The Red Badge of Courage

The Red Badge Of Courage
1951 - MGM
Directed by John Huston



SYNOPSIS

Audie Murphy (The Youth) plays a young soldier fighting for the Union in the Civil War. He heads in his first battle, is terrified, and flees. Upon seeing the sick and wounded after the battle, he comes across a soldier in his regiment who is both physically and mentally scarred from the fight. The older soldier dies and that builds some shame inside The Youth and that sends him back to his comrades. In the next battle, he's Rambo, complete with a red handkerchief on his head, and distinguishes himself, having conquered his fear of death.
SPOILER ALERT: The Union ultimately defeats the Confederates in the war.

MY THOUGHTS

Stephen Crane's classic novel was a short one, and the film was no different. Apparently director John Huston had intended a longer film, but MGM had other plans. The film is only about 70 minutes. I wonder how much better the longer version could have been.

Still with the smaller canvas, Huston delivers one of his best. Like many of MGM's classic literary films like 'David Copperfield' and 'Anna Karenina,' Red Badge doesn't hide its roots. The film opens with a book opening and a narrator telling about Crane before slipping into the narrative, taken directly from the text. It's definitely an old and somewhat dated device that would never be attempted today, but it works here. The narration sheds more light on the inner workings of The Youth that would be nearly impossible with the sparse dialogue.

Real-life World War 2 hero Audie Murphy is excellent. You feel for him as he struggles with fear and want to cheer when he charges with the American flag later in battle. Huston never lets you pity him as he turns yellow, unlike a soldier in 'Saving Private Ryan.'
Overall the casting is very well done, featuring mainly unknowns, many of whom were WW2 vets.
In many war films the characters tend to all look the same in their uniforms and you have problems keeping track of who's who. ('A Walk In the Sun' comes to mind.) In Red Badge, everyone is noticeably different.

The horrors of war are conveyed on screen well. You feel just how excruciatingly long it takes for the soldiers to reload their guns. Their reactions to seeing dead bodies and explosions are very true to life.
The battle cinematography is stunningly shot. Lots of dolly shots as the soldiers charge bring the viewer right into the battle.
After serving as a cameraman/filmmaker in WW2, John Huston knew how to shoot a war, and this one may even be better than the real footage he shot.