Movie Review: The Red Badge of Courage (1951)

Synopsis: Henry Fleming (aka "the Youth) grows tired of drilling with his Union Army regiment during the American Civil War but when they are finally sent into battle, he ends up being one of the men who flee rather than fight. Embarrassed and ashamed, Fleming rejoins his unit only to discover they didn't know he deserted and assumed he had been killed. Determined to face his fears and earn a "red badge of courage" by being wounded in battle, Fleming begins taking unnecessary risks that earn him praise.

Who's in it? The movie stars Audie Murphy, Bill Mauldin, Douglas Dick, Royal Dano and Tim Durant.


Review: I saved The Red Badge of Courage to my movie library a few days ago because I haven't read the book since high school and figured the film might provide a reasonable refresher about the story. As it turns out, it did both and ended up being an enjoyable watch.

I'm not going to go as far as to recommend this movie as a replacement for reading Stephen Crane's book. However, the film does a great job of incorporating passages from the book via the narrator while bringing it to life. At minimum, it gives just enough detail about the book to remind people why it is considered a classic.

I also couldn't have come up with a better casting choice than Murphy, who played Fleming exactly as the character should be played, with a wide range of emotion that included everything from fear and panic to anger and insanity. It effectively portrayed just how easily and quickly war can change a person.

The well-executed battle scenes added to this movie as well. I especially liked how they were shot from Fleming's perspective, showing only what he would be able to see and revealing only the details about the war he would hear. I've seen quite a few movies that will take a viewer out of the moment by trying to do too much and give them an all-seeing perspective. To me, the way this movie filmed the scenes added a bit more suspense and mystery about what would happen next.

My only real complaint is I did feel like the movie might have been a bit too patriotic at times. Part of this, I know, was the result of restrictions from the book it was based on, but I also suspect the movie being released during the Korean War with a World War II hero in the starring role also played into that. Either way, the patriotism seemed a bit forced.

Final Opinion: This is a solid movie that does a great job staying with the source material while providing solid acting and some great visual effects. It's worth taking the time to watch it (and to read the book).

My Grade: A


Here are some reviews of other movies from 1951:

Movie Review: Another Man's Poison (1951)

Movie Review: The Thing From Another World (1951)

Movie Review: Cause for Alarm! (1951)

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