A Walk in the Sun (1945)

During WWII, a platoon of American soldiers trudge through the Italian countryside in search of a bridge they have been ordered to blow up, encountering danger and destruction along the way.

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Harry Brown (by), Robert Rossen (screenplay)

Stars:

Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, George Tyne

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dana Andrews	...	Sgt. Bill Tyne
Richard Conte	...	Pvt. Rivera
George Tyne	...	Pvt. Jake Friedman
John Ireland	...	Pfc. Windy Craven
Lloyd Bridges	...	Sgt. Ward
Sterling Holloway	...	McWilliams
Norman Lloyd	...	Pvt. Archimbeau
Herbert Rudley	...	Sgt. Eddie Porter
Richard Benedict	...	Pvt. Tranella
Huntz Hall	...	Pvt. Carraway
James Cardwell	...	Sgt. Hoskins
George Offerman Jr.	...	Pvt. Tinker
Steve Brodie	...	Pvt. Judson
Matt Willis	...	Sgt. Pete Halverson
Chris Drake	...	Rankin

Storyline

In the 1943 invasion of Italy, one American platoon lands, digs in, then makes its way inland to blow up a bridge next to a fortified farmhouse, as tension and casualties mount. Unusually realistic picture of war as long quiet stretches of talk, punctuated by sharp, random bursts of violent action whose relevance to the big picture is often unknown to the soldiers.

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Plot Keywords:

national film registry | italy | reference to norman rockwell | mental breakdown | stone wall | 

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Taglines:

THEY FOUGHT BEST WHEN IT WAS HOPELESS! (print ad for 1951 reissue "Salerno Beachhead" - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

25 December 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Salerno Beachhead

Filming Locations:

Agoura Ranch, Agoura, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lewis Milestone Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Feature-film debut (uncredited) of Robert Horton.

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Goofs

When a small patrol attacks the farmhouse they have to return to the wall. Lloyd Bridges is shown throwing his rifle over the wall with a bayonet attached. The next scene shows his bayonet in its scabbard on his back pack.

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Quotes

Friedman: You ever think you'll live to make corporal?
Rivera: Baby, I just want to live long enough to make civilian.

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Crazy Credits

The beginning shows an unseen male narrator grabbing a book from a shelf and the cast and crew are set out in the pages of a book.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Mouth (2008)

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Soundtracks

Waiting
(uncredited)
Music by Earl Robinson
Lyrics by Millard Lampell

User Reviews

Another Job to be Done

A Walk in the Sun -despite some please the folks at home inaccuracies that has been spoken of earlier: pulling grenade pins with teeth(irks me every time)and the grenades destroying a bridge (well it could've of been just planks across a stream not the Golden Gate) the theme song,the movie tells of fear,monotony,cynicism(Norman Lloyds'point man feels this thing is gonna last forever with or without him) and the terror-heroics of combat very well. Far superior to Guadacanal Diary and the war as cartoon films of that period and after, ,and like the similar The Story of GI Joe set in Italy the forgotten front a story of a job to be done. The platoon takes losses in the final assault on the farmhouse how many fatal or seriously wounded is unknown and neither is the fate of the platoon answered no relieving task force comes up at the climax. There will be other farmhouses,other streams to cross, another hill to take and hold for the poor slob infantry. No remake is needed, no Spielbergian string section pulling at the heart, no CGI effects needed to convey the havoc, A Walk In the Sun says with dignity and respect that a job had to be done and this is a story of some of the workers in the mill.