To Hell and Back (1955)

Director:

Jesse Hibbs

Writers:

Gil Doud (written by)
Audie Murphy (autobiography "To Hell And Back")

Release Date:

18 October 1955 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Drama | War

Tagline:

The Exciting True-Life Story Of America's Most Decorated Hero

Plot:

The true WWII story of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in U.S. history. Based on the autobiography of Audie Murphy who stars as himself in the film.

Plot Keywords:

Italy | WWII | Autobiographical | Uniform | Heroic Military

Cast

Audie Murphy	...	Audie Murphy
Marshall Thompson	...	Johnson
Charles Drake	...	Brandon
Jack Kelly	...	Kerrigan
Gregg Palmer	...	Lt. Manning
Paul Picerni	...	Valentino
David Janssen	...	Lt. Lee
Richard Castle	...	Kovak
Bruce Cowling	...	Caplt. Marks
Paul Langton	...	Col. Howe
Art Aragon	...	Sanchez
Felix Noriego	...	Swope
Denver Pyle	...	Thompson
Brett Halsey	...	Saunders
Susan Kohner	...	Maria

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm optical prints) (Western Electric Recording) | 4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #17377) | UK:PG | Iceland:12 | West Germany:18 (f) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Fort Lewis, Washington, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

The Holtzwihr Standoff took place in cold and messy conditions of rain, mud and snow but in this movie the conditions are not this, they are sunny.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the squad was on the tank talking with the tank commander, Kerrigan mentioned something to the effect of you guys got it made with a couple of hundred thousand dollars worth of armor around you. The tank commander said this tank only has 4" of armor on it. Actually the M-4 Sherman had only 2" of armor on the front and 1.5" of armor on the sides.

Quotes:

Lt. Manning: At 0500 we'll open up with small arms fire. The 7th will move across at the same time. I'm sure the Jerries will throw some entertainment our way.
Audie Murphy: I think you can count on it, Lieutenant.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: O.J. Simpson/Ashford & Simpson (#3.12)" (1978)

Soundtrack:

Dogface Soldier

A movie given a great boost by Life magazine

Quite often I see a movie then seek out the book but when I came to the US from Canada when I was 13 the first purchase I made was the paperback version of "To Hell and Back" ($0.35). Of course Audie Murphy is perfectly cast and gives a performance far superior to any of his subsequent movie roles. The others, notably Marshall Thompson, Jack Kelly, David Janssen and Art Aragon give satisfying performances. In many ways this was the "Saving Private Ryan" of its time for its "realistic" portrayal of the foot soldier in WW 2. Life magazine boosted the audience for this film when it put Murphy on the cover and emphasized that the story was true. I think that it works because Murphy doesn't look like the typical movie hero. The book is once again available in a new larger page-size paperback.