The Raid

There was a time that if you mentioned the Civil War in motion pictures, you could name four or five titles: BIRTH OF A NATION, ABRAHAM LINCOLN (both by D.W.Griffith), SO RED THE ROSE, THE GENERAL, and GONE WITH THE WIND. There were other films (THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND about the assassination of Lincoln and Dr. Mudd's martyrdom). But no films touched upon the major battles as such - until the 1950s. In 1951 John Huston filmed THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE. The Stephen Crane novel is fiction, but the battle it chronicles (according to Crane) was Chancelorsville (May 1863). The next time an actual battle was filmed would be the "Shiloh" segment in John Ford's HOW THE WEST WAS WON. Ford (who also had done THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND) did THE HORSE SOLDIERS, based on the raid by Col.Benjamin Grierson into Mississippi in 1863, during the Vicksburg Campaign. Aside from a reference to it in THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON (where Errol Flynn, as George Custer, led a charge of some importance), Gettysburg did not become a film until the 1990s, when Ted Turner made a pretty accurate film of that battle from the novel THE KILLER ANGELS.

The only film, aside from these, dealing with a land battle of sorts in the Civil War that dates from the 1950s is THE RAID, with Van Heflin, Richard Boone, Anne Bancroft, and Lee Marvin. Curiously enough it is also the only American film dealing with the savage turn in Confederate strategy that appeared in 1864. That year a raid had occurred on Richmond, led by Col. Ulrich Dahlgren, a Northern soldier (his father was an important Admiral). Dahlgren was killed, and the Southern leaders claimed papers found on him actually showed that Jefferson Davis and his cabinet were to be murdered by the raiders. Lincoln and the Northern authorities denied this (the controversy about the "Dahlgren" Papers lingers to this day). But Confederate strategy began to formulate fifth-column activities, such as sending infected clothing to northern cities to start epidemics, setting fire to New York City (in November 1864), seizing a warship on the Great Lakes, destroying Northern railroads, planning an insurrection in the Midwest with Copperhead leaders, and attacking towns in New England and the Midwest from Canada. The raid on St. Albans in October 1864 was one of the few planned activities that came off without any real hitches, and surprised the North disagreeably.

The raiders were centered in Montreal and Toronto, and crossed the border into Vermont where they attacked and robbed the banks in St. Albans. One civilian was killed, but the raiders managed to cross the boarder back into Canada safely. However, the Canadian authorities (under pressure and threats from the U.S. government) kept the Confederates under close confinement for months. No further raids could be attempted.

THE RAID fictionalizes well this story, giving it's leader (Heflin) a conflict between his attachment to Bancroft and her son (and his friendship with the citizens of the little town) and his duty to his Confederate government and comrades. In the end he follows his duty, and his last look back at the burning town, as he reaches the boarder, is the realization that he can never hope to see what he has given up again. Besides Heflin's fine performance, Richard Boone (currently gaining his television fame as Paladin on HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL) is excellent as a Northern veteran with one arm, who is pitied and somewhat despised by his neighbors and Bancroft. He turns out to be the only one in town to return fire on the Confederates, and gains back the respect that his crippling injuries had briefly lost for him. In all, it is a worthy little film, and shows how a curious little anecdote can sometimes blossom into a decent movie.

Maybe most interesting in the movie is the conflict between the social and the political. The Confederate major (Heflin) experiences this when he gets somewhat socialized into the Union town his raiders are slated to attack. He prepares the way for his raiders by infiltrating the town as a businessman. There he meets friendly people, including a widow (Bancroft) and her son (Rettig). It's impossible not to like what he finds there. Still, he and his men have a duty to the Confederacy, regardless of personal feelings. Besides, Gen. Sherman is burning his way through the southern states. So, given the personal conflict, what will the major do.

Well acted by a stellar cast, including an unstable Lee Marvin as a Johnny Reb with an itchy trigger finger. With his distinctive looks and manner, Marvin is clearly on his way up the Hollywood ladder. The burning of the town is done to scale, though the flames are clearly controlled. Still, it's an elaborate effect, though I didn't know portable fire-grenades like those used were available at that early time.

Of course, a topic like the Civil War means neither side can be treated as evil, unlike propaganda films involving foreign enemies. So each side, Union and Confederate, gets to show good points and bad, but ultimately, each gets respect. All in all, it's a good personality western and showcase for a number of up and coming stars.

I watched the movie "The Raid" this morning on satellite TV with interest. I only learned of my relative, Col. Bennett H. Young, a few weeks earlier. When Bennett Young was a Lieutenant in the Army of the Confederacy he led the raid on St. Albans, VT. Van Heflin portrayed Lt. Young, though by a different name, and as usual Hollywood spruced the story of the raid up with a romantic twist with Anne Bancroft's character. Lt Young did in fact flirt with a lady, taking her out for a meal and later she took him for a tour at the Governors home. This was all intelligence gathering. In his later years he did send this lady $3.00 asking her to send him copies of newspaper clippings detailing the raid. Lee Marvin's character did not exist nor did the tale of his murdering a soldier in town. There was no calvary of soldiers in town before, during, nor soon after the raid. After the raid invalid soldiers were recruited from military hospitals to guard the border towns of Vermont. It was in fact towns people who gave chase to Lt. Young's band of raiders who fled into Canada. Equally entertaining is what happened afterward in Canada. This information is completely missing from the story in "The Raid". For those interested, it is worth searching for the reading material on the internet. Simply search "St. Albans Raid" Still the movie was interesting with a fine cast of characters who, as usual, delivered their best. The movie is recommended viewing as is further research for the full and accurate historical story.

I saw this film as a kid back in the 50's and I remember enjoying it very much so when I had the chance of watching it again recently on TV I wouldn't miss it. I was also interested in "The Raid" because it was directed by my fellow countryman Hugo Fregonese who directed several pictures in Hollywood in the 50's mostly action features.

It was a pleasant surprise to find out that also as an adult (nearly 50 years later) the film stands for me as a good and entertaining one in its genre. Fregonese's direction is prolix and adequate, with no major bumps, and sustains the interest in the story all along. It is also true that a good cast helps him a lot with really convincing performances by Van Heflin, Anne Bancroft, Richard Boone and a very young Lee Marvin among others.

In my opinion, "The Raid" is an unpretentious but most watchable action film based on true facts that occurred in 1863 during the American Civil War. Along with the interesting "Blowing Wild" (with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck) this one of Fregonese's best films from his Hollywood days. Good for him!

Despite its Technicolor processing, this film retains a dark, almost sinister atmosphere, as the tension mounts. Much of the center of the film is simply spent waiting, as Van Heflin, the leader of this small band of Confederate soldiers, tries to keep their secret, keep the group together with its morale intact, and becomes more deeply involved with his boarding housekeeper, Anne Bancroft. Great character acting by many sustains this picture, notably Lee Marvin as the hotheaded rebel officer and Richard Boone as a discharged one-armed veteran Union soldier. Also notable is Robert Easton as a young confederate (Easton went on to become one of Hollywood's most successful and remarkable dialect coaches). Although there is a fine bit of military action near the conclusion of "The Raid," this is mostly a film about character and the stress of relationships. A fine effort.