The Red Badge of Courage

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable civil war story but could have been better.
Review: Somehow this truncated movie leaves a lot hanging in the air. Not that the story is not complete, but more so because there are elements which seems to have been removed. Audie Murphy's acting is unexpected. He showed a lot of emotion and humanity very much unlike in those subsequent B westerns of his which paralleled the Clint Eastwood westerns.

Rating:
Summary: A real soldier's film
Review: The purely psychological aspect of this film -- not only about fear on the combat field, but of being afraid of being afraid -- is great. The young men really personify a young man's innate fear of failure, fear of death, fear of combat and fear of being a coward. "He was a real Jim Dandy," an unknown soldier says of the "Tall soldier," who, for the purposes of the movie personifies what a REAL soldier should be -- brave, willing to give his life, going on until there is no energy left in him. But the main character personifies every human -- outwardly trying to act the part expected of him, and inwardly doubting himself. This movied really touched me. Stephen Crane's portrayal is brought to light in such a vivid way.

Rating:
Summary: Not Huston's Fault; Hollywood's
Review: The true shame is that as great as this film is, it could've been an absolute masterpiece had not the studio moguls who only THOUGHT they knew about movies stuck their stupid, ugly hands in and absolutely mutilated this film from its original length. As it is, you only get to see flashes of brilliance and before you know it, it's over. (What's worse, the cut footage wasn't even saved; it's gone forever). I'll admit, the casting wasn't top-shelf; Audie Murphy was never the greatest actor, but far, far from the worst. The dialogue was a little strange-sounding, but, I think, appropriate for the time period. A definite must-see.

Rating:
Summary: This movie is a Matthew Brady photo come to life
Review: This movie is a Matthew Brady photo come to life. While it is true that the leads, Audie Murphy and Bill Mauldin, were not professional actors, they were cast for their wonderful faces and the fact that they had actually been through a recent war. Considering what Murphy had been through, his innocence and boyishness is a joy to behold. And they are surrounded by pros such as Andy Devine, Bill Easton and Royal Dano - as well as the usual Huston cronies. It has many moving vignettes - the captured Rebs being questioned by their Yankee peers, Andy Devine, as the jolly soldier, leading Murphy back to his unit, the General falling to prayer before battle, Murphy confessing his cowardice to Mauldin, the General promising to have supper with the men, etc...

The narration was added later because the studio had no confidence in Murphy being able to convey the story. This was years before Hollywood understood how effective non-professionals could be if directed properly. The studio also hated the General's high-pitched voice and so dubbed in a different actor and, of course, the complete butchering of whole scenes which reduced the movie to about 55 minutes.

With all its faults, this is one of Huston's true beauties.