Battle Cry (1955)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Leon Uris (novel)
Leon Uris (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 February 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

THE SCORCHINGLY PERSONAL BEST-SELLER! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

A group of young Marines have adventures in love and war.

Plot Keywords:

New Zealand | Widow | Adultery | Wedding | Communications

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Van Heflin	...	Major Sam Huxley (CO, 2nd Bn., 6th Marine Regt.)
Aldo Ray	...	Pvt. / Pfc Andy Hookens
Mona Freeman	...	Kathy, later: Mrs. Danny Forrester
Nancy Olson	...	Mrs. Pat Rogers
James Whitmore	...	MSgt. Mac / Narrator
Raymond Massey	...	Maj. Gen. Snipes
Tab Hunter	...	Pvt. / Cpl. Dan 'Danny' Forrester
Dorothy Malone	...	Mrs. Elaine Yarborough (USO manager in San Diego)
Anne Francis	...	Rae
William Campbell	...	Pvt. 'Ski' Wronski
John Lupton	...	Pvt. / Cpl. Marion 'Sister Mary' Hotchkiss
L.Q. Jones	...	Pvt. L.Q. Jones (as Justus E. McQueen)
Perry Lopez	...	Pvt. Joe Gomez aka Spanish Joe
Fess Parker	...	Pvt. Speedy
Jonas Applegarth	...	Pvt. Lighttower (Navajo Phonetalker)

Runtime:

149 min | West Germany:136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese | Navajo

Color:

Color (Warnercolor) (as WarnerColor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording) (magnetic prints) | Mono (RCA Sound Recording) (optical prints)

Certification:

Australia:G | Brazil:12 (DVD rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The movie is based on the novel by Leon Uris, who also wrote the screenplay, and was produced and directed by Raoul Walsh. It received an Academy Award nomination for Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Mrs. Pat Rogers speaks with an American accent even though she's from New Zealand and both her parents speak with a New Zealand accent.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ellie Parker (2005)

Soundtrack:

Semper Fidelis

I was an 'unpaid' extra on this movie!

This movie probably shouldn't be shown as a recruiting film for the Marine Corps. As i recall it's a pretty accurate portrayal of the Marine Corps boot camp and advanced infantry training. The first 2/3 rds of the movie is pretty much the best part of the movie. Some of the 'liberty' scenes are pretty good. And certainly the romance would have been a part of a marines life in those days. As i mentioned in my summary, 'I was an unpaid and unspoken extra in this movie.' If i would have known that my part in this movie was going to actually be seen in the movie i probably would have acted differently. I'm the fellow who gives the 'bird' to the camera in one of the marching scenes depicted. (So much for my movie career!) Anywho .... it's a pretty good movie for my money.