The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane Review
THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; 'Red Badge of Courage,' Based on Stephen Crane's Novel, at Trans-Lux 52d St.
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October 19, 1951
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There are few, if whatsoever, old men now living who know from experience the exact look and "feel" of a battle in the State of war Between u.s.. Such noesis, and then common to so many until a few years ago, must at present be derived from descriptions that are bright in so many texts; from old photographs of battles, such as those that Matthew Brady made, and from the wells of imagination that have been fed by endless legends and tales.Certainly a classic description, not just of a battle in total blast but of the tormenting fears and emotions of an untried youth in the ranks, is Stephen Crane'due south "The Ruby-red Badge of Courage," which says all that ever need be said about the terror of a man offset entering battle, no thing which side he's on or in what war. At present, thanks to Metro and John Huston, "The Cherry Badge of Courage" has been transferred to the screen with almost literal fidelity. Information technology opened here at the Trans-Lux L-second Street yesterday.Don't expect too much from it in the way of emotional dial—at to the lowest degree, non as much as is compacted in Mr. Crane's thin piddling book. For, of course, Mr. Crane was conveying the reactions of his hero to war in well-nigh stream-of-consciousness descriptions, which is a technique that works best with words. When information technology is a affair of telling precisely how a young soldier feels at a fourth dimension, for instance, when awaiting an enemy attack or when wandering behind the lines after lamming, information technology is easier to do then with words than with a camera going around with the soldier and frequently looking at his face.This is a technical problem Mr. Huston has not been able to lick, even with his sensitive direction, in view of his sticking to the book. Audie Tater, who plays the Young Soldier, does equally well every bit anyone could expect as a virtual photographer'southward model upon whom the camera is by and large turned. And his stupefied facial expressions and erratic attitudes when grim experiences crowd upon him advise what goes on in his mind. These, coupled with the visual evidence of all that surrounds him and all he sees, plus the help of an occasional narration that sketchily tells united states what he feels, do all that can be expected to give us the inner sight of Mr. Crane's volume.Simply the major achievement of this film is the whole scene, information technology re-creates of a battlefield most the Rappahannock (Chancellorsville) from the soldier'due south betoken of view—the ragged and nondescript infantry, the marches, the battlelines, the din, the dust, the cavalry charges, the enemy surging out of the clouds of smoke, and the lamentable, wretched lines of the wounded reaching and stumbling toward the rear. Mr. Huston, who made "San Pietro," one of the great documentaries of World State of war II, tin conceive a Civil War battle, and he has washed then magnificently in this film.Furthermore, he has got the sense of soldiers in that long-ago day and war—their looks, their attitudes, their idioms—equally suggested in the writings of the times. John Dierkes, as the Tall Soldier; Bill Maudlin as the loud, uneasy one, and Douglas Dick as the Lieutenant stand out in a modest merely excellent bandage. All are the sort of soldiers that i's listen visions on those battlefields.Also, Mr. Huston has captured and etched vividly most of the major encounters of the hero that Mr. Crane described—the heart-breaking death of the Alpine Soldier, the stunning blow on the head—all but the shocking discovery of the rotting corpse in the wood. This is out of the picture equally it is beingness shown here, probably out of deference for the squeamish.But, in most respects, Mr. Huston has put "The Ruby Bluecoat of Courage" on the screen, and that means a major achievement that should command admiration for years and years.
THE RED Badge OF Courage, screen play past John Huston, adapted by Albert Band from the novel by Stephen Crane; directed by Mr. Huston; produced by Gottfried Reinhardt. A John Huston Product, presented by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. At the Trans-Lux 50-second Street Theatre.The Youth . . . . . Audie MurphyThe Loud Soldier . . . . . Pecker MauldinThe Tall Soldier . . . . . John DierkesThe Tattered Man . . . . . Regal DanoBill Porter . . . . . Arthur HunnicuttThe General . . . . . Tim DurantThe Lieutenant . . . . . Douglas DickThompson . . . . . Robert Easton Burke
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/1951/10/19/archives/the-screen-in-review-red-badge-of-courage-based-on-stephen-cranes.html
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