This rotten tomato got the axe at the 26 minute mark ... when some bozo rattles off about the 1955 battle of Tibet for the 3rd time (movie takes place in 43). This is seriously one of the worst WW2 films I have seen ... and I have seen many! On the boring meter it sits atop with the French film "A Man Escaped" ... which was at least artistic.Seriously 90% of the film is idle chatter and that does not make for a good film. More so you can tell that very little money was spent on the film ... it is borderline amateur. Finally the singing narration ... that may have been a good idea in 1945 but it torpedoes in 2015.I could tell this film would get the gong within the first 5 minutes ... yet I tried to hang in there ... thinking it may pull up from the dive ... it did not. Don't waste your time.POST: I cannot believe our boys were such morons as the men portrayed in this film were. This was my parents generation and very few were this simple.

It's 1943 Italy. A group of American soldiers land on a beach near Salerno. The men dig in but their CO has been killed. As they move inland, they are tasked with blowing up a bridge.The problem with all the talking is that they are indistinguishable from one another. I had a tough time trying to lock in on some of the characters. Maybe back in the day, people recognize some of these faces. Without knowing who these characters are, it is a bunch of random soldiers talking. The night shoots are also very dark which only adds to the confusion. One of the soldiers almost falls asleep waiting around and that's kind of how I felt. It's a lot of random talk punctuated by some random action. Action can happen off-screen and some can be brutal. It's suppose to show the fog of war and the mundane of a soldier's existence. It's meandering without the tension. While I appreciate the attempt, it doesn't make for a compelling movie. It would be so much better if I know who these soldiers are.

In Italy, a platoon of American GIs must rid a farmhouse of its Nazi occupants. "A Walk in the Sun" is expertly directed by Lewis Milestone, utilizing Russell Harlan's perceptive camera. It's unusually poetic, for the time, courtesy of writers Harry Brown and Robert Rossen. And, certainly, the film should grow in stature, over the years, when compared to the more typical war dramas released during its era. Upon release, the film was no doubt considered noteworthy for its "realism". Presently, this strength is weighted. Still, the film's substance endures...Strong characterizations are provided by the cast of soldiers. Two stand out, and give the film greater emotional depth. Though it begins, necessarily, as a team effort, reluctant Dana Andrews (as Bill Tyne) emerges as the "hero"; and, John Ireland (as Windy Craven) stands out among the other soldiers. Mr. Andrews is the man who takes command, after leader Herbert Rudley cowers under the pressure. Andrews is terrific; especially, note how he fights off the same war fatigue and mental illness that claimed his predecessor.Mr. Ireland's performance, as a poetic minister's son, is award-worthy. Each of the film's characters attempt to grab you: "the farmer", "the prophet"… accompanied by an almost too sentimental, heart-tugging soundtrack. But, however you try to resist, it's impossible not to fall under Ireland's spell, as he explains "G.I. Dirt", and writes letters home "in his head". While Andrews takes explicit control of the mission, it's Ireland who implicitly provides the battle plan. The film does well in portraying a platoon's waiting, talking, teamwork, and action during war. ******** A Walk in the Sun (12/3/45) Lewis Milestone ~ Dana Andrews, John Ireland, Richard Conte, Lloyd Bridges

Considering the fact that this movie was made so closely to end of WW2, it is a little surprising that it wasn't more of a patriotic effort. In some ways you could consider it ahead of it's time. The characters have flaws, there is a reference to battle fatigue, and heroes die.To be sure, the clichés abound, but they lay them out early in the introduction. A couple of wise guys from Brooklyn (and Jersey City), the yokel, the farmer, the poet, etc. But to their credit, they cast believable actors in the relevant parts. Interestingly, they cast Richard Conte as a wisecracking gunner, and Norman Lloyd as a scout. Both were Jersey City natives and added an air of authenticity to the production. I lived in Jersey City for a while and I can tell you that I could have met these guys at any gin mill in Journal Square and wouldn't have been surprised. Most of the rest of the cast was just as authentic.To be sure, there are problems with the script, but most of them had to do with the constrictions of the times. "Hoist tail". Get it? "The loving army, the loving food, the loving etc". What do you want for 1945? Maybe it was even a little provocative for the times.This movie was part of a transition from the standard WW2 propaganda efforts like Sands of Iwo Jima, Bataan, etc, to a more rational presentation of the horror of war. We hadn't yet progressed to the anti-war era of Platoon or Apocalypse Now, but we were getting there. Realism was creeping into the script.I recommend this movie for it's originality, but be prepared for the routine - just don't let it ruin the movie for you.