BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL (1956)

With few exceptions, journeyman studio director Richard Fleischer was at his quirky best in scrappy programmers (NARROW MARGIN/’52) early in his career, and at his most lifeless in faceless high-end fare (DOCTOR DOLITTLE/’67).*  But this mid-list WWII character piece, an unusually tough look at Traumatic Stress during island combat in the Pacific Theater, shows him in pretty good form.  Robert Wagner’s the demoted officer, offered a chance to avoid court-martial for striking a superior officer by taking a dangerous assignment under psycho commander Broderick Crawford posted near an enemy buildup.  (Check out Crawford’s snickering tag-team enforcers Frank Gorshin & Skip Homeier.  Yikes!)  While there Wagner gazes into a pool of reflection (no joke, there’s a pool of reflection that goes from muddy green to crystalline blue) where Wagner’s past appears: rich, arrogant Southerner with sharecroppers to lord over; prettiest gal as wife (Terry Moore); Robert Keith as the wise father-in-law he’ll lose in battle.  Needless to say, this is not the best part of the pic.  But it does lead to Wagner getting the shakes in battle and learning to respect all sorts of people he meets as he loses almost everyone.  There’s a bit of far-fetched heroics in the last half-reel, but most of the war action is both well-handled and unexpectedly violent/gruesome for the period.  And all very well cast; Buddy Ebsen’s sympathetic Southern White 'cropper steals the pic.  Fleischer, when at his best, still full of surprises.

DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: An even better, if little-known example of Fleischer’s mid-list work of the time in VIOLENT SATURDAY/’55.  OR: Watch Fleischer actively try to relocate his old form with the creepy modesty of 10 RILLINGTON PLACE/’71. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2020/11/violent-saturday-1955.html  https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2020/12/10-rillington-place-1971.html

SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY:  David Weisbart was a big-time Major Studio editor (mostly Warners) who became a big-time Major Studio producer (mostly 20th/Fox).  Many great editors became great directors (i.e. David Lean), but is there another example of Editor-to-Producer at this high level?