One Minute to Zero | |
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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
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Running time
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105 minutes |
Country | United States |
Budget | $2,181,000 |
Box office | $1.6 million (US rentals) |
One Minute to Zero (1952) is a romantic war film starring Robert Mitchum and Ann Blyth, set during the Korean War, and produced by Howard Hughes as the last film he fronted. The film showcases the contributions of the U.S. Army and U.S Air Force, the South Korean Army, the United Nations, the British Army and the Royal Australian Air Force during the early days of the Korean War. The effects of air power in the Korean War were also vividly depicted through the use of combat footage.
Just prior to the North Korean invasion of South Korea, World War II U.S. Army veterans Colonel Steve Janowski (Robert Mitchum) and Sergeant Baker (Charles McGraw) are teaching South Korean soldiers how to use a bazooka to stop an enemy tank. Linda Day (Ann Blyth) is a United Nations worker assisting refugees. Janowski warns Day and her colleagues to leave the area because hostilities are imminent. Day, however, insists that the North Koreans would not risk the wrath of world opinion. In response, Janowski asks her if world opinion stopped Hitler.
Soon after, Janowski and U.S. Air Force Colonel Joe Parker (William Talman) wake up and find themselves under attack. They compare the attack to Pearl Harbor ("Isn't this where we came in?" "It's even Sunday morning!"). Janowski takes command of an U.S. Army unit which is helping to evacuate Americans and refugees. While doing his job, he keeps crossing paths, and falling in love, with Day. It turns out that she is reluctant to get involved with a soldier because she is the widow of a Medal of Honor recipient.