1951, 1 hr 9 min. Dir: John Huston. Cast: Audie Murphy (Henry Fleming/"The Youth"), Bill Mauldin (Tom Wilson/"The Loud Soldier"), John Dierkes (Jim Conklin/"The Tall Soldier"), Arthur Hunnicutt (Bill Porter), Andy Devine ("The Cheerful Soldier"), Douglas Dick (The Lieutenant).

Civil War Themes: Facing fears in battle.

Battles/Moments: A few large-scale battles over large, open fields.

The film version of the classic Stephen Crane novel of the same name, published by the 22-year-old in 1895, delivers a character study with an anti-war statement almost as compelling as the written word.

The story of Henry Fleming (Audie Murphy) is as old as war, of the young volunteer who has done his civic duty of joining the army, only to learn the terrible fear of war. The constant drilling and training only makes his fear grow, as he becomes afraid to be scared, and scared he'll run away at the first hint of serious fighting. Thus, when the Rebels charge his regiment's position, the only recourse he knows is to "skeedaddle."

Murphy, who made the jump to motion pictures after being the most-decorated soldier of World War II, delivers an emotional wallup of a performance. Obviously drawing from his own experiences, the actor/war hero slides from one feeling to another in a matter of one scene, from being tragically insecure to supremely overconfident which enables him to embrace a "wildcat"'s spirit of courage and pretty much take the Rebels on by himself.

Once Henry turns, though, with "the sultry nightmare in the past" and the youth no longer afraid of death, is this a positive or negative? Is it better to be a coward who has a better chance of living or a hero who charges ahead of the lines and constantly risks death? It's clear the book and film take the latter opinion, because Henry would not be happy if he was always afraid, and will be able to make the best of his situation in the state he ends up.

Despite such apparent glorification of heroism The Red Badge of Courage remains one of the foremost anti-war messages every written or filmed. While the yearning for bravery is the theme, it is interspersed with a deeper meaning, that no one is truly courageous and unafraid of dying in battle. It's just a matter of who will admit it, and those with the loudest mouths are the most scared.

It is supposed to be an honor to receive your wound, or "red badge of courage," but what does it say about the soldiers who shot themselves in the foot or inflicted other non-fatal wounds in order to be released from service? Are they brave for harming themselves to save their life? Or just so afraid of the war that rational thought is fleeting?

The actors were perfectly plucked for their roles, fitting the description to a tee. The Loud Soldier/Tom Wilson (Bill Mauldin) is easy to tease at the beginning for being a one-man rumormill and boasting of his untested mettle, but we later are invited to explore his motivations and he becomes a friend to the viewer.

John Dierkes turn as Jim Conklin, a.k.a. The Tall Soldier, may be the most sympathetic role of the lot. He's not afraid to tell the truth, that he is scared. After being shot, his stumbling delirium is hard to watch, as Jim passes in an ugly death.

The battle scenes were poignant and hard-hitting, as Rebs and Yanks moved back and forth through thick smoke, as bullets picked men at random in the sheer volume of madness. As Henry bears the U.S. flag, it is a particularly moving moment watching as the youth catches up with the fleeing Confederate flag bearer who slowly dies before his eyes, and Henry takes the soldier's defeated flag.

After the first fighting for our protagonists, the 304th, the nervous talk is revealing and shows me that Crane did his homework. A couple admit they were slightly scared, while others talk about the sight of the Rebels and the sound of their yells, then they all turn their attention to wonder who was wounded or even killed. All consider how they'd never seen a man die before, a truly harrowing sight, indeed.

The backstory of the movie is almost as compelling. Despite MGM's efforts to kill the film, it was selected as one of the ten best films of the year by the National Board of Review. Director John Huston fought his own battles with the management of the studio, who wanted a happy-go-lucky film that were popular in the late 1940s, early 1950s, and didn't realize Red Badge was so well made.

According to the host on Turner Classic Movies, Huston considered Red Badge to be his best film, which says quite a bit when you realize that he made it after Maltese Falcon and Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Originally a two-hour epic, MGM made Huston edit it to its present form of 69 minutes. Later, after favorable reviews nationally Huston wanted to restore the original footage, only to find that the studio had destroyed it. Years later, Murphy sought to buy the film and retouch it in order to do the movie justice, but MGM denied.