Hell Is for Heroes (1962)

Don Siegel brings his tough worldview and crisp, no-nonsense direction to this quintessential World War II drama of an undermanned American platoon in France holding off a German advance through sheer bluff and bravery. Steve McQueen is curt and surly as the insubordinate loner whose tactical skills and soldiering savvy make him indispensable to his new unit. His reputation precedes him, but commander Fess Parker is in no position to be choosy when he learns that his tired platoon will not be shipping home as rumored, but tossed into a ragged new offensive. Harry Guardino costars as the soulful Sarge; James Coburn is the slow-talking, forever-tinkering mechanic; Bobby Darin is the scavenger with a small fortune in trinkets; and Nick Adams is the Polish orphan and unit mascot. Bob Newhart makes his feature debut as a hopelessly lost typing clerk drafted into the undermanned unit and re-creates his nightclub shtick making phony phone calls near a Nazi listening post in the pillbox. Like Pork Chop Hill, this film is less a patriotic flag waver than a "war is hell" drama that frames the battle not in its tactical importance (which is negligible) but in its cost in human life. McQueen's taciturn performance as a ruthlessly effective soldier and Siegel's tough, lean direction make it a modest classic of the genre. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

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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