The Red Badge of Courage (1951)

Truncated adaptation of Stephen Crane's novel about a Civil War Union soldier who stuggles to find the courage to fight in the heat of battle.

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Stephen Crane (novel), John Huston (screenplay),

Stars:

Audie Murphy, Bill Mauldin, Douglas Dick

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Audie Murphy	...	The Youth
Bill Mauldin	...	The Loud Soldier
Douglas Dick	...	The Lieutenant
Royal Dano	...	The Tattered Man
John Dierkes	...	The Tall Soldier
Arthur Hunnicutt	...	Bill Porter
Tim Durant	...	The General
Andy Devine	...	The Cheery Soldier
Robert Easton	...	Thompson (as Robert Easton Burke)

Storyline

Plot centers around how a young recruit (Audie Murphy) faces the horrors of war. Character vascilates between wanting to fight and doubting his own courage. In midst of first bloody encounter, Youth runs away. After seeing dead and wounded, sense of shame leads him back to his unit, where he distinguishes himself in the next battle. Having overcome his fear of "the great Death" he knows e can face whatever comes. Somewhat sentimental "coming of age" tale was pet project of John Huston, who fought MGM over casting of Murphy and Bill Mauldin in lead roles.

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Plot Keywords:

battle | courage | union soldier | death | fear | 

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Taglines:

Stephen Crane's Great American Story of the Civil War

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 March 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alma de valiente

Filming Locations:

Bidwell Park - Manzanita Avenue, Chico, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,640,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Early in the film, Henry Fleming ('Audie Murphy') is shown writing a letter to his family. The date at the top of the letter is 10 September, 1862. This makes the battle depicted in the film either Turner's Gap, South Mountain, Maryland, on Sept 14; or Antietam Creek (Sharpsburg), Maryland, on Sept 17. Scholarship generally agrees that the battle in the novel is more like Chancellorsville, Virginia, May 1863. The novel never names a place or gives a date. One year after the publication of the novel, Stephen Crane had a short story entitled "The Veteran," published in McClure's magazine. In the story Henry Fleming is an old man telling the story of his first battle in the Civil War. There Fleming identifies the battle as being Chancellorsville.

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Goofs

There was no 304th infantry regiment in the Civil War. No state assigned a regimental number over the mid-100s.

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Connections

Referenced in House M.D.: The Itch (2008)

User Reviews

Riveting

John Huston's camera and sense of drama and tension make this one of the best soldier's-eye movies ever made. You really get a feel for the confusion Civil War recruits must have experienced - not during battle, but before and after, when orders appear to be arbitrary and nothing is ever explained.

The cast is wonderful, including many who show up for less than 30 seconds, giving their all for their roles - Audie Murphy never had it so good with this material and backdrop. A truly literate action movie that has a soul and a vision.