The Glory Among Men

"The Glory Among Men" presents men struggling to maintain their moral center when faced with the immoral necessities of war. This particular struggle revolves around a thoroughly unlikable squad member who becomes pinned down by a German machine gun nest. Should the squad abandon him? Should they attempt to rescue him? Is this loathsome man worth dying for? Watching the glory achieved by this small band of ordinary soldiers is great entertainment.

In his second outing behind the camera, Vic Morrow provides superb direction for a script that is, at times, heavy-handed and overstocked with Christian symbolism. Considering the large sections of script that are devoid of action, Morrow amazingly keeps a firm hand on the pacing. But Morrow, the director, goes overboard with some ostentatious shots that do more to show off Morrow's creativity than to illuminate the story. These include "showy" reflection shots, half-face closeups of himself, and some rough hand-held camera work at the beginning. He makes good use of some lovely long-lens shots with a foreground closeup of the squad and way way in the background, Mason trapped on the tree. Kudos to the effects and technical people. The lighting is absolutely sumptuous, especially the night scenes, with flares falling, backlighting Caje, Littlejohn, and Kirby and catching a defenseless Saunders out in the open.

The no-man's land where Hacker is abandoned is a sound stage set. Vic Morrow worked closely with the set crew to create the stark, surrealistic setting. The grays and blacks, trees with no foliage, and barren ground turns the surroundings into an alien landscape.

Conlan Carter: "I was having a little bit of trouble with this one scene, about what to do with it, and he said, don't do nothing. And it worked extremely well. It was just a simple little quick line. It was just the little things like that that he could do. He was just good."