100 Best War Movies: 70. A Walk in the Sun (1945)

 

“A Walk in the Sun” is a faithful rendering of the novel by Harry Brown. He enlisted in 1941 and served as a writer for Yank magazine. The movie was released in 1945 and is in black and white. It is set in 1943 during the invasion of Salerno in the Italian campaign in WWII. Production began after actor Burgess Meredith (who served as the narrator in the film) urged that the book be made into a movie. The director was Lewis Milestone of “All Quiet” fame. The U.S. Army cooperated in production by providing weapons, including American weapons masquerading as Germans. The Army also vetted the script suggesting two minor changes. The movie was greeted positively by audiences and critics. It was rereleased in 1951 as “Salerno Beachhead”.

            In an unorthodox use of credits, we are introduced to the main characters by face and name. The narrator tells us a little about each in a folksy way.  They are members of the Texas Division.  They are from all over the United States, however.  The platoon includes an Italian-American, a factory worker, a minister's son, a farmer, a Southerner, and, of course, a guy from Brooklyn. Then to make things more intriguing, the ballad begins and will reappear periodically throughout the film. The men are on a landing craft heading for Salerno.  We get our first taste of what’s to come as the men engage in typical soldier conversations. The big incident is the mortal wounding of their lieutenant as he incautiously looks over the side of the craft. The men take this setback in stride indicating both the enlisted/officer divide and the hardened attitude of combat veterans.

The platoon lands on a quiet stretch of beach and digs in. The audience craving for action and violence is introduced to the reality of battles – there are large stretches of boredom and individual soldiers (and even small units) are usually clueless about what is going on elsewhere on the battlefield. Anyone expecting the talking to end at this stage of the movie is quickly disabused of that hope. However, the conversations are fascinating and feel like they come out of the mouths of G.I.s, not a Hollywood screenwriter trying to imagine what soldiers would talk about. We get a lot of 1940s slang so for those of you are not old enough here is a glossary of just a few of the terms:

loving = stands in for the "f word" (this is a 1945 war movie, remember)

take a powder = relax

hit the dirt = get down (used mostly when strafing is possible)

sure as little apples = very sure

hoist tail = get up

shake it = move quickly

take ten = take a break

doughfoot = soldier (variation of doughboy)

in the pink = healthy

you kill me = you’re being ridiculous

what’s eating you? = what’s bothering you?

And the term that was used at least ten times – “butt”. This refers to a cigarette as in “butt me” if you want one. This being a 1940s war movie, be careful of second hand smoke because these actors smoke every chance they get. The unit even has a pet phrase – “nobody dies”. This serves as a hoped for self-fulfilling prophecy. Audience, do not fear – it is not an accurate prediction of the upcoming events. By the way, the phrase eerily foreshadows “Hamburger Hill” and its “It don’t mean nothing”.

     The plot is simple. The unit is sent on a mission to destroy a bridge and take a farm house.  They are not told why. The rest of the movie is a series of action scenes interspersed with bouts of conversations. The soldiers talk about home, their futures (one keeps predicting that they will be in the Army all the way through the “Battle of Tibet”), food (one dreams of eating an apple), etc. Thankfully, no one pulls out a picture of his future wife, thus avoiding certain death. The men have developed an admirable small unit comradeship which allows them to constantly joke and provoke. My favorite exchange is when one of the privates asks Sgt. Tyne (Dana Andrews) if he can smoke. Tyne’s one word response is “Burn”.

Along the way, they have to deal with their leader succumbing to combat fatigue, what we call PTSD today. There is no explanation to why he cracks. Probably from too much combat in the past and being thrust into a leadership role. The platoon is sympathetic, but takes it in stride. Everyone has a breaking point. They ambush a German armored car in a scene that may hold the record for most grenades thrown. They eventually arrive at the farm house and the movie concludes with them taking it, not without losses. However, although the movie is truthful in depicting deaths as being random, it is not a “who will survive?” movie. They are not on a suicide mission.

ACTING:                      B

ACTION:                      C   7/10 (quantity)

ACCURACY:               A  (it follows the book very closely)

PLOT:                           A-

REALISM:                   A

CINEMATOGRAPHY:     B

SCORE:                        B 

BEST SCENE:  ambushing the armored car

BEST QUOTE:  Windy:  Dear Frances, we just blew a bridge and took a farmhouse. It was so easy... so terribly easy.

CRITIQUE.  “A Walk in the Sun” is an odd little movie. It is definitely old school, but it has some features that you don’t see in most of the black and white WWII movies. This is immediately clear with the opening that has the character identifications and the ballad. Granted, the song is very corny, but it is different. This is a very talkative movie, but thankfully the dialogue is entertaining. Few war movies are truer to the sense of humor of American GIs. The comedy team of Friedman (George Tyne) and Rivera (Richard Conte) have the following typical exchange. Friedman: “When I run out of butts, you’ll be in a fine mess.” Rivera: “I’ll find a new friend.” The dialogue is not all joking around. The men can get deep at times.. Several lines are brilliant. Tyne: “It’s a funny thing how many people you meet in the army that cross your path for a few seconds and you never see ‘em again.”

 It also realistically portrays the “hurry up and wait” nature of combat. Most war movies spend way too much time on the fighting and way too little on the waiting. And yet, I do not think most viewers would find it boring. That may be because the platoon is continually moving forward, with some breaks. The two big action scenes are well-staged. It is very good at portraying the “fog of war”. They know their mission, but have no idea what is happening elsewhere in the beachhead. “You never get to see nothing. You’re fighting by ear.”

         The acting is good throughout the ensemble. No one hams it up. Even Huntz Hall (of Bowery Boys fame) is impressive. He gets to argue that a human is more complex than a leaf. (That sounds silly, but is actually deep.) Dana Andrews as Tyne is the reluctant, but dutiful leader. He is not heroic and makes mistakes. He wears the mantle of command uncomfortably, but ably. The movie is excellent in depicting the attitude of GIs in WWII. Let’s get this over with. Each step is one step closer to the end and going home.

              The movie is not based on any actual incident. The invasion of Salerno did start out as a “walk in the sun” as depicted in the movie. I have already commented on the accuracy of the soldier talk and behavior. The tactics also ring true. The seeming lack of emotions in dealing with fallen comrades is probably exaggerated to match the mood of the film, but battle-hardened men could conceivably be callous at this point.

“A Walk in the Sun” is a must-see movie for WWII movie buffs. It is one of the best movies made about the war during the war. It avoids the patriotism and propaganda of most of those movies. It is one of the best small unit movies. You don’t get the usual bombastic action scenes that Hollywood loves, but you do get to know the men and you get a look at a typical mission. Not every mission was taking a bridge or landing on a beach under fire. Sometimes it was just walking down a road to take a farmhouse and losing good men in the process.