Films that Promote Peace & Nonviolence

Red Badge of Courage

The Red Badge of Courage
John Huston, Audie Murphy, Bill Mauldin, John Dierkes

Based on the novel by Stephen Crane, the film stars real-life war hero Audie Murphy as a Civil War soldier who must redeem himself in his own eyes after an act of cowardice. When he finally gets his opportunity, he realizes that he is no less frightened than before; it is simply that he has learned to push on in spite of that fear.

TV Guide Review: John Huston always insisted that this Civil War battle picture examining the fine line between cowardice and bravery, "could have been" his greatest film, and certainly it is among the director's best, despite the tampering of studio executives. Audie Murphy, the most decorated hero of WWII, is Henry Fleming, a youth who joins the Union army and grows restless waiting for the orders that will take him into battle. When news finally comes that his unit is to join others for an impending battle, he turns braggart. But faced with the enemy, Murphy runs in terror, only to confront his fear later and return to his unit for another battle. Huston's direction is vivid in every scene; the film's battle sequences, however, are its most impressive element. In more pensive moments, THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE is a moving study of Americans fighting Americans, and the reluctance many of them bring to this awful task. Much of the credit for the overall visual effect of the film goes to cameraman Harold Rosson, who lends it a gritty, hardscrabble feel, marvelously capturing the period. Huston left the production immediately after its completion to fly across the world to make THE AFRICAN QUEEN, leaving his film in the hands of studio chiefs who cut it as they saw fit. They removed much of the director's questioning of the necessity for warfare (unacceptable during the Cold War), adding narration by James Whitmore and reducing the running time to a scant 69 minutes. Because the film didn't play well with premiere audiences, MGM sent it out without fanfare, offering it as a second feature on double bills-- hardly a way to recoup production costs. Audiences failed to identify with the film's grim realism and its mostly unknown cast, and the classic Crane story wasn't enough of a draw to insure box-office success. Huston maintained that the movie as he filmed it was one of his favorites, and in the 1970s an attempt was made to revive the uncut version. To Huston's knowledge, however, a print of his original cut no longer existed, so the idea was dropped.

The Red Badge of Courage

Learning Guide to:

    The Red Badge of Courage

Subjects: U.S./1860 - 1865; Literature/U.S.;
Character Development: Courage in War; Redemption;
        Coming of Age;
Ethical Emphasis: Responsibility.

SELECTING THE MOVIE     Quick Discussion Questions

Age: 10+; Drama; 1951; 70 minutes; B & W; Available from Amazon.com.

Description: This adaptation of Stephen Crane's classic novel follows the experience of a raw recruit to the Union Army through his first two days of battle. At the beginning he is terrified and runs away. The film shows how he comes back and claims his self-respect and his manhood.

Benefits: This film shows how, even if you prove a coward in one battle, you can redeem yourself in the next. It shows a boy coming to manhood in battle and what battles were like in the War Between the States.

Possible Problems: NONE.

Selected Awards: 1951 National Board of Review Awards: Ten Best Films of the Year.

Featured Actors: Audie Murphy, Bill Mauldin, Douglas Dick, Royal Dano, Andy Devine, Robert Easton Burke, Arthur Hunnicutt.

Director: John Huston.

USING THE MOVIE

Helpful Background:

The Civil War resulted in unprecedented blood letting on both sides. No previous war had seen thousands upon thousands of soldiers killed in battle after battle. Soldiers and officers were unprepared for this carnage. See Helpful Background Sections to Gettysburg and Glory. Watching The Civil War, a nine part documentary on the War Between the States will also provide excellent background on the War Between the States.

Words and phrases: Johnny Reb; Yankee; the Union; drilling; "on the double;" Napoleon.

Discussion Questions:

[Standard Questions Suitable for Any Film].
When Fleming was standing sentry in the moonlight by the river, why did the rebel soldier call to him to go back into the shadows? Why didn't the rebel soldier just shoot him?
What types of guns were the soldiers using? How did they work?
Why was the soldier trying to take the pig? Was this legal? Have you ever heard the term "live off the land" or "requisition?" What do they mean?
What was so important about taking the confederate flag?

Character Development
Courage in War
Why did the soldiers in the regiment think at first that it had lost half its men but realize later that only a few had been killed?
What is a little red badge of courage as the term is used in this film?
Why did the officers drill and drill the soldiers until the soldiers were sick of it?
Remember that just before the Union soldiers charged, the drummer boys started playing their drums. What was the purpose of the drummers?
Why were officers posted to positions behind the lines during each battle?

Redemption and Coming of Age
[Quick Discussion Questions:] How did Henry Flemming change during the film?
After Henry ran away, he heard a bird singing and threw a stick at it. Then, at the end of the movie, after Henry had been carrying the flag, he heard another bird singing and had a different reaction. Why?
When Henry came back to the front lines, why wasn't it enough for him to simply stand and fight like most of the other soldiers? Why did he put himself in special danger?
Why did Henry confess to Wilson? Why didn't he make a full confession?

Ethical Emphasis
(Teachwithmovies.org is associated with Character Counts and uses The Six Pillars of Character to organize ethical principals.)

Discussion Questions Relating to Ethical Issues are designed to maximize the use of this film to teach ethical principles and critical viewing. One concept from The Six Pillars of Character that is raised in this film is Responsibility (Do what you are supposed to do; Persevere: keep on trying!; Always do your best; Use self-control; Be self-disciplined; Think before you act — consider the consequences; Be accountable for your choices)
What Pillar of Character was Henry honoring when he came back to his regiment and fought?

Bridges to Reading: The Red Badge of Courage is an excellent book for young readers. Other historical novels dealing with this period include: A Dangerous Promise: The Orphan Adventures, by Joan Lowery Nixon; Behind the Lines, by Isabell Holland; Mountain Valor, by Gloria Houston; and Jim-Dandy, by Hadley Irwin. For a nonfiction book about the battle of Bull Run that has been recommended for children 10 - 14 years, see Bull Run, by Paul Fleischman. Also recommended are: Prelude to War edited by Carter Smith and Behind the Lines also edited by Carter Smith.

Other Movies on Related Topics: All films listed in the Subject Matter Index: U.S./Civil War Section. Topics Index under U.S./Civil War.

Links to the Internet: Shotgun's Home of the American Civil War is excellent, comprehensive and has links to many other valuable web sites about the Civil War. A Web site entitled The American Civil War also provides links to hundreds of web sites about the The War Between the States.

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

American Literary Classics - Red Badge of Courage All 24 chapters on-line!
http://www.americanliterature.com/RBC/RBCINDX.HTML

The Red Badge of Courage This is a hypertext formatted version of the Project Gutenberg edition.
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/rgs/mosaic/badge-ftitle.html

UTEL: The Red Badge of Courage Another html on-line version on the entire text.
http://dev.library.utoronto.ca/utel/fiction/cranes_redb/redb_titlepage.html

The Red Badge of Courage - a Critical Reception Early reviews of Crane's work raised critical issues.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/CRANE/reviews/section1.html

The Red Badge of Courage - Video Purchase Drama, 1951 , B&W , Running time: 70 minutes. Order on-line.
http://www.videoflicks.com:80/VF/17/017720.Htm

Stephen Crane (1871-1900)" PAL: Perspectives on American Literature-A Research and Reference Guide An Online Ongoing Project, ©Paul P. Reuben. A brilliant writer, Crane was dead at twenty eight. Nevertheless, in an extraordinary burst of energy, he produced two great books Maggie and The Red Badge of Courage, wrote impressive poems, and ninety pieces of short fiction.
http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap6/crane.html

Stephen Crane: Man, Myth & Legend This is a collaboratory project for Professor Michele Maynard's "Masterworks of American Literature" class at the University of Texas at Austin.
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~mmaynard/Crane/crane.html

The Great Plain Chautauqua Society - Stephen Crane
http://www.gp-chautauqua.org/html/stephen_crane.html

DMS Stephen Crane History Page Created by Doug Edwards, this page lists significant events in Stephen Crane's life. American writer and poet Stephen Crane was one of the first naturalist writers, who described humanity truthfully and objectively. Naturalist writers used detached narration, attention to detail, and characters from lower social classes.
http://www.uakron.edu/english/richards/edwards/crane1.html

The Red Badge of Courage Teach with Movies Learning Guide (U.S./1860 - 1865; Char. Dev.: Redemption, Coming of Age; Courage in War; Ethical Emphasis: Responsibility) [10+]

Civil War Resources On-line

Civil War Resources
http://www.usafa.af.mil/dfeng/cwarres.htm

Letters from an Iowa Soldier in the Civil War These letters are part of a collection written by Newton Robert Scott, Private, Company A, of the 36th Infantry, Iowa Volunteers.
http://www.ucsc.edu/civil-war-letters/home.html

Selected Civil War Photographs he Selected Civil War Photographs Collection contains 1,118 photographs. Most of the images were made under the supervision of Mathew B. Brady, and include scenes of military personnel, preparations for battle, and battle after-effects. The collection also includes portraits of both Confederate and Union officers, and a selection of enlisted men.
http://rs6.loc.gov/cwphome.html

The American Civil War, 1861-1865 World Wide Web Information Archive Serving historians, educators, reenactors, and the interested public since August 1994.
http://www.access.digex.net/~bdboyle/cw.html

Civil War and Living History Web Sites
http://reenact.org/home/

The American Civil War A great site with links to practically everything!
http://homepages.dsu.edu/jankej/civilwar/civilwar.htm

Civil War Websites Lots of links!
http://www.geocities.com/~mando2802/links2.html

US Civil War Center's Movie Collection Title, Description, and Dates of Civil War-based movies. http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/projects/movies.htm