Audie Leon Murphy was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. 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 the age of 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 and out of ammunition.
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 upon the 1957 novel by Alan Le May, author of The Searchers. Uncommonly for its time, the film spotlights the issue of racism against Native Americans and people who were believed to have Native American blood in the Old West. The film is also known for its problems behind the scenes.
The Outlaws Is Coming is the sixth and final theatrical comedy starring The Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita. Like its predecessor, The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze, the film was co-written, produced and directed by Moe's son-in-law, Norman Maurer. The supporting cast features Adam West, Nancy Kovack, and Emil Sitka, the latter in three roles.
Naftuli Hertz "Nathan" Juran was an Austrian-born film art director, and later film and television director. As an art director, he won the Oscar for Best Art Direction in 1942 for How Green Was My Valley, along with Richard Day and Thomas Little. His work on The Razor's Edge in 1946 also received an Academy nomination. In the 1950s, he began to direct, and was known for science fiction and fantasy films such as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. He was also the brother of quality guru Joseph M. Juran.
Tumbleweed is a 1953 American Western film directed by Nathan Juran and starring Audie Murphy, Lori Nelson, and Chill Wills. The film is based on the story "Three Were Renegades" by Kenneth Perkins, originally published in the December 1938 issue of Blue Book. IMDb and other sources mistakenly call the film a remake of the 1948 film Relentless, which was based on a similarly named story, "Three Were Thoroughbreds," by Perkins. The later story, "Three Were Renegades," was published as a sort-of sequel to the earlier story, "Three Were Thoroughbreds," and the plotlines of the two films mirror the plotlines of their respective source stories.
Destry is a 1954 American western film directed by George Marshall and starring Audie Murphy, Mari Blanchard, Lyle Bettger and Thomas Mitchell.
Drums Across the River is a 1954 American Technicolor Western film directed by Nathan Juran and starring Audie Murphy, Walter Brennan and Lyle Bettger.
The Duel at Silver Creek is a 1952 American Western film directed by Don Siegel; his first film in the Western genre. It starred Stephen McNally, Audie Murphy and Faith Domergue. It was the first time Murphy had appeared in a film where he played a character who was good throughout the movie. The working titles of the film were Claim Jumpers and Hair Trigger Kid.
Posse from Hell is a 1961 American Western film directed by Herbert Coleman and starring Audie Murphy and John Saxon.
Ride Clear of Diablo is a 1954 American Technicolor Western film directed by Jesse Hibbs starring Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Susan Cabot and Abbe Lane. made for Universal Pictures. Cabot and Murphy had appeared in two films together previously.
Law and Order is a 1953 American Western film directed by Nathan Juran and starring Ronald Reagan, Dorothy Malone and Preston Foster.
The Guns of Fort Petticoat is a 1957 American Western film produced by Harry Joe Brown and Audie Murphy for Brown-Murphy Pictures. It was based on the 1955 short story "Petticoat Brigade" by Chester William Harrison (1913–1994) that he expanded into a novelization for the film's release. It was directed by George Marshall, distributed by Columbia Pictures and filmed at the Iverson Movie Ranch and at Old Tucson.
Bad Boy is a 1949 American drama film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Audie Murphy, Lloyd Nolan and Jane Wyatt. It was Murphy's first leading role. It was distributed by the independent studio Allied Artists.
The Texican is a 1966 American Techniscope Western film produced and written by John C. Champion and directed by Lesley Selander. It is a paella western remake of their 1948 film Panhandle adapted for the persona of Audie Murphy that featured Broderick Crawford as the heavy. The film was re-titled Ringo il Texano in Italy to coincide with the popularity of the Ringo Spaghetti Western film series.
Cast a Long Shadow is a 1959 American Western film directed by Thomas Carr and starring Audie Murphy and Terry Moore. The film was based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Wayne D. Overholser.
Six Black Horses is a 1962 American Western film directed by Harry Keller and starring Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea and Joan O'Brien.
The Quick Gun is a 1964 American Techniscope Western film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Audie Murphy. It was the second of four films produced by Grant Whytock and Edward Small's Admiral Pictures in the 1960s.
Gunpoint is a 1966 American Western film directed by Earl Bellamy and starring Audie Murphy. It was Murphy's final film for Universal Pictures.
A Time for Dying is a 1969 American Western film written directed by Budd Boetticher with a cameo role by Audie Murphy, who also produced the film, as Jesse James. It was Murphy's last film, as well as the final dramatic feature for Boetticher.
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.
