georgewilliamnoble So what do we have, well it is in colour and widescreen and it is a world war 2 film set, we are told in the early title "on a island in pacific in 1945". So from the start we are in some imagined battle zone that never did exist. That soon becomes very clear as the war presented is a static one, in which the American's sit around a lot and talk while the Japanese swarm all over. The only battle that could fit any of the facts so far was Guadalcanal but that was 1942 not 1945 and by that time the Americans were advancing everywhere and the Japanese fighting defensively.Well no matter, its only a movie! Then there is how the film looks, clearly it is in the Californian hills with a few lonely rather comic looking palm trees some with the earth newly dug quite visible, and then there is the jungle which appears then disappears again While everywhere is bone dry as dust, no tropical conditions in this pacific war. No matter, the battle scenes fragmented and episodic flicker now and again but look as fake as our hero's wounds observed via red paint on a shoulder. Then for drama we have a battle fatigued captain given a battle fatigued sergeant busted down to private as a replacement who is sent to defend an exposed hilltop position, against great numbers, how Korean war is all of that? The viewers endurance is now tested by a series of dull to very dull flash backs, and worse we are shown his domestic love life.In full 1950's hair and make up our love interest looks from another era as she in fact is.Next up is the films pacing, slow and plodding while none of the characterisation's ring in in any way true at any time. In Fact Broderick Crawford is so bad and so ill fitting he had to be posted to MASH the 1970's comedy show about the Korean War. As for our star and hero of the movie who takes very unconvincingly to shaking, well hes a good looking kid pretending to be a actor but both Robert Wagner and as for this film it is poor spam pretending to be ham.Though out the film is clumsy muddled and flat and the colour and widescreen only add to all the film obvious short comings.Yet i am judging from the prospective of 60 years on but even by the standards of the day, Between Heaven and Hell must of insulted the intelligence of any ww2 vet who paid to see this fabrication at the movies in 1956 with the war still very fresh in the memory.All of the above said i have seen worse, but when a movie takes itself as seriously as this one it just better be good, and this was a film, that was far from really good.Enough Said.Enjoy at your peril.

kayaker36 Philadelphia-born Broderick Crawford makes an unlikely Texan and--wisely--does not try to sound like someone from Waco. But "Waco" is the nickname by which the soldiers in 'G' company are ordered to address him, never "Sir" or "Captain". You see, he doesn't want enemy snipers targeting him--a prudent precaution. However, this officer also is afraid, paranoid in fact, that one of his own men might decide to kill him. Accordingly, any soldier entering Company HQ must leave his weapon outside, and the Company commander is escorted at all times by two enlisted bodyguards armed with Thompson submachine guns.These two blond pretty boys apparently lead a privileged life and they may be more than just bodyguards. They sit languidly about in the grass shack, fondling their weapons and dressed in skimpy and tight-fitting undershirts--every other character in the wartime part of film wears full combat dress. In an early scene, after a typically harsh interview with a replacement soldier, the C.O. is seen retiring to his private quarters in the company of one of these bodyguards. And when that man is later killed in a surprise mortar attack, the gruff, veteran officer is said to have wept! A point is also made of the captain being unmarried. The script of this film is run of the mill. Crawford gets all the memorable lines.The state park in Calabassas, California looks nothing like a South Pacific island. Scenes lurch abruptly from the prewar American South to the battlefront. However, there are some really memorable performances--by a young, almost adolescent, Robert Wagner, by Buddy Ebsen and in particular by Crawford as the psychotic--and possibly perverted--company commander. Among other supporting players, Brad Dexter as a battle-hardened lieutenant disgusted by what he sees at Company HQ and not bashful about showing it, and the portrayal of an arrogant, overbearing bodyguard by the always interesting Skip Homeier merit special mention.

ewarn-1 Another reviewer said it best when he called this film 'unpretentious'. Today, of course, most films are pretentious and overblown. Maybe it's because we now live in a pretentious and overblown country, one where people would never listen to the message of a movie like this.This is one of those rare occurrences where a movie is so well done it seems to exist outside its era. This film was made in 1956, which is amazing, considering the outstanding photography and the striking characterizations. Nobody talks or acts like '50s characters. Things seem a little more dangerous, more savage, so that it would seem you were watching a film from the '80s instead. Of course, in the '80s they didn't make movies like this, they made pretentious ones. But they should have.The big war films of the '50s were usually full of stock characters and unlikely situations, crammed with out of place stock footage. An example of that kind of mediocre war movie is 'To Hell And Back'. This movie is everything that 'To Hell And Back' was not. 'Between Heaven And Hell' has more interesting and unique characters, more authentic weaponry, and the photography is of a much higher standard.The reasons why some rather dull movies become well known, while others, like this, remain obscure, has always been a mystery to me.

bkoganbing The location of what's directly Between Heaven and Hell is the Pacific Theater during World War II. Robert Wagner, recently a sergeant, but busted down for striking an officer, gets himself transferred to a new outfit. He's now in a company in a forward position on a remote Pacific Island where the outcome is still in doubt. There's one crazy captain in charge played by Broderick Crawford. He's a bit combat happy to say the least.Wagner was a spoiled rich kid who married the boss's daughter, Terry Moore, and he's pretty hard on the sharecroppers he manages. That all changes for Wagner during his service in the Pacific where his national guard outfit is now serving and he's with a lot of these same people and his life depends on them and they, him. He gets to reevaluate a whole lot of what he had believed before.Between Heaven and Hell is a no compromising look at the Pacific War and the men who fought it. Wagner does well in the lead role, but acting honors go to Broderick Crawford as the captain who's bucking for a section 8. When he does get relieved, note the interesting suicide by sniper scenario he sets up for himself. Also Buddy Ebsen plays a very similar role to the one he played in Attack which also came out in the same year. Ebsen plays one of the sharecroppers who Wagner previously looked down on. Ebsen was staging something of a comeback himself, he would soon be cast in Walt Disney's Davy Crockett and then in The Beverly Hillbillies. Some of those comic parts make us forget what a fine dramatic actor Ebsen could be. He just wasn't given the chance often enough.For those who like their war pictures with a minimum of flag waving, Between Heaven and Hell is definitely for you.