Hell's Horizon (1955) Takes To Low Columbia Ceiling
Slow build to a Korean air mission where bomber
crew will sustain or crack-up according to character they've revealed in Acts
One-Two. John Ireland is chief pilot, tip-off to modest cast otherwise
aboard: Bill Williams, Hugh Beaumont, Jerry Paris, Bill Schallert. Love Is
Splendor-ish girl interest is Marla English, borrowed from Paramount, striking
Eurasian pose a la Jennifer Jones in the 20th Fox hit. Marla would be a cult
chiller throb as The She-Creature, which she probably didn't find half so
rewarding as this part, a better calling card for elevation out of B's (ME
would instead quit biz altogether). Horizon saves its fuel for determining mission, which came excitingly at point where I'd almost lost hope for this Columbia
release of a "Gravis Production," the independent set-up by producer
Wray Davis and writer-director Tom Gries. Money man for Gravis was actually Jack
Broder of Realart fame, who sold Hell's Horizon outright to Columbia once
filming was completed, the film having been shot on rented space at Republic
(latter's on-site badman Keene Duncan shows up as a commanding
officer). Variety showed little mercy, calling Hell's Horizon outright
"poor." It runs occasionally on Sony's HD channel, and at least looks
good on high-def format.
It’s curious that the poster for “Hell’s Horizon” would feature a B-57 Canberra bomber. Of course, it was the USAF’s front-line tactical bomber when the movie came out, sleek and jet-powered, but it was never used in the Korean War. I understand, in fact, that the movie is about a B-29 crew performing a daring, one plane attack on a strategically-important bridge. That, too, is kind of curious, given how vulnerable that World War II type was to jet fighters. After Korean MIG-15s shot down 28 of the big bombers on daylight bombing missions, B-29s were relegated to night-time attacks only. Sending one of them to bomb a bridge during broad daylight seems as sensible as Wallace Beery strafing the Japanese from a blimp in “This Man’s Navy.”
Never having seen “Hell’s Horizon,” I can only trust that luscious Marla English delivers the goods.
The poster also ballies Chet Baker, the gifted jazz trumpeter. He had great musical chops and then some. One music critic called him “James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix [Beiderbecke, that is] rolled into one.” It was a natural for his raw-boned Oklahoma good looks to attract Hollywood’s attention, but this was apparently his only film appearance, at least in a drama. Baker’s early promise was squandered by his rather hectic life-style and drug dependency, but until the day he fell out of the window of an Amsterdam hotel, there was always the possibility of magic when he raised the horn to his lips.
How good an actor could he have been, though? Robert Mitchum thought that jazz musicians would have a natural feel for dialog. That was why he engaged Keely Smith for “Thunder Road.” She looked great, she sang great, but her acting was pretty bad in the film. So, what about Baker? As an actor, was he just a pretty good trumpet player, or maybe something more? If he was something more, it would have just another of the what-might-have-beens in his life.
After seeing Hugh Beaumont prominently on the poster,and seeing his lead in RAILROADED on the telly recently, I despair that he's only known now as Beaver's dad....as Larry Pennell,also on the poster and in loads of roles in the 50s, will forever be Dash Riprock...and Jerry Paris and Wm Schallert,TV veterans on one side of the camera or the other, didn't even get a place on the poster...
4 Comments:
Beaumont, Schallert and Paris -- there's a
1960s sitcom trifecta right there!
Dan Mercer reflects on HELL'S HORIZON:
It’s curious that the poster for “Hell’s Horizon” would feature a B-57 Canberra bomber. Of course, it was the USAF’s front-line tactical bomber when the movie came out, sleek and jet-powered, but it was never used in the Korean War. I understand, in fact, that the movie is about a B-29 crew performing a daring, one plane attack on a strategically-important bridge. That, too, is kind of curious, given how vulnerable that World War II type was to jet fighters. After Korean MIG-15s shot down 28 of the big bombers on daylight bombing missions, B-29s were relegated to night-time attacks only. Sending one of them to bomb a bridge during broad daylight seems as sensible as Wallace Beery strafing the Japanese from a blimp in “This Man’s Navy.”
Never having seen “Hell’s Horizon,” I can only trust that luscious Marla English delivers the goods.
The poster also ballies Chet Baker, the gifted jazz trumpeter. He had great musical chops and then some. One music critic called him “James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix [Beiderbecke, that is] rolled into one.” It was a natural for his raw-boned Oklahoma good looks to attract Hollywood’s attention, but this was apparently his only film appearance, at least in a drama. Baker’s early promise was squandered by his rather hectic life-style and drug dependency, but until the day he fell out of the window of an Amsterdam hotel, there was always the possibility of magic when he raised the horn to his lips.
How good an actor could he have been, though? Robert Mitchum thought that jazz musicians would have a natural feel for dialog. That was why he engaged Keely Smith for “Thunder Road.” She looked great, she sang great, but her acting was pretty bad in the film. So, what about Baker? As an actor, was he just a pretty good trumpet player, or maybe something more? If he was something more, it would have just another of the what-might-have-beens in his life.
Chet Baker makes this must seeing.
After seeing Hugh Beaumont prominently on the poster,and seeing his lead in RAILROADED on the telly recently, I despair that he's only known now as Beaver's dad....as Larry Pennell,also on the poster and in loads of roles in the 50s, will forever be Dash Riprock...and Jerry Paris and Wm Schallert,TV veterans on one side of the camera or the other, didn't even get a place on the poster...
Post a Comment
<< Home