The Bridges at Toko-Ri

Synopsis: Set during the Korean War, a Navy fighter pilot must come to terms with with his own ambivalence towards the war and the fear of having to bomb a set of highly defended bridges. The ending of this grim war drama is all tension.
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Director(s): Mark Robson
Production: Paramount Pictures
  Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.8
Rotten Tomatoes:
80%
APPROVED
Year:
1954
102 min
232 Views


Jet launch has been cancelled.

Clear both catapults.

Two flights returning. Expect

to recover aircraft in ten minutes.

Stand by with fire bottle

for helicopter turn-up.

Shake a leg, Forney!

There are two flights coming in!

We're here! Keep your jumper on, sir!

Don't put that hat on

till you clear the deck.

- Captain Parker doesn't like it.

- Very well, sir.

Prepare to launch helicopter.

Top off all jets and check Fly One

for ordinance load.

Launch helicopter.

My hat and scarf, please.

Can't you wait

till we get off the ship?

- What if the captain had seen you?

- We save pilots not captains.

In the icy water, it makes them

feel good to see this hat.

I know that, but you're gonna get

yourself in trouble.

And another thing. Quit sassing

them officers like you just did.

You can say anything you like to them

as long as you put "sir" on the end.

Take 215 and 207

down the deck-edge elevator.

Prepare to re-spot aircraft for recovery.

We've got two flights of jets

to land, low on fuel. Look alive!

Stand by to land jets.

Clear the catwalks portside aft.

Check number 6 wire.

The centre fiddle bridge is down.

Let's hear the checks, boy.

- Wheels down.

- Wheels down.

- Flaps down.

- Flaps down.

- Hook down. All down, sir.

- All down.

- Clear deck.

- Clear deck.

Come on, keep your nose up

so your hook will catch. That's it.

Good boy.

202, number 3 wire. He did real good.

Clear the catwalk aft.

211 to Bluejay. Flame-out.

CIC is reporting an emergency, sir.

Go ahead, CIC.

211 will have to ditch.

Will dispatch a helicopter.

- What's his position?

- 18 miles out.

- Is there another jet with him?

- Affirmative, 210, his wingman.

- Can he ditch near the destroyers?

- Negative.

Keep me advised.

- Have you got their position?

- Affirmative.

- How much fuel's the wingman got?

- 1,200 lbs.

Angel from Bluejay.

Your vector, 345 magnetic.

211 will have to ditch 18 miles out.

Your vector, 345 magnetic.

- Bluejay out.

- Bluejay from Angel. Roger.

210 from Bluejay. Helicopter on way.

- What is the condition of 211?

- 210 to Bluejay.

211 is losing altitude rapidly

and is all set to ditch.

210 to Bluejay. There he goes.

211 just ditched.

Aircraft sank immediately.

Pilot got out! Dye marker is visible.

Downed pilot afloat and in sight.

- I'm staying here.

- CIC to Flag Plot.

210 requests permission

to stay with downed pilot.

Permission granted.

Who is the pilot in the water?

- Brubaker, sir.

- Brubaker?

Just an hour ago a dispatch came in.

His wife and two kids are in Tokyo.

- Keep me advised on Brubaker.

- Aye, aye, sir.

- Brubaker, huh?

- You know him?

I don't think I've seen him,

but I can describe him.

He's about 30, well built,

a good-looking boy with a temper.

That's Brubaker all right.

Did you ever notice the admiral takes

special interest in pilots like that?

Now that you mention it, yeah.

That's what his son

would have looked like.

CIC to Flag Bridge. 210 has sighted

helicopter approaching.

Tell 210 to return quickly. We can't

hold this course much longer.

Angel from 210. Come on, Forney,

I can't hold him in sight much longer.

210 from Angel. I see him.

Go home. Dinner's waiting.

Roger.

Jump in. I'll wait

till the Hornet sends a 'copter.

He looks froze! I'll have to go down.

Sorry you have to ride in the rumble, sir.

But I haven't got anybody here

to haul you in. Savo Angel to Bluejay.

Two Angels coming home

with two frozen mackerel.

- Admiral.

- Go ahead.

Helicopter reports Brubaker aboard.

The Hornet's helicopter

picked up Forney's crewman.

- Good.

- Helicopter lands in three minutes.

- Turn right 90 degrees.

- Aye, aye, sir.

Round Table, this is Jehovah.

Turn right, zero-three-five.

Stand by. Execute.

Wish you could see this, Lieutenant.

Awful pretty sight.

Looks like they're coming to meet us.

Land the two helicopters aft

and stand by with a stretcher.

Keep clear of those rotors.

Clear a passage for that stretcher.

- How are you?

- He's all right.

- That water's cold.

- Not when you're used to it.

- He's too young for brandy!

- You weren't in the water.

I know, but I had the hatch open.

It's awful cold in there.

Hello, Harry. You don't look so bad.

- Hi, CAG.

- How's it going?

I didn't know water could be so cold.

- Feel like talking to the admiral?

- Now?

Whenever you feel up to a chat.

The doctor thinks you'll be fine tonight.

- I'll send for a uniform.

- No, just come up in your robe.

- See you later, Harry.

- Right.

The admiral wants to see me.

I'm Brubaker.

He's in his cabin.

I'll tell him you're here.

From Chez Paris in Chicago,

overlooking Lake Michigan,

the Armed Forces Radio Service

brings you the music of Henry Busse.

This way, Lieutenant.

Come in.

- You sent for me, sir?

- Yes, come in, son.

- Coffee?

- No, thank you, sir.

Sit down.

- How do you feel?

- I guess I'm thawed out.

I got the report on your ditching.

How long did it stay afloat?

- After one bounce I was a submarine.

- No time to get your life raft out?

It hooked on the seat.

I was lucky to get myself out.

Those helicopter boys

are pretty good fishermen.

They deserve every medal in the book.

You're out there by yourself,

you know you can't last long.

You're scared and freezing,

you curse and pray.

Suddenly you see that Mixmaster

whirling out of nowhere.

You look up and there's Forney

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Valentine Davies

Valentine Loewi Davies (August 25, 1905 – July 23, 1961) was an American film and television writer, producer, and director. His film credits included Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Chicken Every Sunday (1949), It Happens Every Spring (1949), The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), and The Benny Goodman Story (1955). He was nominated for the 1954 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Glenn Miller Story. Davies was born in New York City, served in the Coast Guard, and graduated from the University of Michigan where he developed his writing skill with a column in the Michigan Daily and honed his skills further as a graduate student at Yale Drama School. He walked away from his family's successful real estate business in New York and moved to Hollywood to become a screenwriter. He wrote a number of Broadway plays and was president of the Screen Writers Guild and general chairman of the Academy Awards program. He wrote the story for the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street, which was given screen treatment by the director, George Seaton. Davies also did a novelization of the story, which was published as a novella by Harcourt Brace & Company in conjunction with the film release. Miracle on 34th Street earned him an Academy Award for Best Story. From 1949-50, he served as President of the Screen Writers Guild. He died in 1961 at his home in Malibu, California when he was fifty-five years old. His secretary at the time of his death, Marian Saphro, recalled many years later that her boss died in the midst of a heavy laugh. The Valentine Davies Award was established in 1962, the year following his death, by the Writers Guild of America, West, in his honor. It has been awarded annually, excepting the years 2006, 2010, and 2015. more…

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