Battle Hymn
Robert Mitchum lobbied for the lead role. However, the real Col. Dean Hess wouldn't hear of a former jailbird portraying him. He personally approved Rock Hudson instead.,When Skidmore is wounded and coming back to land, the exterior shots show the canopy open, but in the closeups of Don DeFore (Skidmore) the canopy is closed.,Old Man, Lun-Wa: But, Colonel, you seem troubled.
Col. Dean Hess: There's nothing so terrible as war. I killed today.
Old Man, Lun-Wa: Yes, war is evil. I see what is in your heart. Colonel, may a poor, old carver of ivory babble for a moment? Understand that this is no more than babble and may not have more worth than a handful of sand. In times like these can a man of good conscience ask others, 'Protect me, kill for me, but do not ask me to stain my hands?' What must one do when a choice between two evils is all that is offered? To accept the lesser can sometimes be the only choice. In order to save at times we must destroy and in destructiom creates new life.,Featured in The Twilight Zone: Where Is Everybody? (1959),Little Brown Jug
(uncredited)
American drinking song
Composed by Joseph Winner (1869)
Sung by Jock Mahoney and soldiers during Thanksgiving celebration.,In 1954,Rock Hudson,who was Douglas Sirk's favorite actor,(they made 8 movies together)starred in the remake of John Stahl's "magnificent obsession".It was a tale of redemption.A playboy trying to redeem himself by giving back eyesight to a blind woman (whose disability was his fault).

In "Battle hymn" ,Rock Hudson portrays an air force officer who destroyed an orphanage with thirty-seven children in WW2 and tries to redeem his soul.But it is not as convincing.As users have already pointed out,the true story was altered .The ideology is not clear; the old man's words are not so wise :war is necessary and that is the way God planned it ....

Sirk's pacifism was better applied on "A time to love and a time to die" based on EM Remarque's novel which is much superior to this preachy effort.Colonel Hess deserved a better movie.

Like this ?try these.....

The inn of the sixth happiness (Robson)

55 days at Peking (Ray)

The keys of the kingdom (Stahl),