By Doug Oswald
Audie
Murphy plays himself in “To Hell and Back,” available on Blu-ray from Kino
Lorber. When I was a kid, the name Audie Murphy was very familiar to me and my
friends as the most decorated American soldier of WWII. And if that wasn’t
enough to make me an Audie Murphy fan, he was also the star of countless movie
westerns which I watched on repeat airings on TV. When “To Hell and Back” made
the rounds on TV, all other activities stopped so we could watch his Medal of
Honor exploits on the small screen, and then replay them in our minds in the
weeks that followed. We imagined killing Nazis on our way to and from grade
school. Thoughts and countless discussions about driving Jeeps with mounted .50
caliber machine guns, jumping sand dunes ala “The Rat Patrol,” and driving half-tracks
and Sherman tanks while firing rounds on the enemy.
The
film, which was released in 1955, opens with an introduction by retired four-star General Walter Bedell
Smith setting the stage for meeting a young Audie at home in rural northeastern
Texas in 1937. Born in 1925, he was part of a large family, abandoned by their
father and left alone after their mother died, leaving his younger siblings in
foster care. Murphy left school to work and help care for his family at the age
of 12. His skills at hunting and using a gun would aid him during his military
service. Underage after the attack on Pearl Harbor, his older sister helped
falsify his records so he could enlist in the Army. After basic training at Ft.
Lewis, Washington, Murphy shipped to North Africa, but he saw no action as the enemy
had just surrendered. Murphy isn’t thought of too highly at this point in the
story, by his peers or his commanding officers.
The
story shifts to the invasion of Sicily followed by the invasion of Italy and then
combat in France where Murphy distinguishes himself in battle and receives
America’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor. The movie moves along at
a brisk pace but we never really get to know his buddies and the bonds they
created, as the focus is oncus on the action set pieces and deaths of his
friends. Murphy is promoted from private to platoon sergeant and then to a field
commission to second lieutenant. The movie depicts the highlights from his real
life exploits including when he singlehandedly takes on an army of advancing
German soldiers by firing the machine gun on a burning Sherman tank and halting
the German advance, thereby saving the lives of many Americans. Murphy was
severely wounded and suffered the rest of his life from what is now commonly
known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Murphy is credited with killing an
estimated 240 German soldiers and wounding and capturing far more. It’s almost
too much to expect so much can be told in a movie with a running time of 106
minutes.
Murphy
released his autobiography, “To Hell and Back,” in 1949 which became the basis
for this film. Murphy declined the offer to attend the Military Academy at West
Point, but remained an Army Reserve officer and served in the Texas National
Guard, retiring with the rank of Major. Murphy did accept the call to Hollywood,
along with fame, fortune and a gambling addiction. His successful movie career
began in 1948, mostly in Westerns, ending in 1969 after featuring in 44 movies.
He also starred in a troubled 1961 TV series “Whispering Smith” which some
deemed too violent for television. Murphy died in a plane crash on 28 May 1971.
He’s buried in Arlington National Cemetery and his grave is the second most
visited after President John F. Kennedy.
“To
Hell and Back” was a Universal production filmed at Universal Studios and on
location in California in widescreen CinemaScope. It’s a pity the production
didn’t do actual location filming in Italy and France, but this was uncommon at
the time. The movie was directed by Jesse Hibbs with a screenplay by Gil Dovel
based on Murphy’s best selling biography of the same name. Music was supervised
Joseph Gershenson making use of common Army songs and an otherwise sparse
score. It would be great if Hollywood saw fit to remake this story. The movie
became a huge hit and was Universal’s most successful film until the release of
“Jaws” in 1975.
The
disc features an entertaining audio commentary by Steve Mitchell and Steven Jay
Rubin. It’s worth watching the movie twice, the second time with the commentary
track which is like hanging out with a couple of buddies sharing anecdotes and
facts about the film. Their audio commentaries are always insightful and
entertaining and this one contributes greatly to this Blu-ray release which is
a worthy upgrade from previous DVD versions released over the years. The other
extras are the trailer for this and other Kino Lorber titles. I highly
recommend this disc for Audie Murphy fans and fans of military movies.
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