Audie Murphy

  • John Huston – The Unforgiven (1960)

    1951-1960ClassicsJohn HustonUSAWestern

    The Unforgiven is a 1960 American western film directed by John Huston. It stars Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, Audie Murphy, Charles Bickford and Lillian Gish. The story is based upon a novel by Alan Le May.The film, uncommonly for its time, spotlights the issue of racism against Native Americans and people believed to have Native American blood in the Old West. The movie is also known for problems behind the scenes. John Huston often said this was his least satisfying movie.Read More »

  • Joseph L. Mankiewicz – The Quiet American (1958)

    1951-1960DramaJoseph L. MankiewiczThrillerUSA

    Plot:
    In this adaptation of Graham Greene’s prophetic novel about U.S. foreign policy failure in pre-war Indochina, Audie Murphy plays an innocent Young American opposite the older, cynical Brit Michael Redgrave. They play out their widely different views on the prospects stuggle for the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people in their competition over a young woman. Murphy wants to reform her and make her a typical middle class American housewife; Redgrave accepts her inability to formulate or retain a political ideal and while promising her no real future, he objects to Murphy’s attempts to change her. It’s not clear whether Murphy is just what he appears – a bungling Yankee do-gooder – or a deliberate agent of U.S. covert operations, but he ends up an expendable pawn in the end. Read More »

  • John Huston – The Red Badge of Courage (1951)

    1951-1960DramaJohn HustonUSAWar

    Plot:
    One war played out in front of the cameras, another raged behind them. Entangled in studio controversy during production and severely reedited for numerous reasons before release, The Red Badge of Courage intrigues with what it might have been. Yet half a century later, this National Board of Review 10 Best Films of 1951 selection still remains one of the movies’ most memorable portraits of men at war.Read More »

  • Jack Arnold – No Name on the Bullet (1959)

    1951-1960Jack ArnoldThrillerUSAWestern

    Synopsis:
    Cool, cultured John Gant rides into Lordsburg. Gant is a professional killer, and although no one knows who he is there to kill, they are all worried. Everyone has enemies, and maybe Gant is in town for them. While they wait for him to make his move, paranoia starts taking over…Read More »

  • Ray Enright – Kansas Raiders (1950)

    1941-1950Ray EnrightUSAWestern

    Having previously played Billy the Kid, Audie Murphy assumes the role of Jesse James in Kansas Raiders. The plot finds Jesse and his brother Frank, together with the Younger Brothers joining Quantrell’s Raiders. Idolizing Quantrell, Jesse believes that his hero’s mission — to save the Confederacy by sacking Kansas — is just. Only when it is too late does Jesse discover that Quantrell is little more than a bloodthirsty mercenary. The James and Younger Brothers are depicted as innocent dupes of a madman, which isn’t surprising considering how often Hollywood has whitewashed Jesse and Frank in other films.

    ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideRead More »

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