The final round up of films July and August until the bank holiday weekend begins with real life war Second World War heroes. The first film was the last made of the most decorated USA soldier in World War II Audie Murphy. Still a boy when he was sent to Europe for 27 months he was awarded the Medal Honour, the Croix de Guerre, the Legion de Honour, Silver and Bronze Stars, Purple Heart, Presidential Citation and several others. A private soldier in 1942 he rose to the rank of First Lieutenant in 1946 and then to major in the Army Reserves, a rank he retained when he was officially retired in 1969.
Born in 1924 to poor sharecroppers of Irish descent he is one of twelve children who went to work at 14 leaving school when his father abandoned his family. He was responsible for the three youngest children being placed in an orphanage to ensure their care but took direct care again immediately on his discharge from the army in 1945. He suffered depression, insomnia and nightmares from his experiences which led him to campaign for understanding and treatment, especially for those returning from Korea. The effects of war affected his relationship with him married three times and two children.
In addition to his career with over forty films he owned several ranches and wrote country music. He wrote an important biography From Hell to Eternity, staring in the film. His last film 40 Guns to Apache Pass was a standard Western of the era. In this film Murphy plays a hard nosed young commander who beats up a Corporal for stealing water while out on patrol. News reaches the fort Apache Wells that the Apache's under Cochise are massing and on the warpath and heading towards the fort.
The Fort commander has pressed the army for the new repeating riffles and learns that an assignment of forty of these weapons with ammunition is being brought to them but only part way to Apache Pass and Murphy is assigned to take a small group to bring them to the fort. The party includes the man he humiliated who is seeking revenge and two young lads whose father has been killed both inexperienced and one pressurised against his natural instincts into joining up by his elder brother. They are left in charge of the horses while the rest of the team collect the guns during which time the brother is captured and then killed despite pleas for help to the younger brother who afraid lies low.
The guns are collected but the soldier humiliated by Murphy persuades the rest of the group to take the guns and sell them in Mexico. Murphy escapes with his life just. He returns in disgrace to the Fort a failure but then breaks out from being confined in order to locate the guns and rescue the fort.
The coward younger brother turns to help Murphy when he finds that the guns are to be sold for gold to the Apache. Murphy sends the young lad back to the fort with the majority of the weapons for help while he uses some of them to hold off the Apache for as long as possible after tackling the rogue troop. He is rescued and returns to the fort and reinstated. He is also able to keep part of his promise to the sister of the young man to get him home, without revealing what occurred beforehand. Their previously blossoming relationship can now flourish.
Audie Murphy died in a plane crash at the age of 46 in 1971. Two years earlier he had survived a charge of murder with the jury accepting his plea of self defence.
Whereas a great deal is known about Audie Murphy, his wartime exploits and his film career I suspect no one still had heard the name of Sgt Don Smith who is the subject of Everyman’s War and served in the USA 94th Infantry Division. His story is covered by the film title of Everyman’s War. I was not able to substantiate the facts separately from those in the film.
He is portrayed as an ordinary young man who was attracted to a young woman who moved from his home area about the time he was called up as a Private in the Infantry and sent over to Europe via England to take part in the Battle of the Bulge. It is a conventional tale told many times of young men who becomes hardened by the reality of fighting and who suddenly finds themselves in a situation where he is called upon to exercise a significant act of courage which had significant impact on the future lives of his comrades as well as affecting the outcome of an aspect of a battle. In this assistance having been placed in charge of a group asked to take and hold a position having been promoted to Sgt he discovers that the enemy have launched a counter offensive on during sub zero conditions and a blizzard and made his way wounded and unarmed to the local military HQ to warn of the coming attack.
He returns home and decides to follow up the girl he left behind and the film closes with the couple now in the late autumn of their years looking back on their life together and he on his experience still regretting the loss of comrades and that he has become one of the last surviving of those involved. The film was originally released in Spain as Los Héroes de Las Ardenas and is based on a book published and advertised of the site of the 94th regiment.
I enjoyed Galaxy Quest the 1999 comic film about space travel and Television. The film is a parody of Star trek and its fanatical fans. Galaxy Quest was a long standing popular television space drama and two decades after the final performance the stars are still attending conventions. I recently discovered that the biggest Star Trek convention outside the USA is being held at the Excel Stadium with day sessional tickets from £30 to VIP packages at £3000 for the weekend gathering.
At the latest gathering for Galaxy Quest the principal actors are approached by a group of humans to see their space ship unaware it is a real craft and that their hosts are shape shifting aliens taking human form. The group are part of a society that has adopted the morality of the TV series proclaiming the actors as national heroes. It is only when they are transported into space that the actors are old that the group are the last of the population the subject of a genocide by the Saris another alien race who are seeking the Omega 13 a planet destroying device which featured towards the end of the Galaxy Quest series. The Thermians are very trusting people with no concept of acting and are relying on the actors to save their civilization. The saving aspect of the situation is that the creatures have made reality the devices portrayed in the TV Series.
Attempting to escape their pursers their ship is damaged during a minefield and requires new fuel for the reactor and while they are able to locate the material they have no idea how to repair the craft. This is crucial when the Saris capture the craft and set of a self destruct sequence. Fortunately he is able to communicate with an avid series fan in communication with other fans who know everything there is to know about the series and its fictional technologies. With the help of the fans they are able to abort the sequence initiated by the Saris who have captured the craft and becoming the heroes of their series rescues themselves and the remaining Thermians.
What makes the film credible and funny is the super strong cast with Alan Rickman who is the brains of the original series. Sgourney Weaver is another big name who in the series is the communications Officer and computer expert. The actor Tim Allen whose voice was used for Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story plays the Commander of the fictional series. It was all great fun with a multitude of clever references to the TV Space series industry.
Part of the 21st Century translation of the comic book into 3D action film is the Green Lantern and which not a Lantern as such but a brotherhood of exceptional chosen beings to save the known galaxy from destruction. The brotherhood, the Guardian of the Universe, was formed millions of years before the creation of earth as an intergalactic police force with one individual for each of 3600 sectors. At some point in the past one of the Guardians defeats a rogue member called Parallax and imprisoned the being within a planet. When he is unintentionally freed he commences his revenge, killing Guardians and destroying planets, successfully seeking out the one who imprisoned him and following a battle the Guardian crashes on the planet earth close to where a Test pilot lives and using his ring to find a worthy successor on this planet.
Only beginning to be aware of the power of this ring the pilot finds himself transported across the universe to the base planet of the Guardians where those responsible for the leadership and training cannot understand why he has been chosen and set out to prove he is an inappropriate candidate as the man he replaces was one of their finest. They are successful convincing the individual who returns to earth and his life as a test pilot.
Back home the sub story commences when the creature and his transport is examined at a secret government facility. Unfortunately an aspect of the Parallax has remained and takes over the investigating scientist who has been given the task through the influence of his father hoping his son will begin to show some of the characteristics of himself. Alas the man begins to possess some of the powers of Parallax and uses these telepathic and telekinetic in a negative and destructive away, attempting to kill his father as he leaves by helicopter at a party attended by the Test pilot. The Test pilot is able to stop the helicopter crashing using the power of his ring, saving various guests, including his childhood sweetheart and a fellow Test Pilot. She is able to work out that the man who turns into a Green Lantern is the Test pilot.
The film returns to the main subject back on the base planet when it is earned that the Parallax is using fear to eliminate other Guardians and destroy planet and the suggestion is made to create a counter process which will involved the destruction of earth because of the link with the affected scientist. On earth the Lantern realises that he was chosen by the ring because he is fearless and therefore can counter the destructive force. Using his power and strength he lures Parallax into the gravitational pull of the sun causing the end of the being thus he not only saves earth but the base planet and the Guardian brotherhood. He is recognised as a worth successor to the star performer he replaced. Because the film was not as successful at the box office as expected turning the first film into a trilogy was in doubt but now appears back on the agenda.
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