War Is Hell (film)
War is Hell | |
---|---|
Directed by | Burt Topper |
Written by | Burt Topper |
Produced by | Burt Topper |
Starring | Baynes Barron Michael Bell |
Narrated by | Audie Murphy |
Cinematography | Jacques Marquette |
Edited by | Ace Herman |
Music by | Ronald Stein |
Distributed by | Allied Artists |
Release date | September 6, 1961 (international release)
|
Running time | 81 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
War is Hell is a 1961 American war film written, produced and directed by Burt Topper. The film stars Baynes Barron and Michael Bell and is narrated by Audie Murphy. A featured cast member is Judy Dan.
Plot summary
Set during the Korean War, the film depicts the atrocities of battle. Sgt. Garth (Barron), a bloodthirsty egomaniac, neglects to tell his soldiers that there has been a cease fire. The sergeant sends his unit into an enemy bunker, where they are fiercely attacked by the enemy. The few who survive secure the bunker, and Garth attempts to take credit for their actions. Further chaos ensues, resulting in the deaths of many in the platoon, as well as a mortal wound to the sergeant.
Cast
- Baynes Barron as Sgt. Garth
- Michael Bell as Seldon
- Bobby Byles as Gresler
- Wally Campo as Laney
- Kei Thin Chung as Korean Lieutenant (as Kei Chung)
- J.J. Dahner as Koller
- Judy Dan as Yung Chi Thomas
- Robert Howard as Connors
- Audie Murphy as Narrator
- Russ Prescott as Bender
- Tony Rich as Miller
- Tony Russel as Sgt. Keefer
- Paul Sheriff as Thurston
- Burt Topper as Lt. Hallen
In popular culture
War Is Hell was the second of two features (along with Cry of Battle) playing at the Texas Theatre in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. After fatally shooting US President John F. Kennedy and Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit earlier that afternoon, Lee Harvey Oswald sneaked into the theater without paying. After box office cashier Julia Postal was informed by shoe store employee John Brewer that a man had entered the theater, she called Dallas police. Despite attempting to shoot the arresting officer, Oswald was arrested.[1] Oswald was fatally shot two days later by club owner Jack Ruby[2] while being transferred to another jail. Coincidentally, lead actor Baynes Barron was born on May 29, 1917—the same day as the fallen president.
United Artists released the second James Bond film, From Russia with Love, with War Is Hell as the second feature of a double bill in the United States on May 27, 1964.[3] It is believed that From Russia with Love was the last film that Kennedy watched.
Notes
- ^ Johnson, Donald (February 21, 1964). "Lee was the leader of our playground". Life. 56 (8). Time, Inc.: 80. ISSN 0024-3019.
- ^ Flowers, R. Barri; Flowers, H. Loraine (2004). Murders in the United States: Crimes, Killers and Victims of the Twentieth Century. McFarland. p. 84. ISBN 0-7864-2075-8.
- ^ Barnes, Alan; Hearn, Marcus (1997). Kiss Kiss Bang! Bang!: The Unofficial James Bond 007 Film Companion. Batsford. p. 27. ISBN 0-7134-8182-X.
External links
- War is Hell at IMDb
- War is Hell at the TCM Movie Database
- 1963 films
- 1961 films
- 1960s war films
- Allied Artists films
- American films
- American war films
- Audie Murphy
- American black-and-white films
- English-language films
- Films set in the 1950s
- American independent films
- Korean War films
- Films directed by Burt Topper
- Films produced by Burt Topper
- Films scored by Ronald Stein
- Korean War stubs
- War film stubs