Salerno ora x

I really enjoyed the book "A Walk in the Sun", finding it printed in its entirety in "The Giant Book of WWII Stories". It is a classic story and an equally classic movie. The movie sticks quite closely to the book with only a few changes. Some of the dialogue is lifted straight from the pages of the novella. It is the story of a platoon in WWII trying to capture a farmhouse. The characters are all strong and what they talk about while in the middle of a war is what grips you. I highly recommend both the book and the film.

This war drama ranks among the best in its genre. An outstanding ensemble cast and intense story makes for an interesting look at the realism of war. This film follows a platoon of American soldiers from the time they land in Europe until they complete their mission...capturing a German occupied farmhouse in World War Two Italy. The talented and diverse cast includes:Dana Andrews, John Ireland, Lloyd Bridges, George Tyne, Huntz Hall and Richard Conte. Kudos also to director Lewis Milestone.

September 1943 WWII,during the Italian campaign against the Germans, an infantrymen platoon of US army washes ashore on the coast near of Salerno and for the fighting are dieing all officials and the sergeants command to execute the mission assigned,they must capture a farmhouse occupied by the Nazis.The group is trying to take an enemy location by themselves,it's shot with an excellent action sequences.

The picture is a based about novel of same title by journalist Harry Brown who fought on the front since 1941 until 1943 and narrated his experiences as soldier in European Allied army. The first which bought the license was Samuel Bronston but the public was bored of the warlike genre and he wanted the making a super-production and then he gave the rights to Lewis Milestone.This director contacted with Daryl F. Zanuck -the magnate of 2oth Century Fox- who financed the post-production.The film realizes a magnificent reunion actors showing the numerous personages and explores their circumstances,apprehension,fears and cowardice. Lewis Milestone incorporated an off-voice of the actor Burguess Meredith who the same year starred ¨The story of G.I.Joe¨filmed by William A.Wellman and would be its more direct rival.Good storyline by Robert Rossen,turned director with important films as ¨The hustler¨and¨Alexander Magno¨ .Productor and director Lewis Milestone also made others classics as ¨All quiet on the western front¨ masterpiece WWI and the Korean set ¨Pork Chop Hill¨ which along with ¨Men in war¨(Anthony Mann) are the two best films about Korea war. Rating : Awesome and worthwhile effort.

One of these fine days, the landing at Salerno which believe it or not was more difficult than the invasion of Normandy will get a full screen treatment like The Longest Day or Saving Private Ryan. The combined allied force was in a pitched battle for 21 days until the issue was decided. A lot was going on away from the sidebar action that is depicted in A Walk In the Sun.

The sidebar action involved a platoon that lands a few miles away from the beach with the objective of blowing up a bridge and taking a strategically located farm house. The lieutenant is killed even before the landing and the various sergeants take over. One of them, Herbert Rudley cracks under the strain, and Dana Andrews assumes overall command of the mission.

A Walk in the Sun is not so much a war story as a war character study. It's interesting to contrast this film with Lewis Milestone's masterpiece, All Quiet on the Western Front. Both involve citizen soldiers going to war and both are studies into the types of people making up a platoon. Milestone's sympathies are with both, but he does recognize the necessity for the trip to Europe made by these Americans in Italy.

Best in the film in my opinion is Richard Conte, the cynical wisecracking GI from, where else, Brooklyn. According to Hollywood, there wasn't a platoon in any theater of war in the forties that did not have a GI from Brooklyn. Huntz Hall, taking leave from the East Side Kids, also has a small part as one of the GIs in this platoon.

The film was made as the war ended in Europe. No mock heroics here, just the greatest generation demonstrating why they were just that.

Hardly many war films are like this, nothing really happens here but it's still exciting. American infantry platoon lands at Salerno, Italy in 1943 and has orders to capture and hold a farmhouse some miles ahead. The men don't know nothing about what is waiting for them. Will the enemy open fire right at the beach and kill all of them? Will there be mines? Who is their enemy anyway, Germans or Italians? Will they get strafed by enemy aircraft of will 'our boys' control the skies? These are questions that a regular infantryman may ask from himself. They don't know what is waiting for them and they try to guess what the overall situation is. The movie is lots of talking, waiting and walking by the Italian countryside. The soldiers must be alert at all times and there may be false alarms too. Action comes suddenly and is also quickly committed.

This is another of those war movies that can be called 'realistic'. In many post-modern war movie realism is seen as a synonym of lots of blood and dying soldiers yelling 'mommy' and such. I don't call that realism - these men know exactly how to deal with disturbing things that war contains. They ignore things that they cannot emotionally handle and this must also be the way those things were handled in real war. This may well be seen as a dull movie, but it also shows the war as it really was. There is no pathos at all in this movie and that is why many people like it.