A Walk in the Sun (1945) on Netflix
A platoon of the Texas Division lands near Salerno, Italy, and is sent six miles inland to destroy a bridge and take a farmhouse. Sergeant Eddie Porter leads the men.
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- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb6.9/104,594 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes86%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1943, as Allied forces go ashore near Salerno, Italy, the Texas Division's lead platoon comes in by landing craft. The lieutenant, the platoon sergeant and the medic are killed before the platoon reaches a wooded area, leaving Sergeant Eddie Porter in command, assisted by Sergeants Tyne and Ward. The platoon's task is to march six miles inland, destroy a bridge and seize a farmhouse, blocking a counterattack expected against the Division's bridgehead. Enemy tanks and planes are a danger, and the men have encounters along the way. Rivera, Jake Friedman, Windy Craven, Archimbeau and McWilliams are among the soldiers.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about A Walk in the Sun (1945)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Because of wartime shortages, American vehicles and aircraft stood in as enemy ones in A Walk in the Sun: an American half-track was painted as a German half-track, a P-51 flew as an enemy plane, and P-38s fought a T-6 Texan posing as a Fw 190 in the film's climax.
- Actor Burgess Meredith persuaded his friend Samuel Bronston to produce a film of Harry Brown's novel; when creditors forced Bronston to shut production down, Superior Productions took over and Bronston's lawsuit ended in an out-of-court settlement giving him 21.25% of the film's profits.
- The U.S. Army asked Lewis Milestone to explain in the film why the platoon's bazooka was never used in the attack on the farmhouse; he complied with a scene in which the bazooka crew reports using up all its shells fighting enemy tanks.
- Lewis Milestone commissioned narrative ballads from Millard Lampell and Earl Robinson; sung by Kenneth Spencer, they replaced much of composer Freddie Rich's instrumental score, and the film's ballad predates the one in High Noon.
- Other ballads written by Earl Robinson and Millard Lampell were cut from the final print after objections from composer Freddie Rich and from preview audiences who disliked the songs.
