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poster of The Hunters
Rating: 5.7/10 by 24 users

The Hunters (1958)

With its electrifying flight sequences and high-powered cast, The Hunters is a mesmerizing film based on the best-selling novel by veteran fighter pilot James Salter. Set during the height of the Korean War, the story centers on Major Cleve Saville (Robert Mitchum), a master of the newly operational F-86 Sabre fighter jets. But adept as he is at flying, Saville¹s personal life takes a nosedive when he falls in love with his wingman¹s (Lee Philips) beautiful wife (May Britt). To make matters worse, Saville must cope with a loud-mouthed rookie (Robert Wagner) in a daring rescue mission that threatens all their lives in this well-crafted war drama.

Directing:
  • Dick Powell
  • James Curtis Havens
  • Ad Schaumer
Writing:
  • Wendell Mayes
  • James Salter
Stars:
Release Date: Mon, Sep 01, 1958

Rating: 5.7/10 by 24 users

Alternative Title:
Kampfgeschwader Kobra - DE

Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 48 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0

Plot Keyword: airplane, based on novel or book, korean war (1950-53)

Robert Mitchum
Major Cleve Saville
Robert Wagner
Lt. Ed Pell
Richard Egan
Colonel Dutch Imil, CO 54th Fighter Group
May Britt
Kristina 'Kris' Abbott
Lee Philips
1st Lt. Carl Abbott
John Gabriel
1st Lt. Corona
Stacy Harris
Col. Monk Moncavage
Victor Sen Yung
Korean farmer
Candace Lee
Korean Child
Aki Aleong
MIG Pilot
John Doucette
Chief Master Sergeant
Mabel Lim
Korean Woman
Alena Murray
Mrs. Mason
Nina Shipman
WAF Lieutenant
Walter Soo Hoo
Chinese Soldier (uncredited)

John Chard

Love tryst and thundering planes. Set during the Korean War, this picture features the fine talent of Robert Mitchum as Major Cleve Saville and a young fresh faced Robert Wagner as the cocksure Lt Ed Pell. As the war rages, and the airmen deal with the pressures that come with the service, Saville starts to fall in love with the wife (a very weak May Britt) of one of his men, thus adding further pressures to a company growing weary by the day. The Hunters, based on the novel written by James Salter, is a very solid picture, perhaps bogged down by it's determination to give the picture emotional heart, it never the less thrills with its aerial sequences and is awash with glorious colour that new televisual technology can enhance, it's also a film that definitely needs to be seen in widescreen. By not outstaying its welcome, The Hunters is the perfect film for genre fans who find themselves stuck in the house on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Though Mitchum of course oozes his usual screen presence here, he is playing second fiddle to the F-86 Sabres that are swishing about the bright blue sky, dog fighting with the Migs (well F-84 Thunders cunningly disguised as Migs) and thus giving the picture the necessary action quotient. Films set in the Korean War are few and far between, so to at least have a film like The Hunters to view when in the mood is surely a really good thing. 6/10


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