Hell is for Heroes

Starring: Steve McQueen, Bobby Darin, Fess Parker, Harry Guardino, James Coburn, Bob Newhart, Nick Adams
Directed by: Don Siegel
Rating: Approved
Genre: Drama, War
1962

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A small group of American soldiers face overwhelming odds against a much larger German force.

Review:

Tim: Over the years, we've seen so many big-scale World War II movies. It was fun to see a much smaller-scale movie in Hell is for Heroes. While that was fun for me, it apparently wasn't much fun for the cast. I've read reports of the budget constraints and how that influenced the making of the movie. Even the abrupt ending was apparently due to running out of money for the production. So, while the smaller affair is fun to watch, the too-small budget also gives the film a bit of a cheap quality to it as well. In the end, the positives outweigh the negatives and Hell is for Heroes is a good movie, but any hope of greatness was lost because of the budget and the impact that had on the crew.

My favorite part of the movie was the performance of Steven McQueen. He was such a cool actor and I really liked his restrained, quiet performance. Some of that is undoubtedly due to the talents of McQueen, but I read accounts of fighting and general unhappiness with the production, so some of his solemnity might have come from real-life dissatisfaction. Still, he makes Reese this memorable, cool, brooding figure. The rest of the cast is very good, too. I really liked Bobby Darin and James Coburn and Bob Newhart both add in good supporting performances. Really, the cast was quite strong and despite the limitations all around them, delivered mostly good performances. The cast is the biggest reason to see this film.

We've seen similar movies before and after, but it's always fun to see a small band of soldiers holding off against overwhelming odds. This movie took almost a tongue-in-cheek approach, and it was genuinely fun seeing the clever ways this small band of soldiers convinced the enemy that they had a whole battalion with them- the souped up jeep to sound like a tank, the boxes with rocks and strings attached to simulate movement, the delivering of false information for eavesdroppers. It was fun in a bit of an unrealistic manner. I enjoyed the less serious moments. In some ways, they were beneficial because it lulls you into a false sense of security. When some of the film's darker moments happen, they take you by surprise and are quite shocking. In that sense, the movie did a good job of portraying the shock that the soldiers must have felt when one of their comrades died.

As much as I like World War II movies, they can sometimes feel a bit redundant- once you've seen a few of them, you get the sense that you've seen them all. It's the Americans verses the Germans. Our heroes face overwhelming odds, but their bravery and brotherhood see them through to victory. How many movies does that generic statement fit? And then, you have a movie like Hell is for Heroes, which, while falling in line with many genre conventions, it still surprises you by not closely following the same old script. Yes, this movie has its flaws- it needed a bigger budget and happier cast members. It's certainly not a great movie. However, it's a refreshingly different film and one that I enjoyed watching.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



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