Lewis Milestone

In April 1953 at Panmunjom, Korea, a conference between American and Communist North Korean and Chinese forces convenes to discuss halting their three-year conflict. Meanwhile an area in the neutral zone, dubbed Pork Chop Hill by the Americans, is retaken by the Chinese at the cost of the entire American infantry company. Soon after, "K" Company commander Lt. Joe Clemons (Gregory Peck) meets with division commander Col. Davis (Barry Atwater) to receive orders to retake the area and is assured that "L" Company will protect Clemons' flank. Knowing that Pork Chop Hill holds no strategic value, Clemons surmises to friend and co-commander Lt. Suki Ohashi (George Shibata) that the action will underscore the Americans' strength while the peace negotiations continue. Clemons divides the company into three platoons, leading the first, placing Ohashi in command of the second and holding the third in reserve. As the two platoons ascend the hill at dusk, American artillery bombards the crest but the men are nevertheless unnerved to hear a Chinese propaganda broadcaster in the central command bunker calmly call out criticism of their foolhardiness and list statistics of American losses. Unknown to Clemons, back at division headquarters, Davis learns that "L" Company has been delayed getting into position because they have misconstrued their orders to provide support for Clemons' company. Once the American shelling stops, Clemons' men fall under an increasingly heavy enemy barrage and the soldiers are then shocked when bright spotlights from their own position abruptly shine down upon them, escalating enemy fire. The lights go off, and moments later, the radio man informs Clemons they have received an apology from the American group responsible for the spotlights who mistook their location for another. At dawn, still some distance from the enemy trenches and with his platoon severely depleted, Clemons is unable to rouse Ohashi on the radio and sends a messenger in search of the second platoon. Meanwhile, Clemons' men are startled to hear the sound of trumpets blaring, heralding a ferocious assault by the Chinese. When the fighting slows, Clemons finally reaches Ohashi by radio and demands assistance, but Ohashi reports he has lost a quarter of his men and cannot hold his position near the crest if he divides them. Dismayed by the lack of promised support along the hill's left flank, Clemons orders a small squad to provide machine gun cover there. Later, when the nearly decimated squad returns to report to Clemons, he contacts Davis to complain bitterly about the lack of assistance. Davis insists that the crest be taken as soon as possible and ignores Clemons' protest that he has too few men to accomplish the task. Ohashi reports that he has lost nearly half of his platoon and requests the third platoon be activated, but Clemons believes they should be held in reserve as long as possible. Disheartened, Ohashi nevertheless agrees and returns to maintain his position as Clemons is joined by a handful of soldiers dashing up the hill. Clemons is stunned to learn the 12 men are the only survivors from "L" Company, whose two platoons were slaughtered in their attempt to provide delayed assistance to "K" Company. The remainder of Clemons' platoon, joined by the additional men, then rush the next line of trenches and bunker and are relived to find it has already been secured by Ohashi's men. While the soldiers greet one another, the bunker is suddenly hit by numerous artillery shells. Although severely shaken, most of the men survive and angrily insist the shells came from their own side. Realizing the exhausted, demoralized men are correct, and fearing a revolt, Clemons lies, countering that the artillery came from a nearby, Chinese-held mountain. Anxious over the long silence from Davis, Clemons meets with Ohashi to decide upon their next action. Clemons summons Lt. Waldorf (John Alderman) and the third platoon and declares the crest must be taken to avoid the continued attrition of the remaining American forces. Knowing that Waldorf is inexperienced, Ohashi volunteers his men to make a risky bayonet charge against the crest. Clemons promises a diversionary action as well as support and the move is successful. Afterward, Clemons radios Davis' headquarters, which have now come under an intensive enemy barrage. Cut off after hearing Pork Chop Hill has been taken at last, Davis is unaware of Clemons' desperate plea for supplies and ammunition. Soon after, "K" Company's last radio is destroyed, but Clemons is pleased by the arrival of his brother-in-law, Lt. Walt Russell (Rip Torn), commander of "G" Company. The men's reunion is short-lived, however, when Russell reveals he has been assigned to perform a "mop-up" action and not to reinforce "K" Company. Russell is horrified to learn Clemons and Ohashi have only 35 men left from their entire 100-strong company. Moments later, a messenger arrives with news from Davis that "G" Company has been recalled, as Davis believes the hill secured. Clemons sends a terse return message insisting that without Russell's men, the area cannot be held. At division headquarters, Gen. Trudeau demands to know whether his superiors intend to hold the hill, but nevertheless supports the recall of "G" Company. Russell departs, taking Clemons' wounded and leaving as much ammunition as possible. Clemons orders his 25 remaining men to spread out along the crest as the Chinese radio broadcaster informs the Americans they have 45 minutes to surrender or they will be destroyed. Using the radio left by Russell, Clemons contacts Davis to declare that unless they are provided reinforcements, they must withdraw, but Davis responds that he has received no further orders. At the Panmunjom peace conference, the American representative angrily concludes that the Chinese refusal to give up the strategically useless Pork Chop Hill serves as a test of American character, and contacts American Infantry Division headquarters. That night, as the Chinese begin their final assault on Clemons' position, Ohashi is wounded bringing Clemons a report that "L" Company's surviving platoon is providing support. The strength of the Chinese attack forces the Americans into bunkers that they frantically seal against enemy flamethrowers. The tide then abruptly turns when a reinforcement division arrives to clinch the taking of Pork Chop Hill. The film ends with Clemons and the rest of his exhausted men walking down from the hill towards their own front lines as American troops walk up Pork Chop Hill to relieve them.

On a rainy night in 1928 in a Pennsylvania factory town called Iverstown, 13-year-old Martha Ivers (Janis Wilson) tries to run away from the guardianship of her wealthy aunt, Mrs. Ivers (Judith Anderson), with her friend, the street-smart, poor Sam Masterson (Darryl Hickman). She is caught and taken home, where Martha's tutor, Walter O'Neil Sr., presents his timid son, Walter Jr. (Mickey Kuhn), as the one responsible for Martha's capture. Walter privately tells Martha that despite what his father said, he was not the one who sent authorities on her track, and would never betray her. His father claimed this in order to ingratiate himself with the aunt. Scolded by her aunt, Martha defiantly states her name is not Ivers, but Smith, her father's name. During a power failure, Sam comes for her, but Martha's aunt hears her calling to him from downstairs. While Sam slips out unnoticed, Mrs. Ivers starts beating Martha's kitten with her cane. Martha wrestles the cane away from her aunt and strikes her across the head, causing her to fall down the stairs, accidentally killing her. When the power comes back on, Martha lies about the incident to Walter Sr. Even though Walter Jr. saw everything, he backs her up. The greedy Walter Sr. makes it clear to both Walter Jr. and Martha that he knows what happened but that as long as he and his son stand to benefit, he will play along. Sam leaves town. Seventeen years later, in 1946, Walter Sr. is now dead, and Walter Jr. (Kirk Douglas) is now Iverstown's district attorney and is married to Martha, who has used her inheritance to expand the Ivers milling empire. Their marriage is one-sided; he loves her, but an embittered Walter knows she does not love him, and knows that all she wants is control. Sam (Van Heflin), having been a Sergeant in WWII and an itinerant gambler while he was away, drives into the small town by chance and, after an accident, leaves his car to be repaired. While waiting, he goes to his old home, now a boarding house. He meets attractive Antonia "Toni" Marachek (Lizabeth Scott), who has just been released from jail. She misses her bus. They have a drink together in a hotel bar and spend the night in adjoining rooms in the hotel, sharing an adjoining bath. They had plans to share his car to travel further on. When he is woken in his room by police detectives, notifying him she was picked up for violating her probation, Sam visits Walter to ask him to use his influence to get Toni released for "old time's sake." A suspicious Walter is convinced Sam has blackmail in mind. But when Martha reacts joyfully to seeing Sam, a now jealous Walter forces Toni to set him up. Walter later grills Toni and he threatens her in order to have her set Sam up. At dinner, she was tells Sam she was convicted of a fur coat theft but given probation since it was a first offense. Just then, they are confronted by a man claiming to be her "husband," insisting on fighting Sam. He is ambushed outside by a group who force him into a car, beat him and dump him outside the city. He wakes up at night alongside a county road with a private detective's badge in his fist. But he is too tough to be intimidated. He hitches a ride into town and catches up with Toni before she takes a bus at the depot. She admits setting him up, having been threatened with serving her five years, but that they promised not to hurt him. When the beating fails, Walter makes a half-hearted attempt to kill Sam by grabbing a gun in his desk drawer, but Sam easily disarms him, knocking him out. Walter inadvertently blurts out his fears of blackmail, only to learn that Sam had not witnessed the death. Intrigued, Sam agrees to meet later to discuss things. Through a newspaper archive search, Sam learns that Walter Sr. had presented Martha's version of the 1928 accidental murder to the police: that an intruder murdered Martha's aunt. With that leverage, Walter Sr. had made Martha marry his son. When the police identified a former employee of the aunt as the murderer, the two Walters and Martha frame the innocent man, and he was hanged. Only Walter junior has any qualms about this, which he still has, but the other two, particularly Martha, were too strong for him to go against them. Sam is torn between his old love and his new one with Toni. Although he eventually forgives Toni for betraying him, he and Martha spend an idyllic day together, rekindling his feelings for her. Martha breaks down and laments that he left without her all those years ago, taking her only chance for love and freedom with him. Just after Martha drops off Sam, she finds Walter drunk, and arranging to meet him to settle matters. As he leaves the hotel, Sam tries to keep Toni from leaving him but she refuses to see him hurt again. When Walter drunkenly falls down the stairs, Martha urges Sam to kill her unconscious husband, as Walter had just predicted. Sam instead brings Walter around. Martha realizes Sam won't murder for her, she pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot Sam in "self-defense" as an intruder. Sam tells her it would work if she could get Walter to corroborate her story. Saying he does not believe she will shoot him, Sam turns his back on her and leaves. Martha drops the gun and Walter picks it up. Walter thinks she still loves Sam. Martha says she was afraid Walter would leave her. He embraces and kisses her as she tells him it can be just like nothing ever happened. Walter pulls out the gun and points at her midriff. She pushes the gun closer to her, puts her thumb over his finger on the trigger and presses. As she is dying, she defiantly states her name is not Martha Ivers, but Martha Smith. Outside, Sam hears the shot. He runs toward the mansion and sees Walter holding Martha's body. Walter then shoots himself. In the final scene, Sam is packing his suitcase in his hotel room when Toni emerges from her room next door, having waited. They drive away from Iverstown. Sam says to Toni, "Don't look back, you know what happened to Lot's wife." Toni says, "Whose wife?" And Sam says, "Sam's wife." Toni smiles and says, "Sam's wife."

In October 1942, a Nazi plane spots a Norwegian flag flying over the German-occupied fishing village of Trollness. On investigation, the Nazis discover that the entire Nazi garrison has been killed and the commander, Captain Koenig, is discovered in his office, shot through the head. The streets, which are filled with bodies, are apparently empty. The only living person found is insane and the Nazis quickly execute him. The rest of the film is told in flashback: Before the deaths, the villagers quietly resisted their Nazi occupiers: The resistance movement is led by a group of people including Gerd Bjarnesen, the owner of the local hotel, whose father was killed by the Nazis; Gunnar Brogge, the head of the fishermen's union; and his fiancee, Karen Stensgard, the daughter of the town's doctor, Martin. Gunnar is planning to escape to England to join the resistance there, but before he can leave, a wounded man from a nearby village brings news that the English are delivering guns to the Norwegian underground in preparation for a unified revolt against the Nazis. The following day, Karen learns that her brother Johann, a Nazi collaborator, is coming home, and she begs her father to keep him away. Later, there is a meeting in the church to decide if those sympathetic to the resistance movement will join in fighting the Germans. Pastor Aalesen is opposed to the plan, believing that murder is wrong no matter why it is done. Stensgard is also unsure about the planned action, but the villagers vote to accept the guns and attack the Germans. Karen, Gerd and Gunnar take turns waiting for the British to deliver the weapons. After they arrive, Karen warns the other resistance workers that her brother may betray them if they are not careful. While they are hiding the weapons, someone accidentally drops an English flashlight. Koenig's men find it and, suspecting that the village is up to something, Koenig confiscates all the fishing boats, hoping this will prevent the villagers from earning a living and force them to divulge their plans. Johann's uncle, Kaspar Togersen, the owner of a fish canning factory, pressures Johann to betray the plotters, and somewhat reluctantly, Johann questions the simple-minded shopkeeper, only to receive false information. The Nazis increase pressure on the townspeople, who have been asked not to take action until the British can arm the entire Norwegian coast. When Koenig tries to confiscate the home of Sixtus Andresen, the schoolteacher, Andresen resists and is beaten by the soldiers, who also burn his belongings. Although the townspeople are extremely angry, they refrain from attacking, but when Karen is raped by a German soldier, Stensgard is driven to murder. In revenge, Koenig decides to execute all the leaders of the resistance. The Germans force the group to dig their own graves, but before they can carry out the executions, the villagers finally can take no more and march on the square. Even the pastor opens fire from the church. The villagers fight through to the harbor and load the women and children on boats headed for England. They continue to battle the Germans at great cost to themselves. Finally cornered in the last remaining German stronghold, Koenig writes a note and kills himself. In the present day, even as the Nazi soldier reports that no one is left alive, another soldier is shot while lowering the Norwegian flag. Karen, Gunnar and the surviving villagers decide to stay to defend their town.

This Oscar-winning film follows a group of German youths who eagerly go off to fight during World War I, but soon discover the horrible, soul-destructive realities of combat.