Shadow in the Sky

"Shadow in the Sky" is a fascinating film because it talks about something practically no film talked about at that time--Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Back then, the only other film that I can think of that dealt with it at all was "The Men"--but this was much more about the physical difficulties injured men face after the war. Here, while Ralph Meeker looks normal, he isn't. And in situations that remind him of the hell he lived through in the Pacific, he becomes a nervous bowl of goo. But, to make this much more interesting, the film focuses much of its energy on his family--a sister (Nancy Davis) and brother-in-law (James Whitmore) who are uncomfortable and cowardly when it comes to accepting him into their home after his very lengthy stay in the hospital. In fact, you really dislike the pair--especially the sister, as her own fears seem much stronger than her love for her brother. A fascinating and VERY unique film I can't recommend strongly enough. My only reservation, and it's a small one, is that sometimes the characters behave a bit strangely--in particular, Meeker's nephew--who is just plain bizarre!

**SPOILERS** During the fighting in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Theater of War Burt,Ralph Meeker,suffered wounds far greater then any Japanese bullet or navel bombardment could ever inflict on him.

Pinned down by Japanese gunfire in the rain-soaked Guadalcancal jungle Brut carried his fellow marine , and future brother-in-law, Lou Hopke, James Whitmore,a half mile to safety thus saving his life. Suffering from a sever case of "jungle Rap" Burt was diagnosed as being unable to blend in with society and sent to a US military hospital for shell-shocked servicemen back in the states. It's now some seven years later and Burt is deemed well enough, by his military doctor Edward Frenz, to be sent home but the only home he knows is that of his friend and brother-in-law Paul Hopke and the problem is will Paul as well as Burt's sister Betty, Nancy Davis, take him in?

Much like Marlon Brando's "The Men" the film "Shadow in the Sky" tells of the horrors of war that stays with those who fought in it for the rest of their lives and how they fight to cope and overcome them. Burt knows what his in-laws and sister think of him and doesn't want to burden them with his presence but it's that very reason, to be accepted and not be feared by them, thats the only cure to his crippling psychosis.

Finally agreeing to have Burt stay the Hopke's fear that he'll flip out whenever it starts to rain, which touches off his "Jungle Rap" paranoia, and may not only hurt himself but them, the Hopke's, and their two young children Chris & Nina, Dennis Ross & Nadine Ashdown, as well.

The movie shows how hard it is to get over experiences suffered in a war zone and Ralph Meeker is at his best as the mentally broken war vet who knows that he'll have to go through a hell almost as bad, if not worse, as being in a war itself to overcome them. The Hopke's grudgingly take Burt into their home, after the insistence of his civilian volunteer nurse Stella Murphy (Jean Hagen),has him doing his best to fit in. The fact that he's, as well as Lou & Betty, terrified of a normal rainy day or night makes things very difficult and sooner or later Burt and the Hopke's know that "The Rains Will come" and with them Burt's worst fears about himself and what he may do to those around him.

Very moving story with a hard edge to it in how a man overcomes his worse fears by not running but confronting them head on which turns out to be the best medicine and treatment that he could have.

Burt's fears of rain, it not only reminds him of Guadalcanal but the blood dripping all over him as he carried the badly injured Lou to safety, was also overcome by telling Lou the truth, about the guilt he felt; about him wanting Lou to die so he would no longer have to carry him.

Lou in return sets Burt straight by telling him he has a sense of guilt too; he didn't want to invite Burt to stay with him and his family, thus having him stay alone and unwanted in the military hospital. It was only because Stella insisted that Lou realized that he couldn't leave Burt alone in the world to die, or never recover from his mental illness, when Burt risked his life to save his own back then in the hell that was called Guadalcanal.

Thoughtful (if not particularly incisive) look at mental illness in veterans brought on by their war experiences after suffering extreme duress in the midst of battle. One emotional Marine, recuperating at a hospital in southern California, is deemed well enough to leave, but his sister and brother-in-law (whose life the soldier saved overseas) are reluctant to take him in because of his volatile nature. Excellent performances from Ralph Meeker, Nancy Davis, and James Whitmore nearly compensate for Ben Maddow's sketchy screenplay which begins as a study of human frailties but soon becomes a family melodrama (its subject matter whittled down to one case). Thus, scenes such as a dance at the Veteran's Hospital serve no real purpose, with the viewer left in the uncomfortable position of waiting for Meeker's Marine to lose self-control. Nevertheless, an unusual product to come from MGM, with several taut and moving sequences--though not enough to quite fill its running-time. **1/2 from ****

A Completely Forgotten Little Film that is quite Good and quite Different. A Number of Film-Noirs took on the PTSD of Returning WWII Veterans and most of them are Well Known and most of them are Fine Films. This one is Unique in that it is Virtually Unknown.

It has a Very Strange Feel to it and is a Serious and Surreal, at Times, Study that is more than Competently Directed and Acted. The Children are Central to the Plot and the Little Ones are Refreshingly Restrained from Stereotype.

Some of the Dialog is Succinct and Stringent. After a Tense Set-Up the Mentally Disturbed Ralph Meeker, at His Best, Confronts the Parents about the Kids and Tersely Taunts..."What did you think I'd do, chop them up into little pieces and put them in a suitcase?"

Tough Stuff for the Era and Reflects the Tone of the Movie. It is a Suspenseful and Fittingly Bizarre Film that Deserves more Attention.

Strange little domestic drama concerning ex-soldier Ralph Meeker's attempts to readjust to civilian life many years after the war. Generally happy and normal, he can't handle rain, as it serves as a frightening reminder of the rain-soaked conditions he was constantly exposed to during one particularly brutal war time stint.

An extremely handsome looking movie, I was surprised at how the director, Fred Wilcox, composed so many of his shots in such a glistening, almost immaculate way. There always seems to be a lot going on inside the frame. It's visually exciting, almost experimental at times, a novel choice for this subject matter. There's one almost David Lynch-ian scene where Meeker is making an important phone call, and the little daughter is playing in the background, wandering through the house with a bag over her head saying "Give me some eyes. Give me some eyes". Filmed in a dream-like, consciously artistic way, it's quite odd.

All the performances are fine, especially James Whitmore's. He nails the big scene at the end, even though the important revelation about Meeker is sort of a dud. The film is also noteworthy in that it contains two well written women's roles. Nancy Davis plays a loving housewife and mother, but she's complicated and rounded out in a way that most women in these sorts of films around this time weren't allowed to be. And Jean Hagen plays a difficult, rather confounding mental hospital nurse who falls in love with Meeker. Frankly, their whole relationship felt a little confused and hurried but at least Hagen was not the typical angelic girlfriend.

This is a pretty intelligent, realistic and sensitively handled examination of mental illness. And it achieves the somewhat remarkable effect (almost as if it were a horror film) of portraying the simple event of rainfall as something sinister and threatening - its occurrence to be feared not just by Meeker's character but by all those who care about him as well.