Le Temps de la peur

"In Love and War" was one of that group of Hollywood films of the 1950's based on best selling novels about WW2. They were written by men who had experienced the war first hand: "The Young Lions", "Between Heaven and Hell" and "Battle Cry" among others.

Being around 10 years of age at the time, they were the kind of movies I couldn't wait to see. However they usually had as much time devoted to the bedroom as to the battlefield - lots of mushy stuff. "In Love and War" wasn't kidding when it put 'Love' first in the title. At the time though, I thought Dana Wynter was about the most beautiful woman in the world - I'm not sure that I still don't.

These days I can handle the mushy stuff better and actually appreciate it more than the rather bloodless, unrealistic action scenes that were the norm for those films.

"In Love and War" had an overload of beautiful people. Along with Dana Wynter there was Robert Wagner, Jeffery Hunter, Hope Lange, Bradford Dillman, Sheree North and France Nuyen - stunning in her second movie.

The story is about three marines from different backgrounds. Their lives reflect different levels of society, but there are problems all around: the spoilt rich girl bored with life (Dana), a bit of interracial tension (France Nuyen) and an evil stepfather for Robert Wagner's character. By 1958, anti-war sentiment was de rigueur - Brad Dillman's character rages against the senselessness of war. Unfortunately the various strands of the story seemed plucked from a file of alphabetically listed stock plots.

The island the marines storm is unnamed. The author, Anton Myrer, was wounded serving with the marines on Guam, but the battle here seems to be representative, not specific.

Many war films at the time combined documentary footage with the re-creations, and it was never seamless. That was the case in this film despite a few gritty scenes. However they pale when compared to the 2010 mini series, "The Pacific".

"In Love and War" has one element that pulls the whole thing together, a magnificent score by Hugo Friedhofer. It captures the heroism and tragedy of war, the epic along with the intimate. The score for this film is one of its stars.

I can still enjoy this movie even if nostalgia plays a part. As for modern audiences, this is what a big glossy movie of the time looked like with stars who seemed better than life.

Although made in 1958, this is one of those patriotic WWII movies that are a hit with Americans who appreciate the sacrifices made for our freedom. Yet, there was plenty of home front footage as well with very good acting. Dana Wynter, whom I had just seen in Sink The Bismarck, did a wonderful job in a difficult part. The writing for the part was superficial and the reasoning behind it not believable. And yet, Ms. Wynter took it and made it believable. What an actress! And darn good looking too! The male leads were all well done, Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Wagner and Bradford Dillman. One finds oneself rooting for all three Marines to make it through the battle scenes. Hope Lange, a great actress as always and a real beauty. Remember her in the TV version of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir? France Nuyen, a sweet face and good acting, what more could we want? One face popped up that I recognized right away - a Corcoran boy! This one is Brian who played Israel Boone on the old Daniel Boone TV show. But it was his brother Kevin Corcoran whom I thought about - the great child actor who did Old Yeller, Pollyanna and others. His sister in the movie is Veronica Cartwright, the real life sister of Angela Cartwright of the Danny Thomas show, Lost in Space and Brigitta in the Sound of Music movie. Of course Veronica made news herself as Jimima Boone on the same TV show as Brian, Lumpy's sister on Leave It To Beaver, Spencer's Mountain and other good parts. All in all, excellent acting in this movie, good drama and exciting WWII action by the Marines. Well worth seeing.

I'm easily bothered by films that are set during a certain decade (and now century) with costuming, design, styling, etc., that don't match the period portrayed. If you pay close enough attention, there's very little that's 1940s about this film in its depiction. That being said, it actually was more satisfying than I anticipated.

The first act of this two-act film is clunky in nature. I agree with the reviewer who wrote that Wagner's portrayal of intoxication is well over the top and therefore, at least to me, unconvincing, but there's moments in the second act in which he shows his acting chops. Dillman unsurprisingly does not disappoint, and Hunter delivers a pleasing surprise.

This movie tends to vacillate between hokey, soap-opera elements and cerebral, emotionally intense components. Once you get past the obvious on-set shooting typical of the '50s and the forcing of "topical" issues, such as unwed pregnancy, interracial relationships, and philosophical objection to war, there's a final product that's actually touching.

I'm truly surprised I liked it.

There are many familiar faces in this one, from their younger days: Robert Wagner, Bradford Dillman, Jeffrey Hunter, Hope Lange, Dana Wynter and Sheree North. They're all affected by the war, as well as their own personal lives, which aren't always a pretty picture. There are some realistic battle scenes, as well as family conflict, alcoholism, love vs. Duty, as three servicemen, their families, and the women in their lives all interconnect.

Some scenes stay with you, like the enemy tank relentlessly forging ahead that needed to be destroyed, the enemy soldier begging for a drink of water, the self-destructive socialite whose wild ways caught up with her, and an adorable little boy who'll never see his father. There's drama without the melodrama.

Worth checking out!

About half of the film is all about relationships between three marines and their sweethearts, three very different characters of very different backgrounds, and so are their sweethearts. The second half is dominated by the war in the Pacific, greatly depicting the arduous hardships of the marines and their unimaginable heroic efforts and deeds. You get a very extensive and clear picture of what the war in the Pacific really was like. The three girls encounter the ordinary fates of female civil victims of the war, one is widowed with a child, another sinks down in alcohol and tragedy, and no one gets out of it unscathed, although there is always a continuity. It is beautifully photographed and filmed, and Hugo Friedhofer's music adds to its high quality. This is a film you would like to see again sometime.