B-movie legend Roger Corman introducing “Ski Troop Attack.” He describes the details of shooting this indie war picture for his non-union production company The Filmgroup on location in snowbound Deadwood, South Dakota. Shot back-to-back with The Beast from Haunted Cave, both from scripts by Corman warhorse Charles B. Griffith.

A tight, taut, tough-minded little war movie, this is Corman on a low budget at his absolute best. Most of Cormans problems in his early years derived from a lack of knowing where to cut scenes and move on, and a fatal dependence on the performances of inadequate actors. The editing here is very crisp – even the use of documentary footage is handled well, although its grain admittedly never meshes with that of the film as a whole. And while the acting remains unexceptional, it never becomes excessive in an amateurish way, and it fits with the overall gritty realism of the picture.

Corman benefits here from a surprisingly strong story and script that leaves its thematic issues open to interpretation. The issues receive temporary resolution by the end the hard way – through combat, as is most often the case in a war.

I’m not saying this is a forgotten masterpiece, but it is certainly worth a view, and at 63 minutes hardly threatens to tax one’s patience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTSVDfPsHZo