Hell Is For Heroes (1962)

Steve the Soldier

Steve in fine form as a rugged loner trapped by Germans with a few of his fellow dogfaces. More like a tv show than a movie because of the cheap set and low-budget look of the whole film it manages to sail along holding one's interest with lots of dramatic interest by scenery-chewers like Bob Newhart doing a long comedy shtick somewhat peculiarly in the middle of the film. This movie did a lot of good for McQueen's career and helped cement its status as a classic of the genre. September 30, 2008

Realistic war drama

To me this was a more realistic war film than many that were released. It shows the realities and the inhuman horror better than any film other than "Alls Quiet on the Western Front"... September 1, 2008

Good acting can't save cliched, shallow script.

This will be brief - as the body count rises, what might have been a suspenseful film becomes numbingly repetitive. The characters are types with very done to develop them (and make us care about what happens to them.)

The direction is no more than adequate - the two stars are for the work of the actors, who are all good with very thin material.

Pretty much a waste of an hour and a half of your time (and it seems longer!) August 26, 2008

McQueen carries it

The guy was a far better film actor than some of us realized way back then.

The ending definitely stays with you. Not a great war film, not a bad one either. As someone else stated, perhaps a minor classic. Makes you want to look at other things McQueen was in. July 22, 2008

Low budget, high quality

This movie was filmed near here(Redding, California)so there are plenty of stories around that concern the movie and its stars. The budget was so low that night actions were supposed to have been shot with a dark camera filter during daylight hours (which was cheaper than after hours work for the crew). Another time the leased camera equipment was in the process of being repossessed by its owners for nonpayment of said lease. According to the story McQueen stepped between the repo men and the equipment and in true Steve McQueen style dared them to accomplish their job. Whether the stories are true or not, they make watching an entertaining movie even more entertaining. They also make some of the less than dazzling special effects more tolerable. May 16, 2008

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