The Bridges at Toko-Ri

The Bridges at Toko-Ri is a 1954 American war film about the Korean War and stars William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney, and Robert Strauss. The film, which was directed by Mark Robson, was produced by Paramount Pictures. Dennis Weaver and Earl Holliman make early screen appearances in the film.

The screenplay is based on the 1953 novel The Bridges at Toko-ri by Pulitzer Prize winner James Michener. The story, which closely follows the novel, is about the U.S. Navy pilots assigned to bomb a group of heavily defended bridges in North Korea. It emphasizes the lives of the pilots and crew in the context of the Korean War; a conflict that seems remote to all except those who fight in Korea.

Lieutenant Harry Brubaker is a Naval Reserve aviator called back to active duty to fly F9F Panthers in the Korean War. Returning from a mission with battle damage, he is forced to ditch and is rescued by a Sikorsky helicopter manned by Chief Petty Officer Mike Forney and Airman Nestor Gamidge.

Forney has been in trouble for brawling and wearing a non-regulation green top hat and scarf while flying his helicopter as encouragement to downed pilots in the water. Back aboard USS Savo Island, Brubaker is called to the quarters of Rear Admiral Tarrant, the Carrier Task Force 77 commander. Tarrant is interested in Brubaker, who reminds him of his son, a Navy Pilot killed in World War II. Brubaker complains about the unfairness of leaving his civilian attorney practice but Tarrant advises that, "All through history, men have had to fight the wrong war in the wrong place, but that's the one they're stuck with."

The Savo Island returns to Japan where Brubaker is given a three-day shore leave in Tokyo with his wife Nancy and their children. The reunion is interrupted when Gamidge asks Brubaker to bail Forney out of the brig after another brawl. Tarrant explains to a confused Nancy that Forney saved her husband from freezing to death when he ditched his jet, and warns her Brubaker will have to carry out a dangerous attack on the bridges at Toko-Ri once back in Korea.

Brubaker returns to duty flying wingman for Commander Lee on a dangerous reconnaissance mission to photograph the bridges. Lee uses the imagery to brief his pilots on their attack mission. Brubaker is unnerved but can't bring himself to quit the mission or write a final letter to Nancy. The captain of the Savo Island exiles Forney to a helicopter scow as punishment for his indiscipline, and as he leaves the ship he shares with Brubaker his personal "cure" for bad nerves. Brubaker follows his advice of standing on the bow of the ship facing the waves and finds renewed strength.

The squadron attacks through intense antiaircraft fire and the bridges are destroyed without a loss, but Brubaker's jet is hit after Lee leads them to a secondary target. He tries to return to the carrier, but loss of altitude and fuel forces a crash-landing. Forney and Gamidge attempt to rescue him, but communist troops shoot down their helicopter. Gamidge is killed, and Forney takes cover in a muddy ditch with Brubaker. They try to hold off the enemy with pistols and M1 carbines but are overwhelmed by North Korean and Red Chinese soldiers. Tarrant, angered by news of Brubaker's death, demands Commander Lee explain why he attacked the second target. Lee defends his actions, noting that Brubaker was his pilot too, and that despite his loss, the mission was a success. Tarrant, realizing that Lee is correct, rhetorically asks, "Where do we get such men?"

Michener based his novel on actual missions flown against the railroad bridges at Majon-ni and Samdong-ni, North Korea, during the winter of 1951–52, when he was a news correspondent aboard the aircraft carriers USS Essex and USS Oriskany. Michener based the character of Harry Brubaker on Lieutenant Donald S. Brubaker, who like his counterpart, was a 29-year-old Naval Reservist from Denver recalled to active duty aboard USS Valley Forge. The basis for Admiral Tarrant was Rear Admiral John Perry, the carrier division commander at the time; that of Lee was Commander Marshall U. Beebe, CAG aboard Essex in 1951 and technical advisor for the film; and Forney on Chief (NAP) Duane Thorin, himself a colorful enlisted pilot known for his trademark non-regulation green headgear.