The Hunters

1958

1h 48m

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

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War

Action

Drama

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.

Directors

Dick Powell

Writers

Wendell Mayes(screenplay by)

James Salter(novel by)

Stars

Robert Mitchum

Robert Wagner

Richard Egan

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Videos1

Trailer
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Photos15

Top cast

Robert Mitchum

Major Cleve Saville

Robert Wagner

Lt. Ed Pell

Richard Egan

Colonel Dutch Imil, CO 54th Fighter Group

May Britt

Kristina 'Kris' Abbott

1st Lt. Carl Abbott

1st Lt. Corona

Col. Monk Moncavage

Korean farmer

Korean Child

MIG Pilot

Chief Master Sergeant

Waitress

Korean Woman

Mrs. Mason

WAF Lieutenant

Jackson

Chinese Soldier (uncredited)

George Sasaki

Chinese Soldier (uncredited)

Directors

Dick Powell

Writers

Wendell Mayes(screenplay by)

James Salter(novel by)

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Review

Featured review

6/10

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

John Chard16 Apr, 2016