Fixed Bayonets!

Another in a long line of gritty war films directed by Samuel Fuller, running through 30 years from Steel Helmet to The Big Red One. Fuller's handling of the situation where a platoon is pinned down in a cave brings little relief from the pressures they are under, dispenses almost entirely with humour, and concentrates on the stress, mental and physical, that the soldiers face. Good performances from a cast headed by Richard Basehart, Gene Evans and Michael O'Shea. James Dean has a tiny role.