Movie review – “Beyond Glory” (1948) **1/2

Interesting military drama in the vein of A Few Good Men. George Colouris is a lawyer defending a West Point Cadet who has been accused of lying. You know Colouris is a baddie because he starts off saying West Point is undemocratic. He’s representing a man whose son has been kicked out of West Point on the word of a senior cadet. Alan Ladd. Since Alan Ladd plays the lead you know he’s on the side of right.

In flashbacks we see scenes of cadets arriving at West Point where they essentially bullied by senior cadets (including Ladd and some actors who must be the real McCoy); they even have their heads shaved a la Full Metal Jacket and Ladd is clearly giving the young guy a hard time. It’s interesting to look at a world of cadets and allegations of bullying and “honour”.

The story then flips on its head and we go into Ladd’s backstory, see how he was drafted and a bit cocky, then became a war hero, but a depressed one – Best Years of Our Lives territory (where he kicks his depression by going back into the army, which is interesting). The story then flips on its head again and becomes about Ladd’s guilt for disobeying an order which caused the death of a superior officer. He feels bad about it, even going to the man’s widow (Donna Reed) and snapping at her that it was his fault – how about let the poor girl think the Germans did it, mate?

This is a more solemn, dour Ladd than usual. It’s a decent performance though it lacks the bounce when he plays a cynical tough guy. Audie Murphy appears sporadically throughout the film in a small role as one of Ladd’s fellow cadets. It was one of Murphy’s first performances; his boyish looks and Southern accent are striking. There is a strong support cast: Henry Travers, George Macready, Donna Reed… and Dwight D Eisenhower, as himself at the end.

John Farrow’s direction is brisk. The screenplay (worked on by, among others, Jonathan Latimer) jumps around in time with plenty of flashbacks. It never quite works – too many themes, different stories, sweet Donna Reed is a little dull, and it’s too obvious and pat that Ladd is going to be revealed to be heroic at the end (“oh I just forgot I was knocked out”… sorry, bit weak). But it’s always watchable primarily because it’s set in such an interesting world – West Point, where bullying is part of the program, they have their own weird rituals, there are limits on dating, etc.