Take the High Ground!
“From its rowdy, ribald horse-play, to its rousing marching song... from its hard-boiled hates and slugging feuds to its tough-but tender love story... this is a drama of our times... exciting, exalting, young, brave and alive!”
Richard BrooksCast
Richard Widmark 
Karl Malden 
Elaine Stewart Carleton Carpenter 
Russ Tamblyn Jerome Courtland
Credits
Written by: Millard Kaufman
Plot
Sgt. Thorne Ryan, who once fought bravely in Korea, now serves as a hard-nosed drill instructor to new Army recruits at Fort Bliss, Texas. But is he really the man he is often described as?
Sinekatalog’s take
A drill-sergeant drama that mixes barracks comedy with questions about what makes a soldier. It is brisk and occasionally heavy-handed. Fits fans of fifties military stories.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.
Ratings
IMDb: 6.0 / 10 (1,252 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.
If you liked this
Picked by director, genre, era and shared cast. Titles only, no spoilers.
- Mister Roberts 1955 · John Ford · IMDb 7.6 · Viewers also liked
- The Secret of Santa Vittoria 1969 · Stanley Kramer · IMDb 7.2 · Viewers also liked
- Fixed Bayonets! 1951 · Samuel Fuller · IMDb 6.9 · Viewers also liked
- The Steel Helmet 1951 · Samuel Fuller · IMDb 7.4 · Viewers also liked
- Little Boy 2015 · Alejandro Monteverde · IMDb 7.3 · Viewers also liked
- Men in War 1957 · Anthony Mann · IMDb 7.1 · Viewers also liked