A Walk in the Sun

A Walk in the Sun (1945)

THEY FOUGHT BEST WHEN IT WAS HOPELESS!

It's 1943 and the allied landings in and around the town of Salerno,Italy are underway.A platoon from the U.S 36th Infantry Division is tasked with advancing 6 miles inland to blow a bridge before clearing a nearby farmhouse, with the hope of blocking an expected counter attack on the Division's bridgehead.

Date of release
1945-12-25
TMDB
5.9 / 10 (64)
Runtime
1h 57m
Genres
War
Director
Lewis Milestone

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 1 · Nominations: 0. Including: National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

A Walk in the Sun is a 1945 American war film based on the novel by Harry Brown, who was a writer for Yank, the Army Weekly based in England. The book was serialized in Liberty Magazine in October 1944.

Production

Actor Burgess Meredith, who eventually narrated the film, persuaded his friend Samuel Bronston to produce a film based on the book by Harry Brown. Due to problems with creditors, Bronston had to shut down production and the project was taken over by Superior Productions, which included the director Lewis Milestone Bronston filed a lawsuit, and in an out-of-court settlement received 21.25% of the film's profits.

The Army assigned Colonel Thomas D. Drake to the film as technical advisor. Drake had risen from private to sergeant in World War I. He was later commissioned and eventually commanded the 168th Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division in the North African campaign, where he and his regiment were captured by the Germans at the Battle of Kasserine Pass.

Because of war-time shortages, US vehicles and aircraft stand in as enemy vehicles; most notably an American half-track is painted as a German half-track, and a P-51 plays the role of an "enemy" aircraft (probably intended to be either a C.205 or Bf 109). Later, P-38s (as American aircraft) engage a radial engined "enemy" plane (a T-6 Texan posing as a Fw 190) during the film's climax.

In January 1945, Milestone showed the film to the U.S. Army for their approval. The Army was pleased with the film but requested two changes.

The Army requested a briefing scene at the film's beginning to explain the platoon's mission. They believed the film gave the impression that the platoon meandered about without an objective. Milestone authorized the shooting of such a scene but whether it was filmed but later edited out of the release no one is sure; however, a brief scene in the landing craft has the platoon sergeant explaining to the men, and the audience, that they had been b…

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