The Hunters

"Mightiest thrill-shocked adventure spectacle of the super-sonic age !"

1958 1h 48m EN

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 25

WarActionDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

With its electrifying flight sequences and high-powered cast, The Hunters is a mesmerizing film based on the best-selling novel by veteran fighter pilot James Salter. Set during the height of the Korean War, the story centers on Major Cleve Saville (Robert Mitchum), a master of the newly operational F-86 Sabre fighter jets. But adept as he is at flying, Saville¹s personal life takes a nosedive when he falls in love with his wingman¹s (Lee Philips) beautiful wife (May Britt). To make matters worse, Saville must cope with a loud-mouthed rookie (Robert Wagner) in a daring rescue mission that threatens all their lives in this well-crafted war drama.

“Mightiest thrill-shocked adventure spectacle of the super-sonic age !”

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Cast

Robert Mitchum
Major Cleve Saville
Robert Wagner
Lt. Ed Pell
Richard Egan
Colonel Dutch Imil, CO 54th Fighter Group
May Britt
Kristina 'Kris' Abbott
Lee Philips
1st Lt. Carl Abbott
John Gabriel
1st Lt. Corona
Stacy Harris
Col. Monk Moncavage
Victor Sen Yung
Korean farmer

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Dick Powell
Writers: Wendell Mayes
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

68 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Dick Powell, shot by Charles G. Clarke. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Stuart Gilmore shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Robert Mitchum and Robert Wagner and Richard Egan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Mightiest thrill-shocked adventure spectacle of the super-sonic age !".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0051750 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 25 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Dick Powell directs. Charles G. Clarke behind the camera. Stuart Gilmore cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

168 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Dick Powell, shot by Charles G. Clarke. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Editor Stuart Gilmore shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
4Robert Mitchum and Robert Wagner and Richard Egan carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "Mightiest thrill-shocked adventure spectacle of the super-sonic age !".
6IMDB entry: tt0051750 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 25 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Charles G. Clarke
Editing: Stuart Gilmore
Costume design: Charles LeMaire
Makeup / hair: Ben Nye
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Hunters (1958)

Also by

Dick Powell

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2016-04-16
★ 6/10
Love tryst and thundering planes. Set during the Korean War, this picture features the fine talent of Robert Mitchum as Major Cleve Saville and a young fresh faced Robert Wagner as the cocksure Lt Ed Pell. As the war rages, and the airmen deal with the pressures that come with the service, Saville starts to fall in love with the wife (a very weak May Britt) of one of his men, thus adding further pressures to a company growing weary by the day. The Hunters, based on the novel written by James Salter, is a very solid picture, perhaps bogged down by it's determination to give the picture emotional heart, it never the less thrills with its aerial sequences and is awash with glorious colour that new televisual technology can enhance, it's also a film that definitely needs to be seen in widescreen. By not outstaying its welcome, The Hunters is the perfect film for genre fans who find themselves stuck in the house on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Though Mitchum of course oozes his usual screen presence here, he is playing second fiddle to the F-86 Sabres that are swishing about the bright blue sky, dog fighting with the Migs (well F-84 Thunders cunningly disguised as Migs) and thus giving the picture the necessary action quotient. Films set in the Korean War are few and far between, so to at least have a film like The Hunters to view when in the mood is surely a really good thing. 6/10

Production companies