The Steel Helmet

There are two types of war films: the ones more reliant on bloodshed and the ones more reliant on morality. Obviously it's those in the category that tend to stand out more to audiences, what with how the soldiers behave under duress. There's always been a morbid fascination towards living in fear for one's life.

Unsurprisingly there was a large flux of such works in the years after World War II, many of them penned by those who lived to tell their tales. One such name was Samuel Fuller, and it was his third film The Steel Helmet that put him on the cinematic map.

As would do with later films like Pickup on South Street and The Naked Kiss, Fuller shows with The Steel Helmet a good deal of grit. There's no denying there was a shift in storytelling following the end of World War II, and Fuller proved so as the Korean War raged on. He didn't want to make a sappy picture.

Similarly, much like his magnum opus The Big Red One, Fuller avoids all forms of bullshit for The Steel Helmet. (It's a war movie, damn it, not a soap opera.) He -- as well as several of the film's actors -- knew firsthand what war was like; they sure as hell don't want to sugarcoat their experiences.

The Steel Helmet makes for a solid character study as well as a war film. (What better way to show one's true colors than by putting them in a life or death situation?) It also showed Hollywood what to expect from Fuller, someone who actively tried to change the game. (He did.)

My Rating: ****1/2

The Big Red One

Directors always have a passion project. Most times they get realized. Other times they don't get realized at all. (This was the case with Stanley Kubrick and Napoleon.) Either way the studios know of them whether they get made or not.

One such director was Samuel Fuller. Most famous for B-movies like Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss, he wanted to make The Big Red One since the 1950s. (Plans to make it around that time were dropped after Fuller and Warner Bros. disagreed with cuts for another project of Fuller's.) He finally made it in 1980, but even then there were major cuts. Fast forward to 2004, twenty-four years after the original release (and seven years after Fuller's death), and a restoration was presented.

Long before Steven Spielberg made Saving Private Ryan, Fuller shows that there's no heroic bullshit in a good war film. He wants grit in his film, nothing else that's commonly found in the standard Hollywood war film. (What else from the man who made Pickup on South Street?) Although Fuller also shows brief moments of peace for the soldiers, which provides a nice balance.

Who else to lead a Samuel Fuller-directed war film other than Lee Marvin? He's the kind of man who doesn't take shit from anyone, so naturally he's perfect here. There's also some very good supporting work from Mark Hamill as one of the soldiers in Marvin's infantry. Had most of his scenes not been cut from the original release (and had The Empire Strikes Back not been released that same year), I think he would've been a legit actor.

To sum things up, The Big Red One is fantastic. It's definitely one of the best war films ever made, and Fuller's personal touches to it adds to its greatness. Seriously, go watch this. (And make sure it's the restored version.)

My Rating: *****

The Naked Kiss

Oh, what better way to open a film than by showing the protagonist beating up another character? In the case of Samuel Fuller's The Naked Kiss, the protagonist is Kelly (Constance Towers) and her target is her pimp.

Kelly changes her career choices and become a nurse. The town where she relocates appears to be a slice of Americana but like Kelly herself, it's hiding a few dark secrets of its own.

Fuller makes no bones about some of the risque material in The Naked Kiss nor does he feel the urge to shy away from it. Like his previous film Shock Corridor, this was made during a restriction-dominated era of Hollywood. Did Fuller give a damn about it? Nope.

Towers is a real firecracker as Kelly. She has morals but they're not what you would expect, especially coming from an ex-hooker. This is the kind of role that was rare for actresses back in the day. And Towers adds to this explosive performance.

The Naked Kiss may not be suitable for everyone, but it sure is a hell of a film to watch. Along with Fuller's direction and Towers' performance, there's also some seductively sleazy cinematography from Stanley Cortez. And to think this was released the same year as My Fair Lady, the very thing one would not describe Kelly.

My Rating: *****

Shock Corridor

Oh, the things a writer will do for the sake of their own crooked reputation. Chuck Tatum left a man fighting for his life. J.J. Hunsecker got a slander published to ruin a man's reputation.

What did Johnny Barrett (Peter Breck) do for his story? Nothing too out of the ordinary, just having himself committed to a mental hospital. The reason for this? To solve a murder that happened within its walls.

Samuel Fuller provides a very explosive tale in the form of Shock Corridor. Don't expect something in the vein of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest nor a trashy B-movie. This is a film that's a league of its own. (What else do you expect from a film with killer opening lines like this: "My name is Johnny Barrett. I'm a reporter for the Daily Globe. This is my story...as far as it went.")

Of course, for films like this, it's the details that went into it that matter. In this case, one crucial detail is Stanley Cortez's cinematography. The way he shows the dark corners of the human mind is hypnotizing. It's the type of cinematography most films wish they had.

Shock Corridor is, unsurprisingly, a shock to watch. To think a film like this was made in an era of Hollywood where regulations were the norm. This is a film that breaks all the rules, and we have Fuller to thank for it.

My Rating: *****

Pickup on South Street

Pickup on South Street is the definition of what noir should be. Dark settings, compelling characters and one hell of a MacGuffin. Seriously.

Like most great noirs, Pickup on South Street is set in the underbelly of New York City. Thanks to Leigh Harline's music and Joseph MacDonald's cinematography, they give the movie a true feeling for what noir should be.

The main performances are from Richard Widmark, Jean Peters and Thelma Ritter. All three are aware that what they do is dangerous, but they're willing to take the risk. Of the three, my favorite's Ritter. She merely sells out information in order to save up for when her information doesn't please certain people. Again, she knows it's a dangerous business but she's willing to take the risk.

Pickup on South Street, as said before, is one of the best noirs. I've seen. It's gritty and gripping at the same time. It also captures the politics of that time. Not one to miss.

My Rating: *****