THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951)

After gracing the cover of LIFE Magazine (July 16, 1945) as the Most Decorated Soldier of WWII, Audie Murphy was Hollywood bound. Actor / Producer James Cagney  was so taken by the article in LIFE Magazine that  he sent for Murphy and signed him to his production company. Cagney supplied the crucial  Acting , Voice, and Dance training for his new discovery. Sadly, Cagney never cast Murphy in any of his productions and a personal disagreement severed their alliance in 1947.

For the next few years, Murphy would find himself in bit roles in B Pictures. After his first Starring role in a film called BAD BOY (1949),Murphy found himself signing a seven year contract with Universal Pictures. After making three B- grade westerns in 1950, Murphy was loaned out to do a film for MGM called THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951).

Synopsis (Spoilers Alert !!!)

At age 26, Audie Murphy plays Henry Fleming known as The Youth, in the screen adaption of Stephen Crane's Literary classic THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE. Murphy's boyish looks persuade the viewers , he is indeed this frightened young lad thrown into a Civil War. Henry ( Audie Murphy ) becomes anxious over hearing  his fellow comrades boasting about going into their FIRST battle tomorrow. Thus far , it has only been endless drilling for this UNTRIED army regiment. Henry decides to pen a letter to his Pa, telling him that he is going into battle and that he may become one of the FALLEN. Henry doesn't think that he's going to survive this war.

Suddenly Henry was interrupted from Tom Wilson (Bill Mauldin), who is high on adrenaline for tomorrow's fight at the river. Another , much older soldier named Jim Conkin ( John Dierkes) enters the tent ,joining in the conversation. Jim gives his critique on how the regiment will fare tomorrow, answering Henry's question. Jim stated that if the company fled for the hills , he'd be right behind them. But if they decide to take the stand and fight by  JIMINY he would.

That evening, Henry would have his FIRST chance meeting with the enemy: a REBEL, while on watch duty. A voice of the enemy told young Henry to duck out of the MOONLIGHT, instead of shooting him for he could pass through. A spark of HUMANITY transpire  between the two kind souls in a Civil War. Henry thanked  the REBEL who spared his life. The Rebel responded ( who sounds like an Old Prospector ). " You're a right DUMB  good feller . So take care of yourself , don't go get one of those little red badges pinned on ya."

The next day proves to be the same as any other day, more DRILLING. It appears Tom Wilson had done some fibbing  with his fellow comrades on a pretense of a battle. No matter all with rectified in a gentlemanly fashion: a fist fight. Henry seems to be eager to go to battle , no longer the COWARD, he was yesterday who wanted to RUN. Frustrated by the constant drilling. Henry held  his weapon up to Jim , who was standing beside him and spouted " What are these GUNS for anyways. To SHOOT  or DRILL with ? They might as well be BROOMSTICKS."

Then the Calvary rode into camp , telling everyone that they were MARCHING. It was true , the battle was on.  Henry was no longer BRAVE, as he boasted to Jim a  few minutes ago. Again, Henry was wrestling with his emotions about going to battle. No one else seems to have this problem. Everyone seemed to be stammering to get to the front line.

The troop marched on , drums were banged, flutes were played and OLD GLORY was waving high. The sounds of gunfire  could be heard, as they drew closer to the battlefield. Fear washed across their faces, reality set in. As they marched  forth, they came across a DEAD body of a soldier lying in the path. Henry become OVERWELM, never seeing a dead man, who had been killed before. Henry fell back from the line and lost his place. He couldn't take his eyes of the dead soldier . Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder from his lieutenant, telling him to go back into the ranks , because he was lagging back.

Once the troop arrived at the field, everyone was told to form a line  and take their position and hold for the Rebs, no matter what happens. Before Tom could hold his position, he crawled over to Henry , passing a watch that his parents gave him last year for his 21st birthday. Tom was no longer boasting about the glories of war , instead convinced that he was a GONE GOOSE and this was his first and last battle.

The Rebs came marching down over the hill, flying the Confederate flag. Cannons were fired  and bullets were shot. After the dust settled ,  many bodies laid scattered all over the field. The Reps retreated for a brief intermission. Many of the wounded carried or helped off the battlefield. Henry found himself attending to a fellow soldier's leg that was bleeding. Once again, the battle was on, intermission was over. This time ,  the enemy was upon Henry's troop[ who holding position. Henry decided to break for it , fearing for his life. The Lieutenant tried to hold Henry back , but Henry continue on. Henry could hear The Lieutenant calling him a DESERTER. Henry didn't care, he kept running  and running as far as he could away from the battlefield. 

Henry stopped for a moment , only to hear his regiment had HELD them, which made the General quite proud. Henry began to feel like a COWARD , not able partake in the glory. Henry felt like a criminal that had commit a crime. He was afraid what his comrades would say, if  he  was to return to camp.  Henry continue on with his escape plan, until he came across the wounded soldiers. He watched a wave of torn men marched along the path. He wished he was among the wounded, envying them with their wounds from the battlefield. Henry wanted a wound , a red badge of courage.

Henry decided to conceal himself amongst these brave souls. He kept marching along , keeping his head down, trying to keep a low profile. Then one of them , known as  The Tattered Man (Royal Dano) spoke to Henry, asking him where he had been shot. Of Course, Henry did not answer, he just kept moving forward until he bumped into an his old friend Jim. Henry was so please to see Jim was alive ,  but he could see that Jim had been shot. There a great scene here , Audie Murphy showing raw emotion  without saying word, only clinging close to his friend with his eyes closed. Action definitely speaks louder than words. Jim tells Henry that he been SHOT  and was afraid that he was going to fall down and get run over by auxiliary wagon. Henry reassures Jim that everything is going to be alright and that he will take care of him.

Suddenly , Jim breaks away from the parade of wounded soldiers and escapes climbing up a hill. At once , Henry goes after Jim, following behind him up the hill. Thinking that Henry may need some  assistance,The Tattered Man ( Royal Dano) follows . Once Jim reached the top, Jim appeared out of breath and very confrontational and saying " Don't touch me. Leave me be. Can't ya for a minute." Henry becomes very concerned about his dear old friend, who wasn't himself. Jim 's breathing becomes quite labored, until he DROPPED DEAD to the ground. The Tattered Man and Henry loomed over poor Jim 's dead body powerless. Henry tried to hold back his tears for his dearly departed friend.

Henry found himself alone again, The Tattered Man went back to join the Parade of Wounded Soldiers. Henry could not longer hide behind Jim anymore, especially with The Tattered Man knowing that Henry was not wounded. Unknowingly, Henry met back up with the regimen, but to his dismay they seemed to be running for their lives. When Henry tried to stop one of the fleeing soldiers, he was knock out cold by the butt of his firearm.

Fortunately that evening, a hefty much older soldier known as  The Cheery Soldier (Andy Devine) discovers the unconscious Henry. Andy Burnette plays The Cheery Soldier , which is quite a  welcoming change, seeing Devine in a different role. Burnette usually been  type cast as sidekick, usually to Singing Cowboy Roy Rogers. Devine makes the most of his few minutes in this film , before bringing back Henry to his regimen.

Henry's first encounter back at the regimen , is his best friend Tom Wilson. Henry never though that he would see Tom again, after his pal predicted that he was a GONE GOOSE. Tom also thought Henry was dead as well. Henry begins to tell Tom, his tall tale of him being shot. Tom offers to help his friend with his head injury. After accessing the head wound, Tom informs Henry that his injury is not as bad as he feared. Tom injects that the wound looks like a ball grazed his skull, looking like a queer lump like someone had clumped him. He then reached into his shirt , grabs a bandana and wraps Henry's head with it. I'm hoping that Dear old Tom didn't use it to blow his nose with.

Before Henry laid down for the night , he asked if The Lieutenant had inquire about him being missing. Tom nodded that he hadn't heard anything. Henry seemed nervous , he was  hoping that maybe The Lieutenant had , well you know. Henry then handed back the watch Tom had given to him for safe keeping. Tom seemed surprised, almost like he didn't want it back. But Tom took the watch back, holding it close to his ear to see if it was still ticking.

Henry found himself, back on the battlefield. But this time it was quite different. Henry was no longer that scare country boy he was, this time he was a MAN. He possess the power of army ,  running into the battle front , instead of away from.  Henry was fueled by the hatred of his enemy and to destroy them, no matter if it cost him is his life. Then he was summoned back by his Lieutenant to rejoin the regimen in the trenches. The Lieutenant, he once feared,  would remember him deserting his regimen. Instead, the Lieutenant praised him for his bravery.

After the battle, the soldiers were thirsty for some water. Tom offered to go to the creek with Henry to get the water. The Lieutenant approved as long as they came back. While at the creek, Tom and Henry overheard The General speaking  that they were going to ATTACK the Rebs right away. Tom and  Henry hurried back to their regimen with the news. Just before the attack, The General , himself makes an appearance , asking all the soldiers what they were having supper and may he join them . He wished them well  on the attack and was off.

Another battle was forged, with  the proud regimen marching forward into  the uncertainty of war. Henry took charge, urging his comrades to proceed forward waving OLD GLORY. These brave men risked their lives for the country could be united. There a moving scene towards the end of the final battle, when Henry slowly take the enemy flag from a dead confederate soldier. Both Audie Murphy and Bill Mauldin show empathy for the fallen soldier , instead of celebrating their victory.

After the South had lost, there a touching scene of compassion  and humanity that wasn't shown on the battlefield from the North. This great scene details Arthur Hunnicut's character reaching out to the enemy with SMALL TALK , asking what state they were from, which lead to exchanging each other names. They both admit that they had never talk to anyone from each other's states. 

News spread throughout the regimen that The General and The Captain were talking about the bravery of Henry Fleming and Tom Wilson. They, both agreed that Henry and Tom should be awarded Major Generals. Henry didn't know how to respond, so he moved quickly away from the others, feeling unworthy. Because of his past transgression of desertion. Tom followed behind Henry, hoping to learn what was troubling his friend. Henry confesses to Tom that he had DESERTED from the regimen, before he had returned. Tom does some confessing of his own, that he tried to RUN with half the other fellas. But he was caught by The Captain who made him stay. Both Henry and Tom agreed that confessing is good for the soul.

The finale has Tom, Henry, and the rest of regimen walking from the battlefield, thankful to alive, and returning to the life they left behind. It's truly a miracle , that THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951) is still a compelling film about absolution, in spite of MGM 's hatchet job to  Huston 's crowning glory. 

                                                FILM FACTS

Audie Murphy is well known for being the Most Decorated  Combat Soldier of WWII, accepting every Military Combat Award for VALOR from the U.S. Army.

After  seeing Audie Murphy on the cover of LIFE Magazine (July 16, 1945), Actor/ Producer James Cagney seek out the decorated soldier  to make him a Movie Star.

Bill Mauldin who plays Tom in THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE  (1951) was a real life soldier like Audie Murphy. Mauldin was known as a notable War Cartoonist and was already acquainted with Murphy, serving in Italy in his unit before the making of this film.

Director John Huston considered THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951) to be his best work. Unfortunately his two hour epic was slash down to 69 minute second feature B picture. Huston  and Murphy tried to purchase the film from MGM, for they could re-edited their movie to original length. Sadly,  according to MGM , the cut footage was eradicated.

Stephen Crane wrote THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE  in 1846 at the age of 22.

THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951) was one of the biggest flops in 1951 for MGM. The studio had to write off one million dollars due its lack of performance at the box office.

Royal Dano's death scene in the original cut of THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951) sent the TEST  audience out of the theater in droves. Apparently the death of the character :The Tattered Man was so disturbing , that it was considered a sickening event  by those viewed it  and rejected it. Immediately the scene was removed , which lead to THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1961) to be drastically recut.  John Huston believes that "The death scene of The Tattered Man ." is lost forever.

Hedda Hopper declared THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951)  to be the BEST war film ever made.

William Schallert , who plays TV Dad Martin Lane on the PATTY DUKE SHOW (1963 -1966) has an UNCREDITED  role as Union Soldier.

Audie Murphy tried to buy THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951) fours years after making the film. Murphy wanted to purchase the film to reshoot the NEW footage replacing what was edited it out, returning it back to its intended 2 hour epic. But MGM refused Murphy's offer.

Universal Studios loaned out  Audie Murphy to MGM by John Huston's request for a fee of 25,000 to make THE RED BAGE OF COURAGE (1951). Primarily Murphy had  only made 3 B westerns for Universal, at this point in his career. THE KID FROM TEXAS (1950) was Murphy's first movie which he depicts Billy the Kid.

1951  movie tie Comic Book Adaption of THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951).

                  IMMORTAL DIALOGUE

             " Jim, How to do you think the regiment will do ?"

          "Do you ever think that you would ever RUN  too . Jim ? "
  

" But EVERYBODY was  STANDIN' and FIGHTIN'. I would stand and fight. By Jiminy I WOULD. I bet on it."

" You're getting BLUE, my boy . You're looking THUNDERING  PEAKED. What the DICKENS is WRONG with you ?"

" Oh , shut up , you darn little cuss. You little fool. You ain't had there coat and them pants on for six months. Yet you talk as if you were GEORGE WASHINGTON."

"  Now , you men MIND me. We got to HOLD. Can you HEAR me. We got to HOLD. "

       
             " He were a regular JIM DANDY , weren't he ?"

" By Heavens, If I had 10,000 WILDACATS like you. I would  TEAR THE STOMACH  out of the war in less than a week."

                                              

                           THE CAST 

     Henry Fleming (aka The Youth ) .... AUDIE MURPHY
     Tom Wilson ( aka The Loud Soldier) ...Bill Mauldin
      The Lieutenant ...Douglas Dick 
      The Tattered Man ... Royal Dano
     Jim Conkin (aka The Tall Soldier) ...John Dierkes
     Bill Porter ..... Arthur Hunnicutt
     The General .... Tim Durant
     The Cheery Soldier ... Andy Devine
     Thompson ..... Robert Eastman
     Officer .... William Phipps
     Union Soldier .... William Schallert
      

                 MY BOTTOM LINE IS  ...

THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951) is definitely a classic film that does justice to Stephen Crane's literary masterpiece. I wished  the original UNCUT version still exist, which Director John Huston declares was his finest work. Unfortunately the edited version of the film , as we know it , is a far cry from his best in my opinion. Especially, when you are  comparing this film to such Huston Classics as THE MALTESE FALCON (1941), THE AFRICAN QUEEN  (1952), THE TREASURE OF SIERRA MADRE (1948), CHINATOWN (1974), THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (1975), just to name a few. After saying that, THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951) is quite good in its butchered form of 69 minutes. But I can only imagine how THE RED BADGE COURAGE (1951) would be in its original splendor. 

One of my complaint of the film is James Arness 's narration , which I found personally quite tiresome. Huston was NOT pleased with added  narration , which did not appear in the original 120 minutes cut version. Just hearing those quotes of the text of the literary novel, gave me a deja vu moment, which immediately brought me back to Mr. Lockwood's 7th Grade English Class, when I viewing the film for my blog.

To be honest,  I think that Audie Murphy's best performance on film, would be for me, anyways is TO HELL AND BACK (1955). Murphy plays himself  and gives a quite compelling performance depicting his real life experiences in WWII. This is certainly  a step up for the usual tread mill of B Westerns he turned out for Universal Pictures. Murphy's second best performance in his film career of over 40 films, would be his role in this film , as Henry Fleming.  Murphy was  rather green in making films, only having four pictures as the lead to his credit, all made within one year and half. Murphy  made us feel empathy for this young farm boy , who wrestled with his true feeling about fighting for his country. He was afraid and not sure if he was willing to give up  his life for it. THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951) is definitely one of Audie Murphy's best, right behind TO HELL AND BACK (1955).