Hell Is for Heroes

The Second World War, on the German border. A small American unit was to be pulled back from the line; the order changes and they stay. The line they hold faces a fortification system with a far larger force opposite. Six men are left. Their task is to appear to be holding a wide front: making noise, moving about, persuading the enemy they are many. Among them is Reese; punished repeatedly by the army, reduced in rank, and getting on with nobody. He cannot bear the waiting and decides to do something alone. Don Siegel directs. Steve McQueen plays Reese; Bobby Darin, Fess Parker, James Coburn and Harry Guardino are in the cast. The film does not build the war as a story of heroism; the narrative consists largely of waiting and there is little movement. The matter it treats is that war produces people useful only in war; Reese cannot build a life outside the army. It was shot in black and white and music is barely used; the sound design rests on silence. There were difficulties between McQueen and the production during the shoot and the script was changed. Bobby Darin and other names known at the time as singers are in the cast. The final assault is short and its outcome left uncertain. Its limit is scale; the cast is small, the location limited and the plot thin. Who it is for: viewers who like plain war films and Steve McQueen. Who it is not for: the pace is slow, there is little action, and the ending cold.