Sgt. Ryker (Lee Marvin) is an American soldier accused of defecting to Communist China and then returning to his unit as a spy during the Korean War. He is charged with treason, courtmartialed and prosecuted by Capt. David Young (Bradford Dillman), and convicted, and sentenced to hang.

Ryker's wife, Ann (Vera Miles), insists that her husband received an inadequate defense. She believes his story that he had been given a confidential top secret mission to pose as a defector and gather intelligence, assigned by a superior officer who has since died, and can no longer vouch for him, and no record of it was found.

Capt. Young believes Ryker is guilty, but now having doubts about what he did, thinks Ryker received an inadequate legal defense. He persuades the commanding General (Lloyd Nolan) to give Ryker a new trial. The General reluctantly agrees, but insists this time Young must be Ryker's defense counsel. Ryker has already resigned himself to his fate, and has to be persuaded to go along with the retrial.

Who's right? Who's wrong? No one can tell, yet decisions have to be made.

As it unfolds, all the evidence is damning to Ryker, the best Young can do is establish that Ryker's version of events are not impossible. The defense is also undermined by several of Ryker's lies and omissions, which are exposed during testimony at the trial, and also by Ryker's occasional fits of temper. A further complication ensues when a romantic attachment develops between Young and Ryker's wife. Ryker is furious when he realizes it has happened, and the general on hearing about it tells Young he will be courtmartialed as soon as Ryker's trial is over.

The prosecutor, Maj. Whitaker (Peter Graves), unearths new evidence damning to the defendant's case, and all seems lost. At the last minute, however, Young learns some information from a Sergeant Winkler, which verifies some aspects of Ryker's claim, and which when followed up on by Young, is enough to compel that Ryker be set free.

A 1963 courtroom drama war film directed by Buzz Kulik, produced by Frank Telford, screenplay by Seeleg Lester and William D. Gordon, story by Seeleg Lester, music by John Williams, cinematography by Walter Strenge, starring Lee Marvin, Bradford Dillman, Peter Graves, Vera Miles, Lloyd Nolan, Murray Hamilton, Norman Fell, Walter Brooke, Francis DeSales, and Don Marshall. Despite their age differences, both Nolan and Dillman were born in San Francisco, attended prep schools, and went to exclusive universities,Stanford and Yale, respectively.

This legal drama originally served as the pilot for the TV series "Court Martial" (1965), which predated "JAG" by a few years. When "Court Martial" aired, it was moved to WWII England, as opposed to the Korean War locale of "Ryker."

The courtroom scenes are suspenseful. Peppering the proceedings with plot twists and flashbacks that recall filmnoir and Sergio Leone, the story maintains a quick pace that overcomes its low budget.

Filmed in 1963, when Lee Marvin was still a character actor, this engaging riveting top notch courtroom tale was originally run on broadcast television as "The Case Against Paul Ryker" (Oct, 10 & 17, 1963), a twopart episode from the Kraft Suspense Theatre. But, it was edited together and released theatrically as a feature film five years later in 1968 to capitalize on Marvin's popularity from "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), after Marvin won his Oscar for "Cat Ballou" (1965) and had great critical and popular success also with "Ship of Fools" (1965). A few combat sequences were tacked on to make it look like an action film, which it isn't. It's a talky courtroom drama, but some of the talk is firstrate. Its second run paired it as a double feature with "Counterpoint" (1968) starring Charlton Heston.

Marvin's interpretation of the Paul Ryker character is a simple, direct, and powerful depiction of a dedicated man whose normally laid back demeanor is challenged by the desperate circumstances in which he's placed. He brings something unexpected to every role, almost to every scene. Marvin switches perfectly from resigned indifference, to impassioned denial of the charges, giving a convincing, often intense performance that is the highlight of this otherwise smallscale drama. It's this performance that should elevate the film to a platform where it occupies a place on the bestever lists of courtroom dramas. A taut and compelling examination, like a book that you just can't put down.

Korea was a far off place but the possibility of convicting a Communist and hanging him hit very close to home in the 1950's. The Korean War has been dubbed Americas's forgotten war. So many unanswered questions were buried along with the fifty thousand men who died there. Occasionally, we are treated to a play or movie which deals with that faroff, ghostly frozen graveyard. Here is perhaps one of the finest. Due to its superior script and powerful message, this drama has become a courtroom Classic.