Sergeant Ryker | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Buzz Kulik |
Written by | William D. Gordon Seeleg Lester |
Starring | Lee Marvin |
Music by | John Williams |
Cinematography | Walter Strenge |
Edited by | Robert B. Warwick Jr. |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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85 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1,000,000 (US/ Canada) |
Sergeant Ryker is a 1968 drama–war film directed by Buzz Kulik. It stars Lee Marvin and Bradford Dillman. The film was originally broadcast on television as "The Case Against Paul Ryker", a 1963 two-part episode of Kraft Suspense Theatre. It was released as a feature film in 1968 to capitalise on Marvin's popularity from The Dirty Dozen. Its second run paired it as a double feature with Counterpoint.
Sgt. Ryker is charged with Korean War treason, court-martialed, prosecuted by Capt. David Young, convicted and sentenced to die.
His wife, Ann, insists that Ryker received an inadequate defense. She believes her husband's story that he had been on a secret mission, assigned to it by a superior officer who has since died and can no longer vouch for him.
Capt. Young is not only persuaded to get General Bailey's approval for a new trial, he volunteers to defend Ryker this time. A grateful Ryker ends up furious when he discovers a romantic attachment is developing between his wife and the captain.
The new prosecutor, Maj. Whitaker, unearths new evidence damning to the defendant's case. At the last minute, though, Young produces a sergeant named Winkler who verifies aspects of Ryker's story, which, when followed up on by Young, is enough to set Ryker free.