Robert Wagner stars in this WWII yarn where a privileged land owner or 'cropper' who's been a bit of a cad w/his workers on his land back home (strangely all white!) but once he gets to the battlefront, surrounded by people he knew back home, namely his commanding officer & father-in-law, played by Robert Keith & even one of his comrades in arms, played by L. Q. Jones, one of Wagner's croppers from back home, his attitude changes as he begins to realize everyone deserves a fair shake no matter what strata they come from. As the fighting intensifies, Wagner starts to develop battle fatigue (PTSD to be more accurate) even though he still finds his nerve to be a worthwhile soldier (even after an incident where a comrade accidentally, out of fear, mows down his own men, Jones included!). Wagner snaps & beats the man within an inch of his life & is sent out to a remote bungalow run by a crass Captain, played by Broderick Crawford, who runs ramrod over his men but even w/that Wagner proves his mettle when during a recon mission he spots a large platoon of Japanese heading in their direction which proves catastrophic when Wagner's best bud, played by Buddy Ebsen, is hurt while they're defending a foxhole prompting Wagner, also shot & wounded, to race back to safety to get the Calvary to save the day. Directed efficiently by Richard Fleischer (The Narrow Margin/The Boston Strangler) who knew how to meld characterization w/action gave Wagner a fine platform to build upon. The solid supporting cast which features Brad Dexter, Harvey Lembeck (who would be the go to baddie in the Beach Blanket Bingo movies) & Frank Gorshin (The Riddler from TV's Batman) all contribute even in the smallest of performances.
Review of Between Heaven and Hell
