This beat out Shane?

Rating: 6/10 (15 September 2010)

The most interesting thing about this movie is to try and understand why it struck such a chord in 1954. It's not a terrible movie, but suffers from some highly implausible scenes and dialogue. For example, at the end why doesn't Prewitt stop when the soldier yells "stop or I'll shoot"? Throughout the movie he displays remarkable self-control, so this very crucial scene makes no sense. And the really bad lines, like this one by Deborah Kerr, "Of course .. the baby was dead". You didn't know how to use the telephone to call a doctor yourself? On the good side, there are some fine acting performances, and the movie maintains dramatic intensity for most of its duration. But near the end there are a couple of turns which just dissipate the tension without really resolving the conflicts the movie worked so hard to set up. Quite a disappointment, I thought. Again though, it was just after the war, and I wonder how this movie struck viewers in 1954. To win 8 Oscars it must have had a much greater impact than it does today. Despite the great acting performances, to be truly great a movie needs a good story and a great script. In that area, this one falls short.