Audie Leon Murphy was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly decorated enlisted soldier in U.S. history. He received every military combat award for valor available from the United States Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. Murphy received the Medal of Honor for valor that he demonstrated at age 19 for single-handedly holding off a company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, before leading a successful counterattack while wounded.
Quantrill's Raiders were the best-known of the pro-Confederate partisan guerrillas who fought in the American Civil War. Their leader was William Quantrill and they included Jesse James and his brother Frank.
The submarine film is a subgenre of war film in which most of the plot revolves around a submarine below the ocean's surface. Films of this subgenre typically focus on a small but determined crew of submariners battling against enemy submarines or submarine-hunter ships, or against other problems ranging from disputes amongst the crew, threats of mutiny, life-threatening mechanical breakdowns, or the daily difficulties of living on a submarine.
Charles Drake was an American actor.
Alejandro Rey was an Argentine-American actor and television director.
The Unforgiven is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Huston, and starring Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn. Filmed in Durango, Mexico, the supporting cast features Audie Murphy, Charles Bickford, Lillian Gish, John Saxon, Joseph Wiseman, Doug McClure and Albert Salmi. The story is based on the novel The Unforgiven (1957) by Alan Le May. Uncommonly for its time, the film spotlights the issue of racism in the Old West against Native Americans and people who were believed to have Native American blood. The film is also known for the problems that occurred during production.
War is Hell is a 1961 American war film written, produced and directed by Burt Topper. The film stars Baynes Barron and Michael Bell and is narrated by Audie Murphy. A featured cast member is Judy Dan.
Mary Murphy was an American film and television actress of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
Back Door to Hell is a 1964 American-Filipino war film concerning a three-man team of United States soldiers preparing the way for Gen. MacArthur's World War II return to the Philippines by destroying a Japanese communications center. It was produced on a relatively small budget and received lukewarm reviews.
Operation Bikini, also titled The Seafighter, is a war film released in 1963 by American International Pictures. It was directed by Anthony Carras and starred Tab Hunter, Frankie Avalon and Scott Brady.
Robert Lenard Lippert was an American film producer and cinema chain owner. He was president and chief operating officer of Lippert Theatres, Affiliated Theatres and Transcontinental Theatres, all based in San Francisco, and at his height, he owned a chain of 139 movie theaters.
Blue Hawaii is the fourth soundtrack album by the American singer Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2426, on October 20, 1961. It is the soundtrack to the 1961 film of the same name starring Presley. In the United States, the album spent 20 weeks at the number one slot and 39 weeks in the Top 10 on Billboard's Top Pop LPs chart. It was certified Gold on December 21, 1961, Platinum and 2× Platinum on March 27, 1992, and 3× Platinum on July 30, 2002, by the Recording Industry Association of America. In the UK, the album spent 18 weeks at no. 1 on the Record Retailers (RR) album chart. On the US Top Pop Albums chart, Blue Hawaii is second only to the soundtrack of West Side Story as the most successful soundtrack album of the 1960s.
Seven Women from Hell is a 1961 war drama directed by Robert D. Webb and starring Patricia Owens, Denise Darcel, Margia Dean, Yvonne Craig and Cesar Romero about women prisoners in a Japanese World War II prison camp, interned with other prisoners.
Dolores Rae Michaels was an American actress.
Posse from Hell is a 1961 American Western film directed by Herbert Coleman and starring Audie Murphy and John Saxon.
Run Silent, Run Deep is a 1958 American black-and-white war film starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by Commander Edward L. Beach Jr. The picture was directed by Robert Wise and produced by Harold Hecht. The title refers to "silent running", a submarine stealth tactic. The story describes World War II submarine warfare in the Pacific Ocean, and deals with themes of vengeance, endurance, courage, loyalty, and honor, and how these can be tested during wartime.
Audie Murphy was a highly decorated American soldier and Medal of Honor recipient who turned actor. He portrayed himself in the film To Hell and Back, the account of his World War II experiences. During the 1950s and 1960s he was cast primarily in westerns. While often the hero, he proved his ability to portray a cold-blooded hired gun in No Name on the Bullet. A notable exception to the westerns was The Quiet American in which he co-starred with Michael Redgrave. Murphy made over 40 feature films and often worked with directors more than once. Jesse Hibbs who directed To Hell and Back worked with the star on six films, only half of which were westerns. When promoting his 1949 book To Hell and Back he appeared on the radio version of This Is Your Life. To promote the 1955 film of the same name, he appeared on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town. He was a celebrity guest on television shows such as What's My Line? and appeared in a handful of television dramas. Murphy's only television series Whispering Smith had a brief run in 1961. For his cooperation in appearing in the United States Army's Broken Bridge episode of The Big Picture television series he was awarded the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal.
Marjorie Stapp was an American actress who was mainly in low-budget pictures.
The following events occurred in January 1945:
High Velocity is a 1976 action film that was the only film of director Remi Kramer, who also co-wrote the screenplay.
