'Time Limit' (1957) - Karl Malden.

Acting thoroughbreds Richard Widmark and Richard Basehart shine in Karl Malden's terrifically tense, darkly conspiratorial 1950s military drama 'Time Limit'. The bulk of this ferociously angst-laden drama is set in a blandly austere U. S. military barracks, with excitingly staged flashbacks to a grimly desolated, frost-bitten P. O.W Camp in war-torn N. Korea, wherein an especially beleaguered troop of wretchedly deprived, dysentery -wracked prisoners endure the most terrible privations, and a ragged-looking Major Cargill (Richard Basehart) acts as though he has been indoctrinated, appearing to have turned traitor, and now seemingly unwilling to talk openly about what really happened to him while incarcerated, so a grimly determined Col. William Edwards (Richard Widmark) must strive to break through the far from indomitable wall of silence surrounding the clearly troubled Cargill in order to build a case for mitigating circumstances, otherwise the accused major will be court-martialled on a deadly serious charge of being a wartime traitor!!! This is an engrossing, extremely well-acted feature, with some fine, emotionally nuanced acting, a quality text, and much loved character actor Karl Malden displays great talent as a director, clearly getting creditable performances from his clearly game cast, the splendidly dramatic conclusion is a strong one, rigorously aided by the robustly expressed performance of a youthful rip Torn, 'Time Limit' is an impassioned, rousing military drama, thrillingly told, and brilliantly executed.