Battle Hymn

source: Battle Hymn

Beyond Rock Hudson being, quite possibly, the perfect movie star- handsome movie star and P-51 Mustangs, there's pretty much nothing to recommend here. Battle Hymn doesn't know what it wants to be--a war movie, a testament to the healing power of Christianity, or a vanilla-ized biopic of a fighter pilot turned minister. Here's a pretty easy rule to understand: If you try to be a bunch of things at once, you'll probably fail at all of them. Battle Hymn is so completely bland in its treatment of USAF Colonel Dean Hess' search for how to jibe being a minister with being a warrior that about all you can really hang on to are the cute Korean kids milling and jabbering about and those incredible Mustangs. I saw Battle Hymn as a kid on TV. Once again, age has not been kind to a movie I liked (or in this case, sort of liked) way back when. Skip it.

I found this older movie in an unusual way, I was looking for Martha Hyer movies. In this one her role is somewhat brief as the wife of the main character but in her early 30s was as beautiful as ever. Rock Hudson is very good as Colonel Dean E. Hess, who in real life was an American minister and United States Air Force colonel who was involved in the so-called "Kiddy Car Airlift," the documented rescue of 950 orphans and 80 orphanage staff from the path of the Chinese advance during the Korean War on December 20, 1950. As the movie opens we see Hess as a minister but still feels guilt from an accidental bombing of a church and orphanage in Germany during WW2. He isn't sure he is genuine as a minister and goes back into active duty, training Koreans to fly fighter planes. But his soft spot for orphans gets him involved in providing care for them, an activity that he continued in future years. He died, aged 97 in 2015. Good movie.

This Douglas Sirk helmed Christian humanist war drama comes courtesy the biography of Col. Dean Hess (Rock Hudson), WWII fighter-pilot turned minister who rejoins during the Korean War to find some sense and faith in his grief over his accidental bombing of an orphanage. It turns out that South Korea becomes the perfect place for him to do it, as hundreds of newly parentless children are without home nor a place to go. First he collects them all in an orphanage run by En Soon Yang (Anna Kashfi), but as territory is lost, he finds himself in with the need to find a haven for 400 children. Luckily, Yang is from an island untouched by the war; unfortunately, transport to that island is rapidly disappearing as the United States forces have to cut and run, leaving little behind them to be used by the North Koreans. Meanwhile, Hess is also right back in the saddle of the war machine, and has to confront his own religion with the needs of war. This happens as these new men, untrained, experience the same sense of guilt and loss that accompanies killing of other people for their country. It is only when one of his own men dies that Hess begins to understand that he is put there more for the comfort and salvation of the dying than for the destruction of other people, and his focus on saving the children redeems him from the atrocities of war. Christianity is layered throughout, from the first scene (a helmet under a religious icon stained glass window) through most of the dialog, but all of it stays focused on the charitable, giving aspects of Christianity and the crisis of faith one can have when confronted with evil and desperation. The movie never strays far from that message and is surprisingly realistic for the times about the Korean War. Whereas we're not confronted with the dirty realism that became familiar in films of the Vietnam era and later, nevertheless Sirk doesn't shy away from showing destruction in violence, and quite purposefully lingers on the corpses of innocents. However, the movie is from an earlier era of classic Hollywood style film-making, and a rather sentimental score underlines the tone of the movie, trying to keep morality high even in the showing of violence. A stand-out scene involves two men taking off during a heavy rainstorm, the planes apt to slip in the mud at any moment. It is one of the finer moments of tension in the movie. Overall, this movie is very good at winning the audience over and keeping a positive, faithful message while confronting the difficulties of war. Modern audiences are used to things being darker, grittier, and bloodier, and such heartfelt and even religious messages can turn many a cynical person off, but nevertheless the movie is well-produced and the message is strong. --PolarisDiB

A movie starring Rock Hudson as a minister is. . . well, just as boring as it sounds. Rock feels he's not reaching his congregation anymore, so when the Korean War breaks out, he enlists to prove his worth. But since he has no intention of killing anyone in the line of duty, nor of letting any of his fellow soldiers know that he used to be a minister, his actual purpose isn't clear. Dan Duryea plays the big, dumb fool with nothing to do but chew gum and play nice with the local Korean children. James Edwards plays the emotional soldier who takes war seriously, but instead of giving him real acting to do, they make him sing "Sing Low, Sweet Chariot." I'm not kidding. There are plenty of scenes that were supposed to be suspenseful or moving, but I wasn't impressed. If you're looking for a wartime movie starring a man who doesn't want to kill, check out The Amazing Dr. Wassell instead. I know I don't usually recommend a Gary Cooper movie, but it's far more effective and exciting.

"Battle Hymn" is the story of a minister (Rock Hudson) who returns to train Korean soldiers to fight after he feels he has lost his calling. Of course he finds redemption and his true faith when he becomes involved with a group of Korean orphans and a young Korean/Indian woman that cares for them. Despite several brilliantly staged action sequences this film is not so much a war saga as it is a tale of introspection and finding courage in religion to carry on. The blend of both adventure and drama is seamless. "Battle Hymn" is an intelligently-crafted and inspiring without being stoic or preachy. THE TRANSFER: Overall the picture quality is nicely rendered but the ravages of time have not been kind in a few spots. Age related artifacts are present throughout – sometimes glaringly so. Black levels are often weak and fine detail is lost in the darkest scenes. Digital anomalies are not an issue for a generally smooth visual presentation. The audio is nicely presented – if somewhat dated. EXTRAS: None. BOTTOM LINE: "Battle Hymn" is finely wrought melodrama tinged with the prerequisite of combat that all war films have in common. The DVD is admirably realized but is not reference quality. Still, it's definitely worth a look.

In 1954,Rock Hudson,who was Douglas Sirk's favorite actor,(they made 8 movies together)starred in the remake of John Stahl's "magnificent obsession".It was a tale of redemption.A playboy trying to redeem himself by giving back eyesight to a blind woman (whose disability was his fault). In "Battle hymn" ,Rock Hudson portrays an air force officer who destroyed an orphanage with thirty-seven children in WW2 and tries to redeem his soul.But it is not as convincing.As users have already pointed out,the true story was altered .The ideology is not clear; the old man's words are not so wise :war is necessary and that is the way God planned it .... Sirk's pacifism was better applied on "A time to love and a time to die" based on EM Remarque's novel which is much superior to this preachy effort.Colonel Hess deserved a better movie. Like this ?try these..... The inn of the sixth happiness (Robson) 55 days at Peking (Ray) The keys of the kingdom (Stahl)

This is the apparently true story of Colonel Dean Hess as the upright clergyman turned fighter pilot . After accidentally bombing , during WWII , an orphange as a fighter pilot a Col. , Rock Hudson, becomes a God minister . Problem is , he is plagued with guilt and wishes a real redemption . Later on , he leaves his pregnant wife , Martha Hyer, and returns to the Air Force in 1950 to train Korean pilots in Seoul ; there he meets a motley bunch , such as the army sergeant companion , Dan Duryea in a rare likeable character , the officers Don DeFore , Jock Mahoney , the sympathetic cook Alan Hale Jr and the African-American James Edwards , among others . Then , at the quarters show up a group of 37 orphaned children wanting shelter from Commie attacks and bombings .Along the way Hess winds up building a home for the local orphans . This is a true story in which the real Hess served as technical advisor . Pure sentimental slop , it is a stirring and sometimes moving tale , accompanying some spectacular aerial scenes and impressive dog-fighting . Main cast is pretty well . As Rock Hudson gives an acceptable acting as a chaplain whose wartime bravery earns him a string of honours ; however, he suffers strong remorses . This is Hudson's third modern-day adventure in the East , the others were : Spiral road and Thunder of God . Rock was Sirk's * including important titles as Taza , Magnificent obsession , Written in the wind , among others . His wife is well played by the attractive Martha Hyer and Anna Kashfi, Marlon Brando's spouse , plays the oriental girl who helps and falls for him . Magnificent support cast with plenty of notorious secondaries such as the usually veteran bad man Dan Duryea , Don DeFore , Jock Mahoney , Richard Loo , Carl Benton Reid , Alan Hale Jr , and Philip Ahn as the old man philosopher . It contains a colorful cinematography in Technicolor by Russell Metty, though a perfect remastering being extremely necessary . Sensitive musical score including oriental sounds and choral music by Frank Skinner. The motion picture was well directed by Douglas Sirk . He was a fundamental filmmaker who gave prestigious movies , usually collaborating with similar technicians as cameraman Russell Metty , Production Designer Alexander Golitzen , Producer Ross Hunter and writer George Zuckerman . Sirk directed a lot of classic melodramas such as : Never say goobye , Interlude , Summerstorm , The first legion , The lady pays off , Tarnished Angels , A time to love a time to die , Magnificent obsession , All that heaven allows , Written in the Wind . But he also directed other genres as WWII : Mystery submarine , Hitler's madmen ; Thrillers and Film Noir : Shockproof , Thunder on the hill , A scandal in Paris , Lured ; Historical : Attila with Jack Palance ; Adventures : Thunderbolt and Lightfoot with Hudson and Barbara Rush ; and even a Western : Taza , again with Rock Hudson.

This is hardly one of its director's more notable efforts which is perhaps why it took me this long to catch up with it in the first place; a miscast Rock Hudson is defeated by his impossible role of a real-life U.S.A.F. pilot whose accidental bombing of a Japanese orphanage during WWII drove him to take up priesthood; ironically, just as the protagonist struggles with his conflicting vocations (he considers it his duty to re-apply for service when the Korean War comes along), the film can't make up its mind whether it wants to be a biopic, a war epic or a particularly sticky Hollywood blending of religiosity and child interest! In itself, a harmless and typically glossy product of its era with the aerial sequences themselves certainly well done; sleek noir villain Dan Duryea is wasted, however, as a soldier who is particularly beloved by the Korean orphans Hudson and his men stumble upon. Ultimately, the film is perhaps most notable as being one of only four films featuring Anna Kashfi – Welsh despite her exotic name and looks – and best-known for her brief marriage (1957-59) to Marlon Brando.

Douglas Sirk's career at Universal throughout the fifties was a constant battle. It was a battle to make quality movies despite the often dire screenplays and less than talented casts he often had to put up with. Miraculously he most often was victorious despite the odds. "Battle Hymn" was one of his defeats. It remains his least likable film. In his book "Sirk on Sirk" Michael Halliday sheds some light on this. Sirk had broken his leg badly and had to direct from a wheelchair which severely limited him. But the main reason for this somewhat heavy handed film was the presence of Dean Hess on the set and his overseeing each scene. The film is a biography of Dean Hess himself. A man who turns to the church after the trauma of bombing a German orphanage and killing 37 children, Hess leaves his position of preacher in small town Ohio and volunteers for service in Korea. It's an odd choice for a man of his past, but "Killer Hess" as he was known, gets the opportunity to save Korean orphans in the process, putting to sleep his inner demons and putting things right in the world. Sirk was very put off by Hess' presence on the set and more so by his input. He was clearly a man of much ambiguity, something that fascinated Sirk. Yet Sirk was unable to really express this in meaningful way on the screen. He wanted to give Hess a drinking problem as a way of expressing his pain, but Hess would hear nothing of it. He clearly wanted to be portrayed as a holier than though hero. The result is that the film has an awful self congratulatory feel about it. Sirk was fascinated by characters who conceal within themselves a deep conflict. To him these were the most interesting of all. In all the movies Sirk made with Rock Hudson, he always cast him as the stabling influence and a foil to those unstable characters around him. Robert Stack in both "Written on the Wind" and "Tarnished Angels" is a perfect example of a split character playing against Hudson as the basically good, well grounded opposite. It's of course extremely ironic since in real life Rock Hudson was surely terribly conflicted by his concealed homosexuality while idolised by the masses as a model of masculine heterosexuality. Perhaps that is part of Sirk's affinity for him. Yet Sirk felt that Hudson's simplicity and basic goodness were suited to playing uncomplicated characters. "Battle Hymn" is the only film in which Sirk cast Hudson as a conflicted character. Had his character been better written there may have been a chance to pull it off. But as it stands, it's a competent and respectable performance, but something of a missed opportunity for Hudson. The rest of the cast acquit themselves well. Anna Kashfi is particularly effective with her ethereal presence. James Edwards deserves a mention, since his role as a black fighter pilot was certainly ground breaking for its time. There are however some really cringe inducing moments such as the aforementioned James Edwards breaking into "Swing Low" after an air raid and the final scene of the Korean orphans singing "Battle Hymn of the Republic" for Hess as he returns to Korea with his wife. These moments are meant to be uplifting, but seem now to be in somewhat poor taste. The Korean children in the film were actually Korean orphans and they are a delight. Sirk had great affinity with young children who in turn gave memorable performances in his movies. But when all is said and done, "Battle Hymn" is a film best forgotten, unlike his other war film, the remarkable "A Time to Love and a Time to Die" which he would soon make.