Battle Cry Reviews

Based on the novel by Leon Uris, this huge, sprawling, and essentially disappointing movie focuses more on the romantic relationships among a group of Marines and their sweethearts than it does on the story of a Marines communications battalion sent to New Zealand, where they jump to glory or death. Huxley (Van Heflin) is the tough major who combines gentleness with necessary discipline to mold his youthful charges into fighting machines. In the love department, Andy (Aldo Ray) falls for Pat (Nancy Olsen), a New Zealander whose husband and brother were both war casualties; Danny (Tab Hunter) finds himself involved with two ladies, hometown sweetheart Kathy (Mona Freeman) and the married Elaine (Dorothy Malone); and the reserved Marion (John Lupton) is paired with good-time girl Rae (Anne Francis). Raoul Walsh, who spent much of his career making action films (OBJECTIVE BURMA; WHITE HEAT; WHAT PRICE GLORY?) is hampered somewhat by the Uris script, but the Max Steiner score (nominated for an Academy Award) and the use of actual combat footage help to sustain the excessive two-and-a-half-hour length.