Sterling Hayden in "Battle Taxi" (1955)
697During the Korean War, U.N. forces learn to depend on the Air Rescue Service branch of the American Air Force, whose dedicated pilots often brave great danger while using their helicopters to rescue the wounded. One of the best ARS commanders is the commander of an Air Rescue helicopter team, Capt. Russ Edwards (Sterling Hayden), a stern but fair disciplinarian, who constantly reminds his men that when they take unnecessary chances and damage their helicopters, a wounded man may not receive the help he needs. Of particular concern to Edwards is a hot-shot former jet pilot, Lt. Pete Stacy (Arthur Franz), who had trained as a jet pilot but because he also had helicopter experience, was transferred to ARS. After Stacy pulls yet another dangerous stunt, Edwards reprimands him, telling him how important helicopter rescue work is, trying to turn him into a team player. The helicopters are not equipped with weapons, his duty is to pick up the wounded and not engage the enemy.
Lt. Col. Stoneham (Jay Barney), the overall commander of the unit, is worried that the rescue missions are being jeopardized by the number of helicopters out of service, and leans on Edwards to make his men aware that taking unnecessary risks is hurting their operational readiness. Despite the cautions, on the very next mission, Stacy and his copilot, 2nd Lt. Tim Vernon (Marshall Thompson) and Medic (Michael Colgan) put themselves and a rescued soldier in danger. When the soldier tells them that his patrol is trapped by an enemy tank, Stacy does not wait for the jets on station to come in, but attacks the tank with only his flares, resulting in his helicopter being shot up and put out of commission.
Edwards tries to reinforce the message that the helicopter rescue is important and stations Stacy and his crew at the farthest base, near the enemy lines. Although Stacy accomplishes a risky rescue of a downed airman, his effort to bring back an airman unconscious in the sea, risks not only his life but all the men aboard his helicopter when he runs out of fuel. Stacy successfully pulls it off by refuelling from a damaged North Korean fuel truck but the fuel contaminates the engine and puts his helicopter out of commission.
The repaired helicopter is tested by Stacy and his crew but their test flight is interrupted by an emergency call where Stacy has to face not only the enemy but also rely on a helicopter rescue after he is seriously wounded and his helicopter is downed with the loss of the jet pilot that was just picked up. Edwards arrives to rescue everyone but calls in a jet fighter patrol to mop up an enemy force. When Stacy recovers, he is now convinced that his job is an essential one and that being part of a team is important, and later, after he has recuperated, Stacy proudly delivers Edwards' speech about the ARS to a new group of jet pilots.
A 1955 American Black & White aviation B-Movie directed by Herbert L. Strock, produced by Art Arthur and Ivan Tors, screenplay by Malvin Wald, story by Art Arthur and Wald, cinematography Lothrop B. Worth, starring Sterling Hayden, Arthur Franz, Marshall Thompson, Leo Needham, Jay Barney, John Dennis, and Michael Colgan.
Released by United Artists. One of Ivan Tors’ early genre-hopping, search-for-a-hit efforts prior to his finding the mark with aquatic adventures (he produced "Sea Hunt" (CBS TV Series 1958–1961) and "Flipper" (NBC TV Series 1964–1967), and oversaw the underwater sequences for "Thunderball" (1965).
Herbert L. Strock (1918-2005) was an American television producer/director, and a B-movie director of titles such as "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein" (1957), "How to Make a Monster" (1958), and "The Crawling Hand" (1963). Strock was involved with many television series including "The Cases of Eddie Drake", "Highway Patrol", "Sea Hunt", "Science Fiction Theatre", "I Led 3 Lives", "Sky King", and "The Veil". In 2000, Strock published a memoir, "Picture Perfect".
Sterling Walter Hayden (1916–1986) was an American actor, author, sailor, model and Marine. A leading man for most of his career, in films such as John Huston's "The Asphalt Jungle" (1950), Nicholas Ray's "Johnny Guitar" (1954), and in both Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing" (1956), and "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964).
The two Korean War-era helicopters seen are two Sikorskys- the H-5 and the H-19 Chickasaw. Both were workhorses for battlefield rescue of downed pilots and wounded soldiers. Revell sold a model of the Sikorsky helicopter.
If you enjoy watching high quality stock footage, newsreel clips, and endless shots of old helicopters and jet fighters (A-26s, B-29s and F-86) in the midst of not so exciting action, this is actually a decent film about the Korean War. There are a lot of good old Sabres and Shooting Stars, some S-51 Hely and other USAF stuff of the period(F-51 , B-45, B-29, Hu-16), which all makes this a must see for aviation buffs and helicopter enthusiasts.