To Hell and Back [Blu-ray]

Director: Jesse Hibbs Jesse Hibbs

Overview

The highly variable Audie Murphy delivers his best screen performance as "himself" in Universal's To Hell and Back. Based on the star's autobiography, this is the story of how Murphy became America's most-decorated soldier during WW II. After dwelling a bit on Murphy's hard-scrabble Texas upbringing, the story moves ahead to 1942, when, as a teenager, Audie joined the army. Within a year, he was a member of the 7th Army, serving in North Africa, Italy, France and ultimately Germany and Austria. One by one, the members of Murphy's Company B are killed in the war, until only three men from the original company are left (the others appear at the finale as ghostly images, a standard visual cliché of 1950s war films). The bulk of the film is given over to Murphy's conspicuous acts of combat bravery, and his killing of 240 enemy soldiers. Highlighted by excellent battle sequences, To Hell and Back is a serviceable tribute to a most complex individual.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/30/2021
UPC:	0738329256654
Original Release:	1955
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Language:	English
Time:	1:46:00
Sales rank:	15,334

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Audie Murphy	Audie Murphy
Marshall Thompson	Johnson
Charles Drake	Brandon,Brandon
Gregg Palmer	Manning
Jack Kelly	Kerrigan
Susan Kohner	Maria
Paul Picerni	Valentino
Richard Castle	Kovak
Art Aragon	Sanchez
Felix Noriego	Swope
David Janssen	Lee
Brett Halsey	Saunders
Paul Langton	Col. Howe
Bruce Cowling	Capt. Marks
Julian Upton	Steiner
Denver Pyle	Thompson
Tommy Hart	Klasky
Anthony Garcen	Lt. Burns
Gordon Gebert	Audie as a Boy
Mary Field	Mrs. Murphy
Howard Wright	Mr. Houston
Edna Holland	Mrs. Houston
Anabel Shaw	Helen
Maria Costi	Julia
Didi Ramati	Carla
Barbara James	Cleopatra
Joey Costarella	Vincenti
Rand Brooks	Lt. Harris
Nan Boardman	Maria's Mother
Henry Kulky	Stack
John Pickard	MP,M.P.
Ashley Cowan	Scottish Soldier
Don Kennedy	Marine Recruit Sergeant
Ralph Sanford	Chief Petty Officer
Howard Price	Truck Driver
Alexander Campbell	Rector
Rankin Mansfield	Dr. Snyder
Madge Meredith	Corinne
Mort Mills	Soldier
John Bryant	Jim
Henry Mancini	Composer
William Lava	Composer
Irving Gertz	Composer
Jimmy Baird	Preston Murphy plus âgé
Paul Busch	Actor

Technical Credits

Gil Doud

Audie Murphy

Jesse Hibbs	Director
Aaron Rosenberg	Producer
Gil Doud	Screenwriter
Audie Murphy	Screenwriter
John A. Bolger Jr.	Sound Effects
Leslie I. Carey	Sound Effects
David Janssen	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

World War II hero Audie L. Murphy (1924-1971) portrays himself in this 1955 motion picture based on his 1949 autobiography. Although the film delivers the guts and the glory, it comes up short on character development. Scriptwriter Gil Doud and director Jesse Hibbs certainly had good material. Here was the puny son of Texas sharecropping parents who dropped out of school to help support his family. Rejected when he attempted to enlist in the Navy and the Marines, he finally qualified for the Army in 1942 when he was 18. Then he served in Africa and Europe, earning more awards -- including the Congressional Medal of Honor -- than any other soldier in American history. While depicting these facts, the film fails to fathom the psyche that drives the quiet, self-effacing Murphy to perform Herculean deeds on the battlefield, including killing or wounding 240 enemy soldiers. Nor does the film develop any of the supporting characters. Too bad it did not follow the example set in 1953 by the Oscar-winning war film From Here to Eternity, based on ex-soldier James Jones' novel of war. Nevertheless, To Hell and Back did remarkably well at the box office, thanks to its battle sequences, the popularity of the likable Murphy, and the public's appetite for shoot-'em-up patriotic flicks (like the films of John Wayne). The acting of Murphy and the supporting cast -- including David Janssen, Jack Kelly, Paul Picerni, Marshall Thompson, and Charlie Drake -- is satisfactory but in no way exceptional.

All Movie Guide - Mike Cummings