“As visceral as any movie ever made, this is also Fuller’s portrait of the collapsing mind, a race into madness. ”
The Steel Helmet marked the official arrival of Samuel Fuller (Shock Corridor, Pickup on South Street) as a mighty cinematic force.
Gene Evans plays a tough-as-nails sergeant who, because of his helmet, is the sole survivor of an ambush during the Korean War. He is helped through the wilderness by an orphan (William Chun as Short Round) and led to a new platoon that faces even greater dangers.
Despite its relatively low budget, this portrait of soldiers grappling with moral and racial issues while trying to stay alive remains one of the director’s most gripping, realistic depictions of the blood and guts of war, as well as reflection of Fuller’s social conscience.
