| The Hunters | |
|---|---|
VHS cover art |
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| Directed by | Dick Powell |
| Produced by | Dick Powell |
| Written by | Wendell Mayes James Salter |
| Starring | Robert Mitchum Robert Wagner May Britt |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell |
| Cinematography | Charles G. Clarke |
| Editing by | Stuart Gilmore |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | August 26, 1958 (New York) |
| Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2,440,000[1] |
| Box office | $2,100,000 (US rentals)[2] |
The Hunters is a 1958 feature film adapted from the novel The Hunters by James Salter. Produced by Dick Powell, it stars Robert Mitchum and Robert Wagner as two very different United States Air Force fighter pilots in the midst of the Korean War.
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Major Cleve "Iceman" Saville (Mitchum) is a veteran World War II fighter ace eager to fly an North American F-86 Sabre fighter in the Korean War. His commanding officer, Colonel "Dutch" Imil (Richard Egan), assigns him command of a flight.
Among his pilots is a new replacement, talented, but brash Lieutenant Ed Pell (Wagner). After he abandons his element leader, Lieutenant Corona (John Gabriel), during combat to down an enemy fighter, Corona's aircraft is shot up; he is killed while trying to land. As a result, Saville wants Pell assigned to someone else, but Imil overrules him; Pell was top of his class in flight school and Imil sees him as a younger version of Saville. If anyone can get Pell to grow up, it is the major.
Another pilot under Saville's command, Lieutenant Carl Abbott (Lee Philips), poses a different kind of problem. He lacks confidence in his abilities; his worried wife Kristina (May Britt) asks Saville to watch over him. Saville falls in love with her, and vice versa. Aware of the situation, Abbott offers Saville a deal: his wife in return for the opportunity to go one-on-one with "Casey Jones" (an uncredited Leon Lontoc), the most feared enemy ace, whose MiG-15 is marked with "7-11", if they should run into him. A disgusted Saville turns him down.
Nevertheless, on a mission soon afterwards, Abbott tangles with Casey Jones and is quickly shot down far behind enemy lines. In an ensuing dogfight, Saville downs Casey Jones and, resisting the temptation to abandon the wounded Abbott, spots his parachute and ditches his aircraft nearby, disobeying standing orders. Pell strafes the North Korean infantrymen closing in and is shot down himself. The trio then make their way back to safety.
Along the way, they are assisted by a friendly Korean farmer (Victor Sen Yung) and his family. When a North Korean patrol happens by, the Americans hide, but in their haste, a jacket is left behind. As a result, the family members are executed, but Saville and Pell avenge them.
Afterward, Abbott is to be transferred back to the U.S. to recuperate. His brush with death has changed his priorities; he remorsefully asks Kristina for another chance. She decides to go with him.
As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):[3]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Robert Mitchum | Major Cleve Saville |
| Robert Wagner | Lieutenant Ed Pell |
| Richard Egan | Colonel Dutch Imil |
| May Britt | Kristina "Kris" Abbott |
| Lee Philips | 1st Lieutenant Carl Abbott |
| John Gabriel | 1st Lieutenant Corona |
| Stacy Harris | Colonel Monk Moncavage |
| Victor Sen Yung | Korean farmer |
| Candace Lee | Korean child |
| Aki Aleong | MIG Pilot (uncredited) |
| John Doucette | Chief Master Sergeant |
| Nobu McCarthy | Japanese Clerk (uncredited) |
| Rachel Stephens | Nurse (uncredited) |
| Kam Tong | Red Chinese Officer (uncredited) |
The flying scenes were principally filmed over the southwest United States. Operational F-86 Sabre fighters, which were still front line aircraft at the time, were used in the aerial sequences. The crash footage of a Super Sabre was used in one scene to represent the attempted landing of an F-86. USAF Republic F-84F Thunderstreak fighters were painted with Communist Bloc paint schemes and insignia to portray enemy MiG-15s. A C-130A Hercules was used as an aerial photography platform. Palm Beach AFB, Florida was used during the production as the main location where aircraft used in the film were parked and maintained.
With this film, director Dick Powell completed his obligations to 20th Century Fox in his producing-directing contract, having already delivered The Enemy Below.
Other than the names of some characters, the fact that they were flying F-86s against MiG-15s in the Korean War in 1952, and the final dogfight between Cleve and Casey Jones, there is minimal resemblance between the film and Salter's original novel. The character of Cleve Saville (or Cleve Connell in later editions) in the novel more resembles the character of Carl Abbott in the movie, and Abbott in the novel, a less prominent character, is a seasoned ace who outranks Saville. Saville is on his first combat tour in the novel, having done his World War II service in the Panama Canal Zone. The friction between Saville and Pell continues throughout the novel and Pell is a much less likable character.
There are no pilots' wives as characters in the novel and therefore no love triangle subplots, and no mission where Saville crash-lands, or Pell is shot down, trying to help Abbott. On the return to base after Saville shoots down Casey Jones, his wingman is killed when he runs out of fuel and crashes just short of the runway, and as a gesture to the wingman and also to spite Pell who questions whether Casey Jones was actually shot down, Saville credits his wingman with the kill. Saville actually dies at the end of the novel, with only a single kill to his own credit.
Considered a lacklustre war drama, The Hunters did not fare well with critics, although most audiences saw it as a widescreen epic. Director Dick Powell strove to create an authentic "look" with carefully set up scenes focusing on military personnel and the jet fighter operations that underlined the main action scenes. Reviewer Mark Hassan noted, "The real star of the film is the extraordinary aerial cinematography".[4]
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