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The single biggest reason to watch this movie is that the star himself was in fact the single most decorated war hero of World War Two, and he is convincing here playing himself with dignity, sincerity, and humility, which, of course, Audie Murphy always had in spades. The movie was adopted from his best-selling autobiography, which my Mom let me read after blackening out all of the four letter slang (as she called it). Perhaps it shows that he was my childhood hero, and I still have a personalized autographed photo somewhere reading "Thanks, Barry, for being my fan" that a friend's mom got for three or four of us ten year olds at the time this movie was released in the mid 1950s. It was the first movie I saw ten times. And I wasn't alone; Murphy was a national icon.
The movie truly is a classic; tightly directed, poignant, honest, accurate, and showing gripping combat without being gory or maudlin. It sometimes decends into travelogue movie-theater type newsreel moments, but these are thankfully rare and forgiveable. On the other hand, this is an interesting and absolutely true story of a common and uneducated boy from rural Texas who wanted more than anything to be a soldier and serve his country, and his subsequent deeds and patriotism above and beyond the call of duty inspired a whole generation of us who wanted to imitate his call to country. Unfortunately we walked into another time and the miasma of Vietnam. But that's another story for another time. Escape back to a time when the moral choices were clearer, and a real live hero was available to act his way memorably through an accurate recounting of his extraordinary if abbreviated military career. He may be gone too soon, the victim of a plane crash in the early 1970s, but his lifetime admirers remain. Enjoy!
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This is one of my favorite war films for several reasons. One is that it is always fascinating to see how a book is translated into film, and in this case, Murphy's story is told very well. And I can't remember many other films where the author plays himself! Though not the best war film ever made, it does tell the story the way Murphy wanted it told, through the eyes of the everyday soldier.What makes the film stand out to me is that Murhpy gives a more gutsy performance than most people can realize. It was learned many years later that he suffered from recurring nightmares about the horrors he saw in war, and one can only imagine what it was like to have to recreate so many painful memories, especially the scene where his best friend(played by Charles Drake) dies in his arms. Though the character had a different name, the scene is almost exactly the way it happened.
Perhaps what I take from this is how war can so drastically change a person. Murhphy entered the war as an underage oprphan who initially was thought unfit for combat, and went on to become our most decorated combat soldier. While it does get a little cliched at times, this movie is enjoyable because it allows us to see the real hero is the common foot soldier, without whom the war could not have been won.
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I have to say that after I saw this movie, I was a little embarassed that I had never heard of Audie Murphy before, especially since I'm 37 years old. This guy epitomizes the term "war hero" and his story needs to be retold. I'd love to see this remade so that more generations of people would know about him. The current version was great, especially because Audie plays himself. A must watch, especially for anyone who doesn't know anything about him.Honest reviews on To Hell & Back (1955)
TO HELL AND BACK is a true rags-to-warrior story. The wide-screen release presents this film the way it was meant to be screened. TO HELL AND BACK is the film version of warrior-turned-actor Audie Murphy's best selling autobiography. Murphy, the most highly decorated combat soldier in World War Two, was originally turned down by the US Marines and Navy. Underage, Murphy needed special permission to enlist in the Army.Murphy soon proved his mettle in combat. He distinguished himself in combat time and time again through campaigns in Sicily, mainland Italy, and France. It was not until the final months of the European Campaign that a severe wound took the fearless Murphy out of the line and into a field hospital.
A discussion about the film deserves a few comments on the original best selling book. His autobiography almost did not make it to book store shelves. Murphy was presented with a generous advance for his autobiographical war exploits. Unfortunately, he found it very difficult to capture his experiences on paper. Some have since speculated that Murphy was suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome. Who could blame him? After recovering from his war wounds, Murphy was decorated with the Congressional Medal of Honor. As a hero he toured the United States as part of a war bond drive. He turned down an opportunity to attend West Point and left active duty. Screen legend James Cagney took an interest in Audie Murphy and sponsored Murphy's theatrical training.
Murphy soon found himself in, what were then known as, B-movies. Most of the movies were westerns. Still, he achieved fame that was very far removed from his impoverished days in Texas.
The book, TO HELL AND BACK, was still little more than a few poorly written pages when Murphy's publisher became impatient. With a friend's help -and reportedly the friend ghost authored the book for Murphy -TO HELL AND BACK was completed, published, and became a best seller.
The transition to film was a bit more difficult. Universal studios bought the rights to the film and opted to use one of its stars, Audie Murphy, to play himself in the title role. The Department of the Army solidly backed this production. Fort Lewis, Washington was basically put at Universal's disposal. Any worries that Murphy might have difficulties reenacting -and reliving -the heroic moments of his life were dispelled on the first days of location shooting. Murphy handled the film as both a fine actor and veteran.
The film itself is a bit dated. The movie's introduction and occasional narration sometimes make it seem as though it is an Army training film. What separates this undertaking from US Army Pictorial Center films is that it is in color, wide screen, and is one of the first World War Two movies to involve large scale infantry and tank attacks. Some of the combat scenes in TO HELL AND BACK would not be matched until the war films of the mid 1960's such as TOBRUK, THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE, and so on. TO HELL AND BACK is strong enough to stand on its own without an introduction, animated maps, and narration.
You might even see this film as sort of a western. Indeed, the movie soundtrack sounds as if it was meant for a cowboy film. The soldiers are generally clean cut. With the exception of a few muddy scenes, the uniforms always appear too clean and starched to have been worn by real soldiers in continuous combat. The grit that you will find in movies like BATTLEGROUND and ATTACK is absent from this film. The screenplay is only disappointing in the non-tactical scenes. Murphy's token romance with a beautiful Italian girl has no place in this movie. The bar room brawl is also a bit cheesy.
The soldier in Murphy shows through in this movie. He salutes sharply, handles weapons like a veteran, and barks out commands as a real soldier. In fact, in the beginning of the movie it is difficult to believe that Murphy is a green recruit. His handsome youthful looks served him well in TO HELL AND BACK. Though the film followed almost ten years after Murphy charged his last machinegun nest, he is believeable as a young soldier.
The wide screen version of this film was long overdue. The battle scenes are great. The label on the disk itself has a sort of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN design to it. Unfortunately, the only special feature on the DVD is the movie trailer.
My recommendation: buy the DVD, the book, and Charles Whiting's biography of Audie Murphy, HERO.
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