An
all star cast features in the adaptation of Leon Uris’ “Battle Cry,†available
on Blu-ray via the Warner Archive Collection. The granddaddy of contemporary
WWII melodramas like “The Winds of War†and “Band of Brothers,†“Battle Cryâ€
was one of the first big dramatic war stories which followed multiple
characters through boot camp, romance, heartbreak, the battlefield, death and
homecoming. One of my favorite movies in this genre is Otto Preminger’s “In
Harms Way†from 1965 which teamed John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. “Battle Cry†was
first a best selling novel released in 1953 and quickly adapted to the big
screen. Some people criticize these types of military themed melodramas as
being light on action and heavy on romance, but there’s certainly a place for
both.
“Battle
Cry†begins with the narrator setting the stage. It’s January 1942 and several
young men and their families say their goodbye’s from East Coast to West Coast picking
up more guys along the way to San Diego where they will start their 10 weeks of
training at the Marine Corps Base in California. The narrator of the story is their
senior NCO, Master Sergeant Mac, played by James Whitmore in one of my favorite
of his many great performances. He portrayed a similar character a few years
earlier in the gritty story of the Battle of Bastogne, “Battleground.†He also served
in the Marine Corps during WWII and his portrayal in both films is convincing
and natural.
We
meet all the central characters on the train and we get the basic set up for their
stories. They’re a mixed lot, ranging from intellectuals and the street wise to
hot heads, country boys, a lumberjack and tough guys. We follow them from boot
camp to radio school and then off to the war in the Pacific with stops in New
Zealand and Hawaii in between landings on Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Saipan. In
between they find time for romance and infidelity.
Danny
Forrester (Tab Hunter) is engaged to his high school sweetheart, Kathy (Mona
Freeman). While in San Diego he meets USO volunteer Elaine Yarborough (Dorothy
Malone), the wife of a deployed naval officer who, as she says, has everything
she needs. They have a brief affair until Danny breaks it off.
Andy
Hookins (Aldo Ray) is the confirmed bachelor of the group who sees “dames†as
playthings. He reminds his pals their problem is falling for one dame. While in New Zealand, he meets
and falls for widow Pat Rogers (Nancy Olson). She’s not like the other women he
has met and apologizes to her for his behavior. He meets her family and later,
they get married. He even contemplates desertion to avoid the risk of leaving
her and dying in the war.
Marion
“Sister Mary†Hotchkiss (John Lupton) is a reader, a thinker and an aspiring
writer who rides the Coronado Ferry while on liberty during radio school. There
he meets Rae (Anne Francis), who enjoys their relationship talking on the boat. He
wants more, but she likes things as they are. Later, while at a local bar with
his classmates, she walks in with several other girls brought in by “Spanish
Joe†Gomez (Perry Lopez) to liven things up for his fellow Marines. Naturally,
Marion is devastated and leaves.
“Skiâ€
Wronski (William Campbell) also has a girl back home, Susan (Susan Morrow) who
sends him a “Dear John†letter. He’s never the same after that. The guys rescue
him and his nest egg which a bar girl tries to steal while he’s drunk. He never
does quite bounce back from his girl dumping him and marrying someone else.
Van
Heflin is Major Sam Huxley, the commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion 6th
Marine Regiment. He works his men hard in order to prepare them for fighting
the enemy. He has a wife back home we never meet, but we know he cares for his
men and sometimes crosses the line in identifying too closely with their
personal problems.
Raymond
Massey has a cameo as Major General Snipes, Huxley’s commanding officer during
their island hopping in the Pacific. L.Q. Jones provides comic relief as L.Q.
Jones. The actor changed his professional name from Justus E. McQueen to his
screen namesake in his film debut which was probably good as there may have
been room for only one McQueen in Hollywood. Perry Lopez is the afore mentioned
“Spanish Joe†Gomez, the con man of the outfit and Fess Parker is the good
natured, guitar playing country boy, Speedy.
The
Marines finally depart San Diego and in November 1942 they arrive in New
Zealand for more training and to prepare for their first island invasion. After
celebrating Christmas services, the Marines ship out to Guadalcanal and then
Tarawa. In both cases they are held in reserve and perform mop up duty. It
isn’t until June 14th, 1944, the Marines take a lead role as part of the first
wave in the invasion of Japanese held Saipan. In between they take leave back
in New Zealand and Hawaii. This final third of the movie depicts the men at
war. For those of us used to contemporary watching recent films which have more
realistic depictions of combat, “Battle Cry†may appear unrealistic and dated.
If you’re looking for a war movie filled with battlefield action, this may not
be the one for you. It’s nearly 90 minutes until the first bomb is dropped and
the battle action takes center stage.
Leon
Uris adapted the screenplay from his own novel. He based the story on his own
experiences as a radio operator in the Marine Corps and served in combat during
the battles depicted in the story and fictionalized those experiences to great
effect. Uris would go on to write many more best selling novels which is where
his greatest success remains. He did write first drafts for adaptations of “The
Angry Hills,†“Exodus,†“Topaz,†and “QB VII†as well as the original
screenplay for “The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.†I think it’s safe to say Uris
was not happy in Hollywood as a couple of his first draft screenplays went
unused.
“Battle
Cry†was directed by Raoul Walsh, whose career began in silent movies and
continued into the mid 1960s. Known for his crime dramas and military themed
movies, Walsh first introduced John Wayne in the 1930 release, “The Big Trail.â€
He helped create the tough guy personas associated with James Cagney, Humphrey
Bogart and Errol Flynn in movies like “They Drive By Night,†“High Sierra,†“They
Died with Their Boots On†and “White Heat.†He also directed the antithesis of
“Battle Cry,†the gritty and cynical military drama, “The Naked and the Deadâ€
which features no home front romance or melodrama of any kind.
“Battle
Cry†is indeed a statement on war and the human toll during war at home and on
the field of battle. If I were to pick a favorite performance, I’d have to say
it’s a tie between James Whitmore and Aldo Ray. Whitmore because he’s spot on
in his thoughtful portrayal as a career senior NCO who empathizes with his men
and successfully turns them into Marines without being a tyrant. Aldo Ray
because his portrayal is the most transformative going from essentially a cad
and a womanizer who falls for the right woman and considers deserting in order
to preserve the new man he has become.
Released
by Warner Bros. in February 1955, the movie clocks in at a hefty 148 minutes. Filmed
in CinemaScope, the “Battle Cry†benefits greatly from the widescreen aspect
ratio. The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray looks better than it ever has on
home video and sounds just as good. There are no extras on the disc other than
the trailer and subtitles. Highly recommended for fans of high drama military
movies.
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