A Walk in the Sun

During the World War II Allied invasion of Italy, the film stars Dana Andrews as Sgt. Tyne, one of the officers leading an attack on a farmhouse in the Italian countryside which functions as a German stronghold. When the ranking officers are killed soon after the platoon lands on the beach, Tyne must take over. The film is noted for its attempt to portray the infantryman’s experience realistically, in particular the banter and mid-1940s slang. This WWII film was the first to use a ballad as a thematic element, a practice which, after HIGH NOON, would become a cliché of the 1950s. One of the best WWII films, A WALK IN THE SUN combines documentary-like sequences with a sharp awareness of the isolation of each soldier in the midst of battle.