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Aldo Ray, Anne Francis, Dorothy Malone, James Whitmore, John Lupton ...( see more  see more... ) , Mona Freeman , Nancy Olson , Raymond Massey , Tab Hunter , Van Heflin , William Campbell

The most interesting--and entertaining--aspect of this long, episodic World War II drama is that it marked the debut of one Justus E. McQueen, who subsequently took the name of the good ol' Arkansas b...( read more  read more... )oy he played in the movie: L.Q. Jones. He's only one of eight or nine Marine recruits who divide the screen time with commanding officer Van Heflin and James Whitmore as a lifer sergeant named Mac, "just Mac," who ramrods their squad and also delivers the movie's overbearing narration. Unfortunately, the narration is necessary to maintain continuity as the CinemaScope production galumphs its way from rounding up the melting-pot cast, to seeing them through basic training and sundry, mostly amatory misadventures in San Diego, to further training in New Zealand, and finally to baptism of fire on Guadalcanal.

Trouble is, among the recruits only McQueen/Jones (whose job is mostly comic relief) and Aldo Ray (as a brawling lumberjack who's never known family life) have any charisma or acting chops--and that's not forgetting Tab Hunter, whose matinee-idol status at the time does not speak well for the '50s. Battle Cry is also a cardinal example of Hollywood's penchant for buying big, lusty, profane bestsellers (by Leon Uris, in this case) and then euphemizing all the lustiness and profanity to appease the censors. Raoul Walsh, the poet laureate of lowdown gusto, does what he can in the circumstances, and as one of the first guys ever to direct a widescreen movie (1930's The Big Trail), he makes the battle scenes roar. --Richard T. Jameson

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38% liked it

1,747 ratings

Unrated, 149 min.

Directed by: Raoul Walsh

Release Date: February 2, 1955

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DVD Release Date: May 13, 2003

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Aldo Ray and Nancy Olson
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Flixster Reviews (32)

  • jam233
    July 13, 2009
    jam233
    Fine World War II film, good cast headed by Van Heflin and Aldo Ray, who particularly stands out. There are some outstanding battle sequences. It is slowed down at times by some dramatic interludes, a little more editing would have been a plus for the film, which is way overlong ...( read more)at two and a half hours.
  • MECreviews
    March 21, 2008
    MECreviews
    I did not really like this movie.
  • johnwcurryiii
    July 1, 2007
    johnwcurryiii
    I remember seeing it when it first came out and still looking for it!
  • dorisgc
    March 8, 2007
    dorisgc
    great very entertaining

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Battle Cry Trivia

  • This movie features a rather comic "battle" between Drapes and Squares.  Answer »
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