Battle Cry

Novelist Leon Uris adapted his own bestselling World War II novel for this big-budget platoon drama directed by Raoul Walsh, a Hollywood pro who specialized in muscular action films. Van Heflin takes top billing as the career major but the film is really an ensemble piece, following a Marine unit from boot camp and basic training (where they are trained as radio operators) to the South Pacific. The cast is full of fresh faces and rising stars portraying classic types: Aldo Ray as the tough but affectionate big brother and resident Romeo, Tab Hunter as the all-American small-town boy with a sweetheart back home, William Campbell as the big city slum kid. There's also the Hispanic guy, the scholar, the joker, and a Navajo code talker (a character steeped in stereotypes that have aged poorly), while James Whitmore narrates the film as the gruff but proud master sergeant. The girlfriends and wives (Mona Freeman, Nancy Olson, Anne Francis, and Dorothy Malone) receive almost as much screen time as the men and the film is as much melodrama as war epic until the third act, when the platoon finally embarks on a major combat mission. Battle Cry was a big hit in 1955, in part thanks to the emphasis on private lives and love stories, but may come across as corny to modern audiences (Uris had to tone down the salty language and sexuality of his novel for the screen). Walsh's battle scenes, however, remain impressive A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)