The Red Badge Of Courage Review

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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.

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John Huston directed this film adaptation of the famous Steven Crane

novel. As soon as it was finished, he left to work on The African

Queen, leaving the editing in the hands of the studio. But it was

1951, the height of the McCarthy era. There was a movement in this

country against anti-war films. And so the film was cut to a mere 69

minutes, which put it into the category of a "B" movie to be

shown only as a second feature. That was a full fifty years ago, and

in spite of the supposed butchering job on the cutting room floor, the

film definitely has stood the test of time. Of course I will never

know what the original was supposed to be. And I haven't even read the

novel. But I sure am glad I saw this video.

I understand that Steven

Crane wrote the book in 1894, which was a full thirty years after the

Civil War. He was 22 years old at the time and had never actually been

in a battle himself. He was trying to say something about war and

courage and human nature rather than about the specific war. And so

his work is unique among the vast body of writings about that awful

period of history that tore at the heart and soul of our

country.

Audie Murphy stars as The Youth and, with the exception of

Andy Devine who has a small role lasting no more than a minute, the

rest of the cast are unknowns. They all portray Union soldiers and we

first see them bored and anxious to fight a battle. They brag about

their courage and how they all intend to stand firm in the heat of

battle. The Youth has his doubts and the tension mounts as the

inevitable battle tests them all. Frightened, The Youth flees. Later

though, he returns and proves his manhood. The story is as simple as

that.

There is also a narrator in the story, reading excerpts from the

pen of Steven Crane. The language is beautiful and adds depth to the

simple conversations of the soldiers. The black and white photography

is grainy and much of it is shot in shadow, adding to the intimacy and

the authenticity of the film. There was a literary rhythm to it all

and it added intensity.

The role called for excellent acting and Audie

Murphy was perfect. I understand that in real life he won national

fame as the most decorated GI in WW2, winning 45 medals. He led a

turbulent life, plagued by what is now known as post traumatic stress

syndrome. A compulsive gambler, he won and lost fortunes, was addicted

to prescription sleeping pills and was once acquitted of attempted

murder charges stemming from a fistfight. But all that came later. In

1951, he was perfect for the role of The Youth. Recommended

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The Youth (Audie Murphy) finds his first taste of battle to be more than he'd bargained for.

Although it's over fifty-years-old, John Huston's adaptation of Stephen Crane's THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE holds up remarkably well. Crane's novel of youth, written when Crane was in his early twenties, is an exploration of the nature of courage as measured in the crucible of battle. Civil War battle, to be exact. The Youth that's how he's listed in the credits along with the Loud Soldier (Bill Mauldin,) the Tall Soldier (John Dierkes,) and the rest of his regiment are marching to the battlefield shortly after the movie opens.

The `red badge' in the title is a battle scar, proof to the world and yourself that you have sufficient courage to belong. Whether that type of physical courage is today so highly and universally esteemed is debatable. Certainly Mauldin and especially Murphy, two still-youth heroes of the Second World War, won't resonate with later audiences. Mauldin enlisted in the army in 1940, and while in the service created the cartoon characters Willie and Joe, two average GIs fighting in Europe. Willie and Joe appeared in Stars and Stripes and won for Mauldin the Pulitzer Prize in 1945. Murphy was the most decorated combat American combat soldier of the war. Mauldin and Murphy's real-life courage was unquestioned, and Huston's use of the two in lead roles in canny. It adds a unique layer of immediacy and realism to the story.

There's a loose-limbed, deep focus, tight close-up look to the film that puts us under the skin of our universal Everyman soldiers. Murphy always seemed somewhat stiff as an actor, but here Huston keeps the dialogue short and concentrates on the darting eyes and pursed lips of the unproven youth. It works surprisingly well. THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE is famous as a butchered film, one the studios took from the director and cut by some twenty minutes. In fact, the running time for this one is a little over an hour, more suitable for a Boston Blackie episode than a major feature release. Huston, the story goes, was outraged but diverted by preliminary work on his next project, The African Queen. This is probably all so, but whoever did the re-cut knew what they were doing. The finished product is a trim, muscular story that benefits from its brevity.

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John Houston's story of a young Union soldier who overcomes his fear of battle is wonderful. Audie Murphy's portrayal is stirring and quite lifelike, the movie doesn't portray any super human motives, but a simple soldier who is quite naturally scared going into battle and overcomes his fear. However, Houston doesn't allow Murphy's character to get into excessive machoism either, as he finds out that many of his comrades did the same thing he did, turn and run. Had the movie execs not chopped this movie up, it could have been even better. As it is, it's a bit too short and lacking in details such as the battles portrayed in the movie patterned after a real battle. The unit portrayed isn't even mentioned until the end of the movie. It would have been fun to follow Murphy's character's unit through the war.

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One of John Huston's better films(and that is saying a lot) the studio re cut this into what he called "A ...damn mess." Well even in this mess a great masterpiece has been formed. Audie Murphy(World War II's most decorated hero and only in his teen's I believe) plays the youth of the story and brings more talent than anyone ever gave him credit for to the role. You see the fear of battle in him and you can feel it through the screen also. His reaction to cannon and rifle fire remind me of my uncle who served in Nam and how he reacted to the sounds of battle after that.In this day and age of DVD's someone should try to find the lost footage to this and re cut it like Mr. Huston wanted it done so we can all see that Mr. Murphy was more than just a hero, he was a very talented actor who wasn't given the due he should have gotten while he was with us.