Il sesto eroe

Tony Curtis as a serious actor was pretty much a joke at the height of his career when he was the darling of the teenyboppers; but he finally delivered an AAA+ role in this gritty and unforgettable saga of "drunken Ira Hayes" --- perhaps the best known World War II soldier after super-hero Audie Murphy. Audie Murphy was the greatest and most decorated soldier of World War II; but all Ira Hayes really did was help a few other men erect the flag at Iwo Jima. How this single act bestowed undeserved and unwanted fame on this fine Puma Indian man, and how this destroyed his life, are the essence of this extraordinary film. This picture knocked me out 45 years ago, a film you never forget.

This is the true story of Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian who became a US Marine and was one of the famous flag raisers on Mt. Surabachi at Iwo Jima. The movie goes into Hayes life after the war as well but unlike many movies of the genre, the story and acting do not lose any steam. In fact, the emotional intensity seems to deepen.

Tony Curtiss, who is a WW2 navy veteran {submariner}, gives what I feel is his best performance ever. This story of a simple and fundamentally good man, thrust into a big and dangerous world, is shown without compromise. The movie tells a very real and tragic story about friendship, loss, war and even the dangers of celebrity.

In keeping with the authentic telling of this story, even the end is sadly accurate. If you ever visit the National military cemetery in Arlington, VA, you will see the United States Marine Corps War Memorial {often improperly called the Iwo Jima memorial}. The rearmost marine statue is Ira Hayes.

The movie itself stands on it's own merits and might be applauded for the telling of this powerful true story, but when other film makers like John Ford had used REAL Native Americans in movies, this was yet another slap in the face to Native Americans .

The movie itself also tended to use Hayes' personal weakness for alcohol to reinforce the belief that ALL Native Americans were prone to alcoholism.

While it is widespread on some reservations...it is because they were forced to live in that environment for decades where they have little do and must fall back on "the public dole"...and suffer the worst economic structure in the U. S.

This movie is long over-due for a re-telling...and the skills of Mr Curtis has nothing to do with my review.

The official U.S. release date of "The Outsiders" is given as December, 1961, but in late August/early September of 1961, Tony brought the movie to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, CA. to give all us Marines a sneak peek. He had filmed much of the movie at MCRD, plus in Oceanside and downtown San Diego, so he let us "locals" have the first look. Before and after the showing, Curtis came on the stage at the base theater along with his wife Janet Leigh and MCRD Commannder Gen. Victor Krulak, and we jar-heads were totally impressed with ourselves for getting the VIP treatment from such bigshots. Curtis didn't play the usual featherweight role as Ira Hayes, but gave a tough, gritty performance as an alcoholic on the skids. I don't notice "The Outsiders" listed among Tony Curtis's credits in all these obituaries, but if you get a chance to see it don't pass it up.

This film is a somewhat accurate account of Ira Hayes' story, and is well-meaning, but it suffers from the fatal miscasting of Tony Curtis. Curtis certainly tries hard, but the very idea of a Brooklyn-voiced actor with striking good-looks slathered in bronzer playing an ordinary-looking man from Arizona is ludicrous. Granted there weren't any movie star Native-Americans at the time to fill the role, but you never get a sense of an average guy doing his job: Curtis is far too gorgeous (although the make-up people do try to hamper his looks, unfortunately transforming him into something resembling a Romulan from Star Trek.). And yet some would not only ignore this, but also claim this is Curtis' finest performance. Hardly. See 'The Boston Strangler' or 'The Sweet Smell of Success" or 'The Defiant Ones." As for the film, it is relentlessly moody and downbeat, with an equally moody music score. The Iwo Jima material is almost right, but marred by the idea that Hayes would become a mess because of the loss of James Franciscus' character. Not that the fictional character is so bad, but the dull acting of Franciscus makes him impossible to care about. Since the film takes great pains in making this character so important to Hayes, it should be handled by a much more powerful acting presence than a stiff second-rate TV actor. Meanwhile, Hayes' fame rests with his helping put up the famous flag at Iwo Jima and then be put through the war bond drive and publicity grind stateside, yet the two others(Gagnon and Bradley) who were also involved in both flag raising and publicity war bond tour are barely in this film. 'Flags of Our Fathers' takes full advantage of this character interaction, but this film ignores it almost completely (granted it could have been due to rights issues from Gagnon and Bradley).

But it IS a story that was important to tell and worth watching, regardless. Sadly it was not a success back in 1961 and remains obscure to this day. Possibly 'Flags of Our Fathers' will give it new life.