THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951) ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
D: John Huston
Audie Murphy, Bill Mauldin, Royal Dano
John Dierkes, Arthur Hunnicut, Andy Devine
"Picture" by Lillian Ross is one of the best books ever about how Hollywood works and how movies get made. It chronicles the making of John Huston's "The Red Badge of Courage" from pre-production to post-release, through writing, financing, scouting locations, casting, shooting, editing, studio machinations, more editing, preview screenings, still more editing, and finally its distribution as the second feature on a double bill with an Esther Williams movie called "Texas Carnival" in 1951. The finished product was quite a bit different from what Huston had in mind, and the movie lost money, just as MGM boss Louis B. Mayer said it would. It's a visually striking depiction of a Civil War battle, in black and white, with Audie Murphy and Bill Mauldin in the leads and Royal Dano, John Dierkes, Arthur Hunnicut and others marching, shooting, falling, dying, charging into battle and running for their lives. As to what Huston's version might've looked like, there are clues in Ross's book, but all of the principals are gone now, the deleted footage is lost, and we'll never really know.
