Very loosely based on the true story of Dean ‘Killer’ Hess, a pilot-turned-preacher, this sentimental war melodrama is directed by Douglas Sirk, starring his favorite actor of the 1950s, Rock Hudson, as a WWII pilot who accidentally bombs a German orphanage.
Guilt-ridden, he atones by helping Korean orphans during the Korean War escape the Communists attacks.
The movie begins with an introduction of a military officer, before switching to the summer of 1950, one month after the invasion of Korea. Hudson is first seen in the small town of West Hampton, Ohio, preaching to his public, but he’s dissatisfied with his life, telling his wife (Martha Hyer) that “I’m not cut out to be a minister.” A flashback depicts his military experience and his big mistake, the bombing of an orphanage.
Meanwhile, his wife gets pregnant but wants to keep it a secret from Hess. They communicate via telephone and mostly through love letters, which are read aloud onscreen. “In reaching beyond myself, I found myself,” Hess writes to his wife, indicating that he had redeemed himself and found peace of mind.
The choral religious music in the background makes the tale seem bombastic and schmaltzy at the same time. The movie contains some exciting aerial action scenes, during which Hess flies missions and trains pilots, hoping for redemption. But “Battle Hymn,” is uncharacteristic of Sirk’s more polished and ironic melodramas of the 1950s.
Like other biopics, Battle Hymn takes significant artistic license in depicting Hess the life and wartime activities. The film depicts Dean Hess as a minister in West Hampton, Ohio, retired from active duty, who volunteers for combat service in the Air Force in July 1950. In reality, Hess was recalled to duty in July 1948, and transferred to Japan in April 1950, two months before the North Korean invasion. Furthermore, Hess had stopped preaching in December 1941 after first enlisting in the Air Force, and at the time of his recall was completing a doctoral degree in history and psychology at OSU.
The film fictionalizes an incident in which Hess accidentally killed 37 children in Germany during World War II, after dropping a bomb on an orphanage. The real incident occurred in Kaiserslautern, whereas the film states it took place in “Kaiserberg,” the birthplace of his late grandmother. Furthermore, Hess did not return to the site after the incident occurred as depicted in the film.
Lt. Col. Hess, the film’s technical advisor didn’t succeed in making the film more authentic, but he voiced his opposition to Universal’s first choice to play him, Robert Mitchum.
The movie was shot in Nogales, Arizona, and the director of the Orphans Home of Korea brought 25 orphans to reprise their real lives on film.
Popular at the box-office, Battle Hymn earned $3.9 million, reaffirming Rock Hudson’s star position in the late 195os and 1960s.
Cast
Rock Hudson as Lt. Col. Dean Hess
Anna Kashfi as En Soon Yang
Dan Duryea as Sgt. Herman
Don DeFore as Capt. Dan Skidmore
Martha Hyer as Mary Hess
Jock Mahoney as Maj. Moore
Philip Ahn as Lun-Wa
James Edwards as Lt. Maples
Carl Benton Reid as Deacon Edwards
Release date: February 14, 1957.
Running time: 108 minutes
End Note:
For Douglas Sirk-Rock Hudson collaborations, which are better and more enjoyable, please read our reviews of “Magnificent Obsession,” “All That Heaven Allows,” “Written on the Wind,” and “The Tarnished Angels.”
