Commando de la mort

September 1943 WWII,during the Italian campaign against the Germans, an infantrymen platoon of US army washes ashore on the coast near of Salerno and for the fighting are dieing all officials and the sergeants command to execute the mission assigned,they must capture a farmhouse occupied by the Nazis.The group is trying to take an enemy location by themselves,it's shot with an excellent action sequences.

The picture is a based about novel of same title by journalist Harry Brown who fought on the front since 1941 until 1943 and narrated his experiences as soldier in European Allied army. The first which bought the license was Samuel Bronston but the public was bored of the warlike genre and he wanted the making a super-production and then he gave the rights to Lewis Milestone.This director contacted with Daryl F. Zanuck -the magnate of 2oth Century Fox- who financed the post-production.The film realizes a magnificent reunion actors showing the numerous personages and explores their circumstances,apprehension,fears and cowardice. Lewis Milestone incorporated an off-voice of the actor Burguess Meredith who the same year starred ¨The story of G.I.Joe¨filmed by William A.Wellman and would be its more direct rival.Good storyline by Robert Rossen,turned director with important films as ¨The hustler¨and¨Alexander Magno¨ .Productor and director Lewis Milestone also made others classics as ¨All quiet on the western front¨ masterpiece WWI and the Korean set ¨Pork Chop Hill¨ which along with ¨Men in war¨(Anthony Mann) are the two best films about Korea war. Rating : Awesome and worthwhile effort.

One of these fine days, the landing at Salerno which believe it or not was more difficult than the invasion of Normandy will get a full screen treatment like The Longest Day or Saving Private Ryan. The combined allied force was in a pitched battle for 21 days until the issue was decided. A lot was going on away from the sidebar action that is depicted in A Walk In the Sun.

The sidebar action involved a platoon that lands a few miles away from the beach with the objective of blowing up a bridge and taking a strategically located farm house. The lieutenant is killed even before the landing and the various sergeants take over. One of them, Herbert Rudley cracks under the strain, and Dana Andrews assumes overall command of the mission.

A Walk in the Sun is not so much a war story as a war character study. It's interesting to contrast this film with Lewis Milestone's masterpiece, All Quiet on the Western Front. Both involve citizen soldiers going to war and both are studies into the types of people making up a platoon. Milestone's sympathies are with both, but he does recognize the necessity for the trip to Europe made by these Americans in Italy.

Best in the film in my opinion is Richard Conte, the cynical wisecracking GI from, where else, Brooklyn. According to Hollywood, there wasn't a platoon in any theater of war in the forties that did not have a GI from Brooklyn. Huntz Hall, taking leave from the East Side Kids, also has a small part as one of the GIs in this platoon.

The film was made as the war ended in Europe. No mock heroics here, just the greatest generation demonstrating why they were just that.

One of the best war movies ever made, directed by Lewis Milestone (All Quiet on the Western Front), this movie is distinguished by its depiction of war from the soldier's individual point of view. Unlike most war movies, this is infantry combat as seen through the eyes of several members of a platoon as it walks through the Italian countryside in 1943 on its way to seize a German observation post. In all the action sequences, you never see anything that the individual soldier (German, Italian or American) depicted on the screen doesn't see. You only see what is happening around him as he sees it. I've seen them all, and no other director ever approached war filming this way. And I can tell you personally that this is the way it was in combat. The only errors in the entire movie involved grenades: you don't blow bridges with them and you don't pull their pins with your teeth--that's the best way I know of pulling out a tooth w/o a dentist's helping hand. A landmark movie made during the war and only released after the war ended in 1945 because of the final scenes. Matched only by William Wellman's "A Story of GI Joe," this is the best film on infantry combat produced from World War II. Yes, yes, I've seen "Saving Private Ryan." Except for the shock of the first 20 minutes, it's Steven Spielberg's three-star remembrance of his boyhood comic book war stories.

This war drama ranks among the best in its genre. An outstanding ensemble cast and intense story makes for an interesting look at the realism of war. This film follows a platoon of American soldiers from the time they land in Europe until they complete their mission...capturing a German occupied farmhouse in World War Two Italy. The talented and diverse cast includes:Dana Andrews, John Ireland, Lloyd Bridges, George Tyne, Huntz Hall and Richard Conte. Kudos also to director Lewis Milestone.

I just like the movie. The first time I saw it was in 1948 and I did not see it again until a few years ago when AMC and the History channel started to show it again. I watch it every chance I get. The cast is excellent with many of the actors becoming more popular in later years. This movie offers excellent insight into what makes people tick. The platoon making its way inland during the invasion of Italy offers insight into what a farmer, school teacher, etc. considers important in life. One scene which I believe describes the futility of war is where the farmer determines that the soil is worthless. The cerebral fellow (John Ireland) states simply that it is because too many soilders have walked over it for too many years (centuries).

I especially like how John Ireland "writes letters" in his head and hopes to write them on paper later. I also like the part where Lloyd Bridges starts laughing because he suddenly feels like a little kid when planting explosives on a bridge. The confident Sergeant ( Dana Andrews) shows fear when about to give the command to launch the attack on the farmhouse.

The fast talking dialogue between Richard Conte and his buddy remind me of people we have met. This is an excellent movie. I believe that most people would appreciate this movie, whether or not they watch war movies. This movie offers a lot of insight into human nature.

The movie is practically void of blood and gore and leaves it to the imagination of the viewer, such as when the Lieutenant is seriously wounded while on board the landing craft, with half of his face missing. You can imagine it and don't have to see it.