrill's Marauders and
The Big Red One are pretty good, but this one is something else that's
far ahead of its time in 1951, showing so many things that I don't normally see in war pictures along with a diverse cast.
According to IMDb: "When director Samuel Fuller interviewed [Gene] Evans for a part in The Steel Helmet, the director
had an M-1 carbine lying across his desk. Fuller threw the rifle at him and told him to 'rack it back' which he did. That was
his audition, and Evans got the part."
There's no question that Gene Evans stole the movie, and as a result, he should've gotten an Oscar nomination. Shot in ten
days under a budget of $104,000, The Steel Helmet is universally regarded as the first film about the Korean War. They
did the whole thing in Griffith Park of Los Angeles, California, with college students for extras.
It's too bad about the kid at the end; how often does that happen in films, especially this early? So is the killing of a
P.O.W. which infuriated the U.S. Army with Samuel Fuller contending that he often saw it happen for real. By the way,
yeah...it's true: the name "Short Round" was actually inspired by this film for Ke Huy Quan's character in
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
All in all, low budget or not, The Steel Helmet is quite close to
All Quiet on the Western Front in spirit.