Robert Redford makes his big-screen debut in this off-beat war drama that tells the tail of a new replacement on the Korean front line. It is his first time in battle, and he comes all starry eyed and eager to prove himself a glorious hero. Obviously a greenhorn, the platoon commander takes the young private under his wing. All too soon, the youth realizes there is little glory in war. He also encounters a lone-wolf soldier whose lust for killing the enemy has turned him into a full-blown and deadly psychopath, leaving the private and his commanders to somehow stop him before he begins killing his own platoon-mates.
~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide