Hold Back the Night

Hold Back the Night is a 1956 American war film about the Korean War based on the 1951 novel by Pat Frank, who had been a war correspondent in Korea. The film was directed by Allan Dwan; his third film with John Payne and his third film about the United States Marine Corps. The earlier films about the Marine Corps were Abroad with Two Yanks (1944) and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949).

Plot

The film tells the story in flashbacks of a bottle of Scotch carried by a World War II and Korean War Marine, Captain Sam MacKenzie.

Production

The film was shot with the cooperation of the United States Marine Corps at the Mountain Warfare Training Center at Pickel Meadows, California that recreated the events of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.

Allied Artists originally approached the Marine Corps for assistance after the book's initial release. The Corps turned down cooperation with the producers as they felt the film was too close to the recently filmed Retreat, Hell!. Though Allied Artists contemplated rewriting the film to involve the US Army, they shelved the film for a few years with the Corps cooperating. Sequences of the film were also shot at Bronson Canyon with artificial snow.

Cast

John Payne as MacKenzie

Mona Freeman as Anne

Peter Graves as Lt. Couzens

Chuck Connors as Sgt. Ekland

Audrey Dalton as Kitty