Inchon (film) - Plot

Plot

Inchon begins with this disclaimer: "This is not a documentary of the war in Korea, but a dramatized story of the effect of war on a group of people. All persons other than those whose real names are used in this film are fictitious and any similarity between them and any persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Where dramatic license has been deemed necessary, the authors have taken advantage of this license to dramatize the subject."

The film depicts the Battle of Inchon during the Korean War, which took place September 15–19, 1950 and is considered to the turning point of the war. The protagonist of the film is General Douglas MacArthur (Laurence Olivier), who led the United States surprise amphibious landing at Incheon in 1950. A sideplot in the film involves a married South Korean couple who encounter difficulties in their relationship because of the ongoing war.

Inchon begins with a depiction of North Korean soldiers moving past the 38th parallel north into South Korea in June 1950. People flee into the country's capital, Seoul. A United States Army major's wife Barbara Hallsworth (Jacqueline Bisset) lives in a village located at the 38th Parallel, where she was attempting to buy antique furniture and items for her business as an interior decorator. She hears a bulletin over the radio "The communists are coming", and decides to leave the village. A limousine driven by a chauffeur takes her to Seoul. She encounters a group of five South Korean children, and after her chauffeur is killed, she drives them to a safe location called the "Inn of the Sixth Happiness". Along the way, she kills a North Korean soldier by shooting him between the eyes.

U.S. Major Frank Hallsworth (Ben Gazzara) is attempting to break off an affair with a young South Korean woman (Karen Kahn). Her father (Toshirō Mifune) is aware of his daughter's affair with Hallsworth and does not disapprove of it. Hallsworth receives word of the invasion by the North Koreans, and he travels north in an attempt to locate his wife with the assistance of army sergeant August Henderson (Richard Roundtree). Henderson encounters Hallsworth's wife and fixes her vehicle's battery, and then reunites her with her husband.

David Feld Park (David Janssen), a journalist in Tokyo, is waiting with other reporters for a press conference to begin which will be held by MacArthur. Longfellow (Rex Reed), a second reporter awaiting the press conference, is generally a music critic but also reports on serious events developing in Tokyo. MacArthur is at his residence in Tokyo with his wife, and does not appear at the press conference. He agrees with his wife that he is the only person who can rescue South Korea from the invasion by the North Koreans.

Hallsworth and his former lover succeed in turning on a lighthouse to signal 261 U.S. ships, and the South Korean woman's father activates mines in the channel. She dies during the ensuing battle. The U.S. troops drive out the North Korean forces and restore President Syngman Rhee (Kwang Nam Yang) to power. MacArthur gives Rhee a hug, as people wave South Korean and American flags. The last scene shows MacArthur saying the Lord's Prayer. After this scene, an actual newsreel of MacArthur is shown.