In some ways this is a sad story of how our nation chews up its heroes and then spits them out. Fame can be a two-edged sword, especially for those who really don't want it. Believe it or not, there are people among us who don't want their "15 minutes of fame" or seeing themselves on TV for a few minutes. Audie Murphy was one of them. Everyone expected him to play the part of hero, yet he never forgot that when World War II ended he was almost the last member of his original company left. He knew who the real heroes were. Audie Murphy fought his severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for all his too short life. The results of it ruined two marriages and left him bankrupt.
Although an actor in many movies he never considered himself a star and often laughed at his "star-hood." It was just a way to make money. I had to laugh at one comment the author relates. When a director was coaching him on his lines. Murphy said, "You forget that I've got a hell of a handicap." When the director asked, "What handicap?," Murphy replied, "No talent."
The author covers most of Murphy's movies and labels many of them "Forgettable." I dispute this. As a youngster and later as an adult, I fed on Westerns. Sure, a number of his movies weren't great epics, but I liked almost every one I've seen. They were enjoyable for me, and isn't that what movies are suppose to be?
There is a lot of praise for his role in "The Red Badge of Courage," despite the cuts the movie bosses made in it. Unfortunately, those cuts were lost and the great movie John Huston directed can not be reproduced. As I am a military and war veteran myself, I consider it---even as it stands---probably the greatest war movie ever made. Why? Because you can change the time of that movie to any conflict in history, you can change the uniforms to be those of any military forces which ever existed, and it would still be a very authentic and realistic account of young men engaged in combat for the first time. The dialogue in it is minimal, as author Stephen Crane intended it to be.
I only gave the book 3.5 stars as it was a far too short biography, at least for me, about one of our nation's great legends. But as the author sadly relates, ask people today who Audie Murphy was and what you usually get is a blank stare.
Although an actor in many movies he never considered himself a star and often laughed at his "star-hood." It was just a way to make money. I had to laugh at one comment the author relates. When a director was coaching him on his lines. Murphy said, "You forget that I've got a hell of a handicap." When the director asked, "What handicap?," Murphy replied, "No talent."
The author covers most of Murphy's movies and labels many of them "Forgettable." I dispute this. As a youngster and later as an adult, I fed on Westerns. Sure, a number of his movies weren't great epics, but I liked almost every one I've seen. They were enjoyable for me, and isn't that what movies are suppose to be?
There is a lot of praise for his role in "The Red Badge of Courage," despite the cuts the movie bosses made in it. Unfortunately, those cuts were lost and the great movie John Huston directed can not be reproduced. As I am a military and war veteran myself, I consider it---even as it stands---probably the greatest war movie ever made. Why? Because you can change the time of that movie to any conflict in history, you can change the uniforms to be those of any military forces which ever existed, and it would still be a very authentic and realistic account of young men engaged in combat for the first time. The dialogue in it is minimal, as author Stephen Crane intended it to be.
I only gave the book 3.5 stars as it was a far too short biography, at least for me, about one of our nation's great legends. But as the author sadly relates, ask people today who Audie Murphy was and what you usually get is a blank stare.
