BATTLE CRY

(February 1955, U.S.)

When you start discussing films that begin with the word "Battle", you're bound to be discussing at least a few war films in succession.

One of the first things I should say about war films in general is that it's probably the only genre in which men can get very close and intimate with each other without actually ending up in bed together. That's the heterosexual's point of view, anyway.

There are two kinds of war films, in my opinion. There's combat films with all the blood, guts and glory that goes with it, and then there's war dramas, which offer little-to-no combat at all. BATTLE CRY falls under the latter. Based on the original novel by Leon Uris, it serves as a prerequisite to many films of the type that would follow in later decades like, THE BOYS IN COMPANY C (1978), AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN (1982), FULL METAL JACKET (1987) and WE WERE SOLDIERS (2002), which all document the life of the ordinary man turned military recruit, turned soldier-in-training, turned full-fledged marine geared up for war, turned combat soldier. Sometimes they live, sometimes they die. Being a film from the 1950's, most of the boys we meet in this film are "good boys" from all walks of American life. Even the one guy we meet as the group practical joker and thief develops a new character as the values and commitments of an American soldier come through the turmoils of World War II.

One particular character that intrigues me in particular is that of PFC Andy Hookens, played by Aldo Ray. When we meet this brawny lumberjack, he's nothing more than a cocky, pig-headed womanizer, whose idea of falling for just "one dame" is inconceivable. As cliche would have it, though, he meets the right woman who touches his soft heart and brings out the best in his character. By the end of the film, he's married to her and the father of a baby boy. As I said, it's cliche, but very touching, nonetheless.

BATTLE CRY is excellent war drama through most of the film. However, the payoff of battle toward the end is also worth the long wait. It combines authentic World War II footage in surprisingly rich color with explosively-filmed action that you would expect in a great combat film.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Major Sam Huxley: "Sir, no man in the Corp. loves it any more than I do. No one has a greater respect for military custom. But those boys of mine have worked hard. I have the greatest bunch of boys in the world, sir, but they've got to have the chance to prove themselves. You can't train a champion to a figthing edge and then just throw him away on exhibition matches. We've sat in reserve and mopped up while the war went past us. This may be our last chance, sir. Give it to us."