I just watched “Red Badge of Courage” for the first time and was impressed by the psychological treatment of a company-sized unit of green soldiers in the Civil War. I have seen Gettysburg, Gods & Gens and Glory, but don’t remember such a good study of soldiers. Close ups worked very well I think.

I know that Audie Murphy has been dissed as a lousy actor, but I have to say that he was superb in this movie. His fellow WW2 CIB holder, Bill Mauldin, the famous cartoonist and inventor of Willie and Joe, was no slouch either.

I thought one of the most poignant scenes was the one where Henry Fleming (Murphy) as Union flag bearer, paces a dying Confederate up a hill and gently lays the Reb’s tattered CBF over his dying body.

There was a lot of irony in that movie. Suggesting that Murphy, one of the bravest of the brave combat soldiers, was chicken, must’ve really grated. Also ironic when you consider that Murphy’s people were Confederates from NC as far as I know. And all you ever see in movies is Murphy in blue. Used to be a guy on this board who was related to Murphy’s family, think it was his mom.

All in all I would say that was a great movie, even though director Huston actively hated it because the studio screwed it up so completely. The terrain was all wrong, but as they say if you can get beyond that, there was a lot to be had there.

Of course, the old Arkansas standby, Arthur Hunnicutt, makes the movie worth watching too. His line of “I’ll do all my fightin' standing up,” followed by his hitting the dirt and being called on it, is a classic: “Shut cher dadburned mouth” says he.

He also said, “ A woman, a dog and a walnut tree—the more you beat ‘em, the better it be.”

Not exactly Shakespeare, but close enough to "Mary had a little lamb" to be totally memorable.

Any body have any idea what that means?