The red medal of valor (film)

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Movie
German title The red medal for bravery
Original title The Red Badge of Courage
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1951
length 69 minutes
Rod
Director John Huston
script Albert Band
production Gottfried Reinhardt
music Bronislau caper
camera Harold Rosson
cut Ben Lewis
occupation

Set in 1863 during the American Civil War , the red medal for bravery deals with the experiences of a young soldier before and during his baptism of fire at the Battle of Chancellorsville . The story of the film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen Crane .

There is another remake made for US television with Richard Thomas (known as John-Boy Walton ) in the lead role. However, this version was not a great success.

action

Henry Fleming is simple soldier in the 304th Regiment of the Potomac Army of the Union . He is afraid of his first mission and is afraid of running away at the first danger. In contrast to many of his comrades, however, he does not compensate for the fear with an emphatically brisk demeanor, but remains quiet and worried. During the night watch, an opposing soldier from across the river warns him not to expose himself to the moonlight so much, otherwise he would soon get “one of those little red marks”. After a long, grueling wait, the drill is finally over. Henry's company also marches into battle .

Henry and his comrades in the first shooting went off lightly, but when the Confederates broke into the position on their second attack, Henry loses his nerve and runs away. When he has calmed down halfway and hid in a bush, he overhears a few officers talking and learns that his comrades have held out. Deeply ashamed, he wanders around and finally joins a column of wounded. There he meets his comrade Jim Conklin and sees him die.

Henry goes back to the front and ends up in a panic fleeing other unit. When he stops one of the men and wants to know what's going on, he gets a blow on the head with the buttocks and lies there. Only at night does a corporal pick him up and bring him back to his unit. Henry tells a fairy tale where he fought and was wounded everywhere. Nobody missed him as the regiment was widely dispersed during the fighting. Apparently almost everyone else "fought elsewhere". Henry is relieved. “He had made his mistakes in the dark. So he was still a man. "

The fighting continues the next morning. Henry is very euphoric about his new courage. This time he goes to the other extreme, completely forgets his own safety and storms ahead of his comrades with the flag in hand until the opposing position is conquered. Suddenly the war seems to be over for a moment. Men dressed in blue or gray were just killing each other. Now the victors and prisoners get to know each other as if nothing had happened. Then the unit marches back again. A wall was stormed and cost many lives. Now you just leave her behind. The first bird is chirping again. “So it happened that his soul changed. ... He had freed the sickness of the battle. "

Remarks

The title goes back to a detail of a nocturnal scene (see above) and means the “red marks” that arise when a person is wounded. Those who have been wounded have exposed themselves to enemy fire, thereby proving their bravery. Medals of bravery and badges for the wounded were and still are in many armed forces. During the Civil War , the Medal of Honor , founded in 1861 , was awarded for extraordinary bravery . There was no wounded badge, however. The corresponding well-known US medal " Purple Heart " donated by George Washington was only awarded again in 1932 .

The film was heavily cut or - depending on your point of view - mutilated by the film company MGM in order to emphasize the heroism of the soldiers and to defuse the critical tones. It was also feared that the most decorated war hero Audie Murphy would be portrayed in an all too unfavorable light. John Huston didn't dwell on fighting for the cut 20 minutes, but instead focused on his next project: African Queen . The original version of the film is lost.

Awards

Reviews

  • “John Huston's out-of-date film adaptation of Stephen Crane's novel was doomed to failure. The story (...) was exactly the opposite of the emotions of Americans in the early 1950s (...), and the casting of the lead role as Audie Murphy, a celebrated war hero, showed little empathy for the audience's reactions. (...) Among the strengths of this undoubtedly interesting failure are the large-scale battle scenes (inspired by DW Griffith and effectively staged by Andrew Marton) and Harold Rosson's accomplished photography, with skillful use of the depth of field. ” - Wolfram Tichy , Liz-Anne Bawden , et al .: rororo film dictionary. Volume 2: Films K - S (OT: The Oxford Companion to Film ). Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1978, ISBN 3-499-16229-6 , pp. 540-541
  • “John Huston's film is about the thin line between cowardice and heroism and is designed as a relentlessly realistic war drama. Conflicts with the production company meant that the film was cut and Huston's intentions were only vaguely visible. The original version no longer exists. ” - Lexicon of international film

literature

  • Stephen Crane : The red medal for bravery (Original title: The Red Badge of Courage ). German by Eduard Klein and Klaus Marschke. Diogenes, Zurich 1985, 159 pages, ISBN 3-257-21299-2 .
  • Lillian Ross: film. A story from Hollywood (Original title: Picture ). Nördlingen, Greno Verlagsgesellschaft 1987. (History of the film.)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Red Medal of Valor. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used