Between Heaven and Hell

Brad Dexter was the only one of "The Magnificent Seven" not to become a major star. When you see his performance in "Between Heaven and Hell," you will wonder why.

He is given a very sympathetic character to play, and gives in return one of his best performances.

Buddy Ebsen started show biz life as a minor, but pleasant, song and dance man, but, as shown here, he became one of the finest dramatic actors of the century (despite such obstacles as "The Beverly Hillbillies").

"Between Heaven and Hell" is a very generic title, and seems to have very little to do with this movie. It has been used dozens of times, and maybe once or twice, somewhere, it was appropriate. Maybe.

Richard Fleischer's directing and Leo Tover's photography, though, overcome the trite title and well complement the excellent acting in presenting a dramatic war story.

From the opening shot, there is fluidity in the camera work that awed me, that left me admiring Mr. Fleischer more than I ever had before. If you don't like war movies -- and I don't -- you will want to watch this one for the photography, including the scenery.

One complaint: The protagonist, played well by Robert Wagner, goes through the mandatory (made so by "the rules of drama") change, but there is no good explanation of his motives, of why he changes.

Perhaps it is plain, right before our eyes, in a manner of speaking only because it is never explicated. But there really should have been some motivational explanations.

Still, it was plausible and reasonable, and, again, the acting and camera work are so good -- no, excellent -- "Between Heaven and Hell" is definitely worth watching.

By the way, do not miss a chance to see this just because the On Demand description is so disgustingly PC. There is no "racism" even though that PC description implies there is.

I found it via the Time Warner Cable system's On Demand. And free!

Before he started making huge, bloated, disastrously money-losing films in the '60s (Dr. Doolittle, Che, et al.), director Richard Fleischer was responsible for some good, tight well-made little B pictures. "The Narrow Margin" and "Armored Car Robbery" in the early '50s were outstanding film-noir classics, made for very little money. Fleischer made this in the period between his low-budget black-and-white thrillers and his '60s monstrosities, and it's a good one. Robert Wagner is the callow, spoiled rich son of a Southern landowner whose National Guard unit is suddenly activated during World War II and sent to the Pacific to fight the Japanese. Wagner finds himself in the same company with the sharecroppers and tradespeople he scorned back home, and is sent to a base run by a power-mad, vengeful officer who treats his troops the same way Wagner treated his " 'croppers" back home.

This is one of Wagner's better performances. Unlike many of his earlier films, Wagner doesn't try to get by on his good looks and youthful charm; he turns in a first-rate performance here, as do most of the cast. Broderick Crawford as Wagner's crazed commander doesn't quite fit the part, and Skip Homeier--usually a solid, reliable character actor--goes a bit overboard as one of Crawford's goons, but Buddy Ebsen, as one of Wagner's sharecroppers who turns out to be his best friend, L.Q. Jones and Tod Andrews are fine in pivotal parts, and Fleischer stages some exciting battle scenes. Altogether, a well-made, exciting little B picture from 20th Century Fox--a bit garish in Technicolor (black and white would have been more effective)--but well worth your time to see it. Highly recommended.

See it – A vastly underrated and reflective war movie starring Robert Wagner and Buddy Ebsen. This movie has been nearly forgotten over the years, and it's a shame. Much of the story is told in flashbacks. There's very good character development. And best of all, there was much more action than I expected. A bit slow toward the beginning, but there is a really cool action sequence in one of the flashbacks where Wagner and some of his men assault a cliff-side machine gun nest. When the current story picks back up after the flashbacks, there is plenty more action, including an exciting and desperate ending. 3.5 out of 5 action rating

I saw this film more than 40 years ago for the first time, and now I saw it again recently. This war film is not another one in my personal opinion, it shows many of the tragedies that usually are brought about by any war, innocent soldiers killed accidentally by their colleagues, soldiers afraid during and after the battle, reconsideration of past way of life during the war making statements for changing life after the war, and cruel officers like the one played by Broderick Crawford. The film indirectly touched the problems of exploitation of cotton growers, the way they worked and how they were mistreated by the owners of this business. Piece by piece, the film is positive in its messages, but colored by the usual Hollywood Happy End.

Considering that Cinemascope had been introduced only three years earlier, this is one of the outstanding examples from the 50s of a director and cinematographer composing shots for widescreen. I've been teaching film for almost 40 years and would unhesitatingly show excerpts from this in any basic course on movies. Just to sample some, check out Minutes 40-50, especially the quartets of lounging soldiers in medium shot. Sometimes the compositions seem a little self-conscious, but overall this is a remarkable film stylistically. It's wonderful to be able to see it again in widescreen format, as well as other movies that go back to my teenage years. That's why DVD is so great.