| One Minute to Zero | |
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original film advertisement |
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| Directed by | Tay Garnett |
| Produced by | Edmund Grainger Howard Hughes |
| Written by | William Wister Haines Milton Krims |
| Starring | Robert Mitchum Ann Blyth Charles McGraw William Talman |
| Music by | Victor Young |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1952 |
| Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
One Minute to Zero (1952) is a romantic war film starring Robert Mitchum and Ann Blyth set during the Korean War. Victor Young's score includes the first recording of the love theme "When I Fall In Love" (performed here by Doris Day), which became a popular hit song recorded by a variety of artists.
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Just prior to the North Korean invasion of South Korea, Regular Army World War II veterans Colonel Steve Janowski (Mitchum), who has risen from Private (rank) to his present rank in 15 years, and Sergeant Baker (Charles McGraw) are teaching South Korean soldiers how to use a bazooka to stop an enemy tank. Mrs. Linda Day (Blyth) is a United Nations worker assisting refugees. She and her colleagues are warned by Steve to leave the area, as hostilities are imminent. Linda insists that the North Koreans wouldn't risk the wrath of world opinion; Steve asks if it had stopped Hitler.
Soon afterwards, Steve and his US Air Force counterpart, Colonel Joe Parker (William Talman), wake up to find themselves under attack. They compare it to Pearl Harbor ("Isn't this where we came in?" "It's even Sunday morning!"). Janowski takes command of a US Army unit. Meanwhile, he keeps crossing paths with (and falling in love with) Linda. She turns out to be the widow of a professional Army officer who was awarded the Medal of Honor, and is reluctant to become involved with another soldier.
In one desperate situation, Steve has no choice but to stop a column of refugees infiltrated by armed North Korean guerrillas by calling in artillery strikes. Steve displays remorse for the civilian casualties. However, when Linda learns of the incident, she condemns him for killing innocent people. Later, she finds out why he had to do what he did and apologizes.
As well as the US Army, the South Korean Army and United Nations Workers, the film features the contributions of the British Army and the Royal Australian Air Force.
With a working title of The Korean Story, RKO originally assigned the film to director Ted Tetzlaff, however, producer Edmund Grainger, famed for Sands of Iwo Jima and Flying Leathernecks wanted a bigger name so replaced Tetzlaff with Tay Garnett.[1] The original leading lady was Claudette Colbert who became ill and was replaced by Ann Blyth.[2] The film attempted to shoot second unit footage in South Korea.[3] Though Howard Hughes had received massive US Army and US Air Force cooperation in making the film, Hughes refused to delete the refugee massacre scene when requested to do so by the Army.[4]
It was filmed at Fort Carson, Colorado, using troops of the 148th Field Artillery.[5]
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