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| Between Heaven and Hell | 
 enlarge | Director: Richard Fleischer
Actors: Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, Broderick Crawford, Buddy Ebsen, Robert Keith
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: Video
List Price: $6.98
Buy New: $4.98
You Save: $2.00 (29%)
New (5) Used (6) from $2.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 40874
Format: Color, Original Recording Reissued, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 94
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
UPC: 024543039303
EAN: 0024543039303
ASIN: B000063UV3
Theatrical Release Date: 1956
Release Date: May 21, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
A callow Southern aristocrat (the charismatically challenged Robert Wagner) acquires character and democratic values in the crucible of combat, via a laboriously complicated script that begins in the middle of things and then loads on explanatory flashbacks like a forklift. On "an island in the Pacific, 1945," the scion of a Tennessee cotton dynasty becomes not only comrade-in-arms but also friend to the sharecroppers he once scorned. Although the jungle island is crawling with Japanese snipers and patrols, the greatest danger comes from U.S. officers who are variously incompetent, "yellow," or--in the case of company commander Broderick Crawford--certifiably insane. Screenwriter Harry Brown wrote the World War II classic A Walk in the Sun 11 years earlier, but the characters here are a dull lot and the dialogue terminally flatfooted. However, director Richard Fleischer blocks his action scenes to take full advantage of the CinemaScope format. --Richard T. Jameson
Description
Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, Broderick Crawford and Buddy Ebsen star in this absorbing drama about a young, self-centered recruit who comes of age during WWII. Sam Gifford (Wagner) is a successful cotton planter who treats his sharecroppers as if they were little more than farm machinery. But during combat in the Pacific, as he sees "quality" people crack, endures life under a sadistic officer (Crawford), and learns true friendship, from a "cropper" (Ebsen), Gifford slowly discovers there's more to a person than social class and good breeding.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
A Thinking Man's War Movie June 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
One thing I have learned about reviewing movies is to keep in mind the level of enjoyment experienced, relative to the film and the story it relates. There are numerous very enjoyable, very good films out there that are not remotely Oscar winners, or even artistic successes. This is one of them.
This is what I would call a "thinking man's war film," in that it involves much more than combat action sequences by the score. There are social and behavioral issues at play in this story that when combined, truly contribute to a very good film. Even the "flashbacks" have a way of breaking up the narration in positive ways, to include one's perception of others, based on "class" or position in society. The film sends a clear message that despite the fact we come from different strata of society, we are basically put together the same way. In this film, Robert Wagner undergoes a developmental process that will not only affect his performance on the battlefield, but as a "man" when he returns to the absolutely stunning Terry Moore at the war's end.
The casting for the film is excellent, from Wagner to Buddy Ebsen, Broderick Crawford, Moore, and the various soldiers portrayed. The battle scenes are quite good, and are focused more on individual qualities than on graphic battle sequences. While this may not be a Five Star production, it is well worth owning, and definitely earns Four Stars.
 Nothing depresses or disheartens the blood of a soldier on the battle field more than the sudden sharp sound of a rifle shot and December 17, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Gifford (Robert Wagner) plays a Southern landowner who treats his croppers badly... His beautiful wife Jenny (Terry Moore) just saw a side of him she never saw before... Gifford argues that Jenny has just seen his business side... But Gifford only came to realize the error of his rude ways when he was called to active duty and put among the troops in the Pacific theater in World War II...
The film opens with Gifford reassigned to a company posted up in the hills, a very isolated area under the command of a fanatical and probably queer army captain called Waco (Broderick Crawford).
With brief flashbacks, we discover that Gifford holds a well-earned Silver Star but one day, his emotions became dominant and his self-control completely lost when he assaults an officer in combat nearly killing him...
The attempt of Gifford-- seen to get a little shaky in combat--to master danger as far as to walk right along with the enemy, or not to leave the island without saving a wounded pal, hit the core of what must have happened on battlefields in World War II...
Aside from a beachhead landing and a final battle with the Japanese, Fleisher's film shockingly touches on the US officers martyred at the hands of Japanese snipers...
Good WWII flick August 28, 2006
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a good 50's era Cinemascope war film about a National Guardsman's harrowing experience after his "deep South" unit is mobilized in WWII, and sent into action during the Pacific campaign. Great cast, including Robert Wagner, Buddy Ebsen, and Broderick Crawford.
 WRONG INFO? August 27, 2006
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
THE FIRST REVIEWER CALLED THIS A VHS BUT IF I READ CORRECTLY THE REVIEW SHOULD BE ABOUT A DVD NOT VHS. I READ REVIEWS FOR INFO WHICH MANY TIMES INFLUENCES MY PURCHASE. OH WELL!!!!!!!!!!!
The Cinematography is quite spectacular!! April 10, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I recall watching this movie on color TV in 1969 and being impressed with the visual awe within the story itself. Flashbacks are the basic form of narration. Pay attention and be prepared to watch it a few times to soak it up. This one stands alongside the well-presented WWII films of the 1950's like Battle Cry and The Naked and The Dead, though somewhat flatter in tone.
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