After the realistic grit of WWII movies in the 1940s, the 1950s tended to live up to "the golden age" and gloss over unpleasant details in war movies. There are exceptions, of course, but the war itself isn't really the interesting part of the film One Minute to Zero. There are some impressively dramatic scenes, and it does interestingly show the events leading up to the start of the Korean War, but the pace is a bit slower than some of my favorite war movies of the 1940s. If you, like me, preferred Gung Ho! and Objective, Burma! to Mrs. Miniver, you might not be very riveted by One Minute to Zero.
The romance of the film did keep me very riveted, as I always am with two good looking people in the leads. Robert Mitchum, a soldier, and Ann Blyth, a UN researcher, are thrown together in South Korea, and when the war breaks out, his job is to evacuate all American civilians. Ann is stubborn and wants to stay, and their mutual dislike transforms from romantic tension to taking a leap of faith in the middle of a war. I loved the pairing, because I kept thinking what a wonderful Sky Masterson and Sister Sarah they would have made in Guys and Dolls. If you ever wondered what Robert Mitchum and Ann Blyth would have played those characters, this movie will show you. Neither gets to sing, though, but besides that, it's like watching their auditions.
The romance of the film did keep me very riveted, as I always am with two good looking people in the leads. Robert Mitchum, a soldier, and Ann Blyth, a UN researcher, are thrown together in South Korea, and when the war breaks out, his job is to evacuate all American civilians. Ann is stubborn and wants to stay, and their mutual dislike transforms from romantic tension to taking a leap of faith in the middle of a war. I loved the pairing, because I kept thinking what a wonderful Sky Masterson and Sister Sarah they would have made in Guys and Dolls. If you ever wondered what Robert Mitchum and Ann Blyth would have played those characters, this movie will show you. Neither gets to sing, though, but besides that, it's like watching their auditions.