MovieChat Forums > The Steel Helmet (1951) Discussion > What happened to Sgt. Zack?

What happened to Sgt. Zack?

posted 16 years ago by heywoodfloyd
11 replies | jump to latest

Near the end of the film Sgt. Zack stands up in the fog and goes into some sort of daze. Then he babbles about WW 2 and collapses. Was he shot? Did he go into some kind of shock? What happened?

[–] buff-29 16 years ago

He suffered from a temporary form of traumatic stress disorder, then he got well. Pretty stupid movie, eh? What is all the excitement about this film? A sentimental, cliched war story, like a thousand others. Sam Fuller phooey.

[–] rwsmith29456 16 years ago

Um... When this was made it was NOT a cliched war story.

[–] supafly707 16 years ago

Made DURING the war it depicted, with major roles for Japanese, Korean, and African-American characters, who are portrayed as thoughtful, independent individuals, set in the story that explores aspects of social inequality and the absurdity of it all? THIS WAS IN 1951! How is this cliched?

[–] romarub 15 years ago

I remember seeing this film in the 50's on TV as a kid and remember 90% of the dialog to this day. That's how much this film impressed me. This may be a low-budget film, but the characterizations, social comments, interpersonal relations all make this film a mini GEM! Rather than being "cliched", this film is relevant to the present day.

[–] redban (5264) a year ago

Sentimental? I found the movie to be pretty gritty

[–] primitivemee-1 15 years ago

If I remember correctly he was hit in the head and while stunned he said..

'We got to get off the beach.. The Krauts will murder us if we stay down here!'

I remembered this from when I was a kid. I saw it again a few years ago and now believe the line was about Omaha Beach D Day. Fuller was at D day himself I think a American, Canadian or British audience in 1951 would have understood the lines meaning.

Maybe not just D day but Anzio or other landings.

Similar to Bogart in the Cain Mutiny calmly discussing the carnage in the Pacific. Then babbling incoherently about the Atlantic at the mention of the word U Boat

Or wounded Vic Morrow repeating his old home town address when he was asked his what he unit is with in the COMBAT episode Survival.

I think they borrowed those from the STEEL HELMET

[–] beecee101 14 years ago

He had a flashback from all of crazy fire. Call it anything these days ptsd/ anxiety disorder/ occasional panic/ partial departure....you name it. The guy flipped.

They mostly come out at night...mostly--Newt/Eric Cartman...

[–] Gatorman9 12 years ago

It looked to me that he got his bell rung by yet a second bullet which hit him in the head without penetrating after bouncing off something else. First he was dazed and confused for a minute and thought he was back in World War II, and then he became unconscious. The medic checked him out and realized he was "only" concussed (as the medic mentioned to "Baldy"), and sure enough he later woke up and was back to normal.

[–] bdeepe 9 years ago

I actually knew the real Sgt. Zack. Interestingly, he was in World War II, but not the Korean War, if I recall correctly. He taught industrial education for many years at Valley Forge High School, in Parma Heights, Ohio. I am pretty sure he is no longer alive, but was definitely a great man.

[–] Jfentwood (1) a year ago

I had him as a drafting teacher in 1968 at Valley Forge high school. I remember talking to him about the movie and how the bullet spun in his helmut. He had pictures of him and some of the stars in the movie. He was an "advisor" of sorts during the shooting of the movie.

He was a great teacher and I never forgot him.

[–] redban (5264) a year ago

PTSD