War Hunt *** (1962, John Saxon, Robert Redford, Charles Aidman, Sydney Pollack) – Classic Movie Review 11,636

The 1962 low-budget black and white war movie War Hunt is remembered for Robert Redford’s first major big screen role, as idealistic Private Roy Loomis.

Director Denis Sanders’s 1962 low-budget black and white war movie War Hunt stars John Saxon as an unbalanced soldier, Private Raymond Endore, who makes friends with an orphaned victim of the Korean War, nicknamed Charlie (Tommy Matsuda), but fails to free himself from his own psychosis, and comes into conflict with idealistic Private Roy Loomis (Robert Redford).

Film director Sydney Pollack is an effective co-star as Sergeant Owen Van Horn, in this tough-edged, effective drama, marred by the cheap, unconvincing production. The film is remembered for Redford’s first major big screen role, as Private Roy Loomis, after making his debut in a minor part in Tall Story (1960), as well as for the film debuts of Sydney Pollack and Tom Skerritt.

It is written by Stanford Whitmore, produced by Terry Sanders for T-D Enterprises, and released by United Artists.

Frequent collaborators Redford and Pollack first met on the set of the film as actors.

It was shot in 15 days for just $250,000, mostly at night to hide the low budget. Francis Ford Coppola drove a truck in the film and associate producer Noel Black worked as an electrician.

The Pentagon refused military assistance, saying it objected to many portions of the script, such as a private soldier being an independent professional killer with his commanding officer’s approval, a scene of the captain calling a sergeant an idiot, and scenes ‘too gruesome to be in good taste’.

The cast are John Saxon as Private Raymond Endore, Robert Redford as Private Roy Loomis, Charles Aidman as Captain Wallace Pratt, Sydney Pollack as Sergeant Owen Van Horn, Tommy Matsuda as Charlie, Gavin MacLeod as Private Crotty, Anthony Ray as Private Joshua Fresno, Tom Skerritt as Sergeant Stan Showalter, William Challee as Lieutenant Colonel, Nancy Hsueh as Mama San and Francis Ford Coppola as Truck Driver.

War Hunt is directed by Denis Sanders, runs 83 minutes, is produced by T-D Enterprises, released by United Artists, is written by Stanford Whitmore, is shot in black and white by Ted D McCord, is produced by Terry Sanders, Denis Sanders and Noel Black, is scored by Bud Shank, and designed by Edgar Lansbury.

Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,636

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