To Hell and Back (1955) Reviews

• The true story of an outstanding soldier...

  Nazi_Fighter_David2002-12-03

  Audie Murphy's screen autobiography is a much better film than it has any right to be... The Army provides a Depression-era kid from East Texas with a strong family structure that he has never really experienced... In 1937, a young Audie Murphy (played by Gordon Gebert as a boy, by Murphy himself later) is forced to become the head of a family with an ailing mother and an absent father... He drops out of grade school and goes to work full time to provide for his younger siblings until, at roughly the same time, World War II starts and his mother dies... By enlisting in, Murphy can provide more money for his brothers, but neither the Navy nor the Marines were interested in the small guy... In the Army, Murphy is promoted to Corporal on the troop ship carrying him overseas where he joins the 3rd Infantry Division, B Company, 15th Regiment... It soon becomes apparent that the likable 'baby face kid,' hardly old enough to shave, has a genuine aptitude for soldiering... After North Africa, his outfit takes part in the invasions of Sicily, Anzio and Southern France... In every engagement, Murphy steps up and excels as a soldier... At the same time, he becomes friends with Brandon (Charles Drake), Johnson (Marshall Thompson), and Kerrigan (Jack Kelly). He sees himself as part of a unit, and everything that he does is meant to advance the unit, not the individual... Murphy liked to work alone, putting only himself at risk... The one long scene that moves away from the Military—an interlude in an Italian town where he meets Maria (Susan Kohner) and her family, is embarrassingly bad... As long as the focus stays on the platoon's activities on the battlefield, the film is in fine shape... Director Jesse Hibbs makes the cold mud and rain of the Italian campaign believably real, especially a series of scenes revolving around a farmhouse and a burning tank... One might assume that Murphy's indomitable courage would be described as Rambo—like heroics, but in comparing the film with the official combat reports, it is clear that Murphy became an astounding soldier by skill, training, intelligence, and luck... He was an equal opportunity soldier, doing everything the front line combatant is required to do in order to take and hold ground through Sicily, Italy, France, and into Germany... All of the events recounted in the film take place before Murphy was 19 years old... In that brief military career, Audie L. Murphy becomes one of the best fighting combat soldiers of the last century... He never really seemed to care about the medals or glory, just the men of his unit and friends who fall down in the European Theater of Operations... Murphy died tragically on May 28, 1971, when the private plane in which he was a passenger crashed into a mountain near Roanoke, Virginia... He was 46. His last film role was earlier that year, playing Jesse James in 'A Time for Dying.'

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• A classic and unique movie

  valf2006-05-14

  To Hell And Back rates as one of the truly classic and unique movies of our time. To have Audie Murphy himself have to remember and "relive" his war experiences, having been removed from them for only ten years, is unprecedented.The movie is the forerunner of such movies as We Were Soldiers Once...and Black Hawk Down. Although Col. Tom Moore was only an on scene adviser he also relived some of the scenes(his own admission) that were depicted in "..Soldiers..." Black Hawk Down depicted actual footage of the battle. The historical and personal accuracy of these movies is tremendous. Audie, however paid a bitter price. His war experiences tormented him the rest of his life with constant insomnia, depression and anxiety. I was lucky enough to meet him at Suffolk Downs Race Track in 1959 or 1960. I always wondered what became of his siblings and sister. Audie Murphy is a true hero of the twentieth century. Everyone should take note of what true character, integrity and loyalty Audie gave us. Thank you Audie.

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• AUDIE MURPHY: the Man, the Legend, the Hollywood Star

  starracer0072005-11-25

  Let's face it; in a world of computers and egotists so far absent of true human contact and chivalry, Audie Murphy will forever shine brightly and ever brighter as a true man. He is perhaps the last real genuine American hero, as we slip into a vortex world of lawyers, statistics, and scams. 1.) At the age of 12, he chose to be a man by taking over his absentee father's role in his family; he literally fed his dirt poor family by putting meat on the table with a keen eye and a broken down .22 rifle. Working two jobs at this age, he still wrote cursively w/ excellent spelling and diction when he had to quit his education. This is something half of the high schoolers of today can't do as they "rap" themselves in hedonistic pursuits of clothes, breeding without responsibility, drugs, cell phones, and a disregard for another person's respect and rights. 2.) After multiple attempts to join our country's armed forces, he became the most highly decorated soldier in our nation's history, with countless feats of heroism (please see WWW.AUDIEMURPHY.COM.). 3.) He achieved Hollywood star status with his tough yet tender persona. In a current world of 50 cents, we can look back to a time when a man was truly a man, and that man was the United States Medal of Honor Winner: AUDIE MURPHY.

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• An incredible story

  elrich-22000-08-30

  It's a shame that more people haven't seen this movie in recent years. As much as Saving Private Ryan introduced a new generation to horrors and heroism of World War II, "To Hell and Back" introduces you to one of the men who lived through it. It doesn't attempt to glorify the War, it simply relates what happened to America's most decorated soldier based on his own story and actually staring him. While it's amazing that the baby faced Murphy still looks young enough in 1955 for the story to work 15 years after the fact, the truly amazing thing is that from most accounts, Murphy understates his own role in many of the events described in the movie. The final war scene for instance shows him holding off an entire German regiment using artilery and the machine gun of a burning tank. The fact is that he held that ground alone for well over an hour before the germans finally gave up. All the while the tank was burning and could have exploded at any time. Like many great soldiers, however, he had trouble adjusting to life after the war even with a semi-successful acting career aided by James Cagney after the war. Still, it's men like this, who risked and often gave their lives on the fields of Europe and Africa and in the waters and islands of the pacific, that we have to thank for the Freedoms we enjoy in the United States today. Too often we forget this.

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• A solid 1950's style WW2 movie.

  Scurfield1999-01-26

  I watched this movie because I was interested in seeing the story of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in U.S. history. The fact that this movie is based on Audie Murphy's autobiography, and that he stars as himself in the film, added to my interest. I didn't have high pre-expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised while watching this enjoyable film. To Hell and Back is a solid 1950's style WW2 movie, which focuses on the camaraderie of the foot soldier. It is neither pro nor anti-war, as it has a high body, but shows little of the bloodshed or true horror of war.

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