A Hill in Korea

A Hill in Korea Movie Poster Country United Kingdom Directed by Julian Amyes Release Date November 17, 1956 Language English Chinese Korean Studio Wessex Films Distributor British Lion Films Distributors Corporation of America (US) Main Cast Character Actor Lieutenant Butler George Baker Corporal Ryker Stanley Baker Sergeant Payne Harry Andrews Private Docker Michael Medwin Private Wyatt Ronald Lewis Private Sims Stephen Boyd Lance Corporal Hodge Robert Shaw Private Moon Percy Herbert Private Lockyear Michael Caine

A Hill in Korea, or also titled Hell in Korea in the U.S., is a 1956 British war film by director Julian Amyes, based on the 1953 literary novel of the same name by Max Catto. During their retreat in the Korean War in 1951, a small group of British soldiers finds themselves in danger as the men are cut off from the rest of the British army and their allies. Left to their own devices, they are chased by a large group of Chinese soldiers and are surrounded in a temple on a hill.

The following weapons were used in the film A Hill in Korea:

Revolvers

Enfield No. 2 Mk. I

An Enfield No. 2 Mk. I is used by Lieutenant Butler (George Baker) to calm down Private Wyatt (Ronald Lewis).

Enfield No. 2 Mark I - .38 S&W

The silhouette of the Enfield revolver brandished by Butler.

Butler holds the revolver while discussing what do to next.

Promotion Picture.

Submachine Guns

Sten Mk. V

Lieutenant Butler and Sgt. Payne (Harry Andrews) have Sten Mk Vs without the foregrip as their primary weapons. Butler attaches his one with No. 7 Mk. 1/4 bayonets. Pte. Docker (Michael Medwin) gets Butler's Sten during the final stand.

Sten Mark V - 9x19mm

Lt. Butler with his Sten as he has visual on the village.

Both officers planning what to do next.

Sgt. Payne gives orders to his men while holding his Sten. Note the missing foregrip.

The Sten guns hanging from their shoulders.

A view of the end of the wooden buttstock.

Lt. Butler takes cover with his gun that he just fitted with the No. 7 bayonet.

An overview of Payne's Sten during the last defense.

Unknown Submachine Gun

A Chinese soldier is very briefly seen with an unknown submachine gun.

The soldier on horseback in center has the submachine gun.

He carries the SMG upside down what shows it has a bottom-mounted magazine.

While his comrade gets hit, he unslung his gun.

Another view of the submachine gun.

Rifles

Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk. I

Private Sims (Stephen Boyd), Pte. Matthews (Eric Corrie), Pte. Lockyear (Michael Caine) and Cpl. Ryker (Stanley Baker) are armed with Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk.I rifles. Some Chinese soldiers can also be seen with Lee-Enfields.

Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mark I - .303 British

The No. 4 in the hand of Cpl. Ryker.

Ryker rests his rifle on his shoulder after firing at the fleeing Koreans.

Private Lockyear carries two Lee-Enfields while marching.

Cpl. Ryker opens fire at the Chinese patrol leader.

All Lee-Enfield wielding soldiers fix their No. 7 Mk. 1/4 bayonets.

The platoon gets down as Lockheed F-94 Starfires approaching their position.

Mauser Gewehr 1871/84

The main battle rifle of Chinese soldiers in the movie is the German Gewehr 1871/84 which is equipped with Seitengewehr 71 bayonets. Private Wyatt (Ronald Lewis) grabs a dropped Gewehr from the battlefield to use it against a machine gun position. The use of this Mauser in Chinese service is not entirely historically incorrect since the Qing dynasty purchased a large stock of the single-shot predecessor in the 1870s. But at this time, Chinese forces were mostly equipped with Soviet Mosin Nagants or their Type 24 rifles.

Mauser Gewehr 1871/84 - 11.15x60mmR

Infanterie-Seitengewehr 71

Chinese soldiers charging the British position through an open field.

A soldier of the MG crew fires his Mauser.

Private Wyatt performs a desperate bayonet charge with his captured rifle.

The unused Mauser in front of Lt. Butler offers a view of the upper part and the safety.

Another Chinese soldier works the bolt-handle the rifle taken from his wounded comrade. Note the large Seitengewehr bayonet.

Machine Guns

Bren Mk. II

Bren Mark II light machine guns are widely used by British soldiers. Notably, users are Private Rabin (Harry Landis), Lance Corporal Hodge (Robert Shaw), Pte. Neill (Barry Lowe), Pte O'Brien (Robert Brown), Pte. Kim of the South Korean Army (Charles Laurence) and Pte. Henson (David Morrell). Sgt. Payne and Private Wyatt can be seen firing them at the final battle.

In the shots in which the Brens are being fired, they have Blank Firing Adaptors (BFA) fitted, which visibly extend the length of the barrels beyond the front sight block. These were standard British army issue, designed to be used with the Mark 10z .303 wood bulleted blank rounds, which were introduced in 1954.[1] As well as allowing the weapon to cycle, the BFA partially broke up the wood bullet for safety reasons, earning the attachment the nickname of "masher barrels."

Bren Mark II - .303 British

Pte. Kim holds his Bren in the background.

A Bren next to Lieutenant Butler. Note the lack of a BFA for this shot.

The line of Bren guns awaiting the Chinese attack. The fitted BFAs are obvious compared to the previous image.

Lance Corporal Hodge mows down incoming Chinese with his Bren.

Pte Rabin and other soldiers switching to the single-fire mode.

A general view of a Bren gun. The differences in the surfacing of the barrel and the BFA are particularly evident.

Pte. Rabin uses a .303 round to adjust the gas regulator of his Bren, when it fails to cycle.

During his night watch, Pte. Kim wields his Bren gun.

Note the Bren Mk. 2 buttstock on Pte. Neill's gun.

Cpl. Ryker fires a Bren gun from the hip.

Madsen

A Madsen machine gun is mounted on top of the Chinese tank. At the last battle, a Chinese soldier is also seen with a Madsen on a tripod.

Portuguese Madsen - 7.92x57mm Mauser

The gunner opens fire at the British soldiers.

A view of the unloaded Madsen.

The gunner suppresses the British position with his Madsen fitted with an Anti-Air sight.

Changing the target shows the left side.

Hand Grenades

Mills Bomb

Some Mills Bomb are seen; notably used by Lieutenant Butler at the end of the movie.

No. 36M Mk. I "Mills Bomb"

Three Mills bombs lying on the right.

Lt. Butler pulls the pin of his grenade.

Stick Grenade

Two Chinese soldiers can be seen with unknown stick grenades.

The soldiers crawling toward the Bren guns. Note the string coming out of the grenade in the foreground instead of a screw cap.

Other

M20A1/A1B1 "Super Bazooka"

The Anti-Tank team consisting of Pte. Docker and Pte. Lindop (Victor Maddern) is equipped with an M20A1/A1B1 "Super Bazooka".

M20A1 "Super Bazooka" - 3.5" Rocket

A view of the barrel and muzzle.

Docker looks through the sight waiting for a good moment to shoot.

Sgt. Payne: "What are you waiting for? Do you wanna see the white in his eye?!"

Centaur tank

Towards the end of the film the attacking Chinese deploy a British Centaur tank. The film was shot in Portugal, and the Portuguese army obtained around 24 Centaurs in 1945, replacing them with the M-47 Paton in 1955, around the time of production. The North Koreans did capture a small number of the visually near-identical Cromwell tanks northwest of Seoul in January 1951, so one ending up in Chinese hands - and thus represented in the film with a Centaur - is not a total anomaly.

Lockheed F-94 Starfire