Audie Murphy: Not Just a Star, an American Hero
Back in the day, you couldn't get much bigger than Audie Murphy. As the most honored soldier in World War II with 21 medals, Murphy penned a bestseller called To Hell and Back, a compelling tome full of the brutalities of war.
After the memoir hit the bestseller list, it led to a biographical movie in 1955 starring -- who else? -- Audie Murphy. The film shattered box office records and the certified American Hero became a sought-after Hollywood Celebrity who, despite suffering post traumatic stress syndrome, went on to star in 44 movies, 33 of which were Westerns.
But Murphy's path to stardown wasn't without skeptics: In the train robbery movie, Night Passage, Audie, as the Utica Kid, faces off against Jimmy Stewart's Grant McLaine. Director Anthony Mann supposedly quit the film because he felt Audie -- hero or no hero -- was too short to play the taller Stewart's sibling, and was replaced by James Neilson. Night Passage plays this weekend with Seven Ways From Sundown. In it, Murphy, as Seven Jones, is hired as a Texas Ranger to track down a devious killer.
Seven Ways from Sundown, Saturday, March 1 @ 8:30AM | 7:30C; Night Passage @12:30PM | 11:30C on AMC. For a complete schedule, click here.
Thanks AMC for showing more Audie movies.Please show some of the ones that are rarely shown.
Seven Ways from Sundown is one of my favorites,Audie is a lot like himself.A sweet guy,loyal and smart. this is one of his best. the chemistry w/Barry Sullivan is very good.
audie murphy is a native texan, for those of you who dont understand the meaning of that word, it means he was born within the texas border if youre not born here youre not a texan, and not everything is big in texas, audie murphy was a man of short stature and came from a small rural farm community and went into the army to take care of his mother and siblings, but the heart and sould of the man came out in ww2 and besides who else but a texan would be crazy enough to go up against the odds he faced except a texan, im sure he got some of his motivation from texas history, especially about the alamo, oh yes, im from san antonio, and yes i was born here. save your confederate bills, the south will rise again.