Les Forçats de la gloire

I entered for 17 weeks of infantry basic training at Camp Roberts California in January,1945. I was just 18. I was in the 96th, inf, training battlion. I am 73 now. The movie about Ernie Pyle was being made there in part. Some of the trainees were in the film. I recall my company marching over and over on this same hill to make it look like there was a full army there for the picture. My company commander was in the film as was the company mascot dog. I can't recall much more about the film as I have'nt seen it in a long time, getting old I guess. I surely would like to have a VCR copy of it too. If anyone has a copy to sell, please let me know. I recall that Burgess Meredith had lunch in the mess hall and shot the bull with the G.I.s there. Thats about all that I can remember for now. Hope this helps. G

And war was fought in the rain and the mud and the cold....In today's wars fought on film there is very rarely a look at the true living conditions that existed. This movie does not clean up the actors (as most films do). You see here all of the gritty, day-to-day, living during the war. These guys did not clean up every day. This is a good story about WW2. Be sure to see it. 8/10

One of the most fascinating tributes to the foot soldier is this 1945 war film that follows Ernie Pyle, beloved war correspondent, as he treks along through mud and ambushes with a platoon of weary G.I. Joes.

Robert Mitchum earned an Oscar nomination as Lt. Bill Walker and many of the other males in the cast were real combat soldiers who actually participated in the making of the film. The plot is no more than a series of skirmishes the platoon faces on a mission against Nazis in Italy. Burgess Meredith makes Ernie Pyle a likeable human being who wins the trust and affection of the platoon as he trudges with them across marshlands and all of the "up front" activity involved.

Human touches abound without the emphasis on cliches that often abound in war films. Mitchum gives just the right touch to his role as the leader who understands the strain his soldiers are under. The inclusion of a sub-plot involving a soldier anxious to hear the sound of his son's voice on a recording; and a pooch that becomes the mascot for the troops, are touches that give the film added humanity.

There is some editing that seems a bit jumpy in the latter part of the film, as though some cuts were made--but all in all this is a very watchable war film with a close-up look at the men and their courage under fire. A fine tribute also to Ernie Pyle, a famous Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent during the dark days of World War II. Highly recommended.

The Story of G.I. Joe chronicles the experiences of an infantry unit in Italy as told by war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who is played by Burgess Meredith. War weary Robert Mitchum plays the platoon leader. While we can see that the movie was largely made in the studio, the great photography and direction move it along. Cold feet, mud, frustration, and homesickness are effectively demonstrated at the expense of battle scenes.

War Correspondent Ernie Pyle (Burgess Meredith) joins an Infantry company led by Lt. Walker (Robert Mitchum) in North Africa. The men are surprised when Ernie decides to accompany them all the way to the front. After Kasserine Pass, they find themselves in Italy. They fight up the boot and is halted in front of Monte Cassino.

It is a relatively realistic portrait of war considering the times. Ernie Pyle is a real Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent killed in Okinawa two months before the movie's release. It uses many of his writing which contributes to the realism. He really paints a picture with his words. It doesn't always get the visceral grim reality with the interior studio sets. It always looks better outdoors. They create a great location which does look like a bombed out Italian town. Monte Cassino is mostly interior shoot as the fighters go underground. The monastery is no longer standing anyways but there is footage of the bombing. This is as real as it gets for its time.