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CINEMA SEEN - "Battle Cried" by William Margold Sitting precariously in the rickety swing, propelling myself as high as possible, thrusting my legs toward the cloudless sky, trying to see if I could kick a hole in the atmosphere, I was filled with the invincibility of a 11 year old little boy, who knew no fear, and sensed no serious passage of time. It was the summer of 1955. I wasn't even 12 years old yet. But within a few hours, in a movie theater in Harrison, New York, my life would be changed...forever! And so I begin a Cinema Seen page that will be in the issue dated October 2, 2003, which just happens to be my 60th birthday. I probably wouldn't be writing this type of page, except that the person who wrote a book that became a movie, that (within a book review) caused me to create a controversy in my 12th grade English class, that imbued in me the desire to serve my country in 1960, and 31 years later, inspired me to create an image for an industry that will outlive anything that that industry ever does, died earlier this year, and almost 50 years of my life came rushing back at me like a runaway tank, belting me in the gut, and rattling my mind. The man was author/screenplay writer Leon Uris. And the book/film was "Battle Cry." His tough-tender tale was about the United States Marine Corps, and it was drawn from his own experiences as a member of that fighting force during the Second World War. At 11 years old, I was reading the collected works of Albert Payson Terhune, a man who wrote about his dogs ( particularly collies, including Lad, Wolf, Bruce and Treve) so well that their personalities were far more interesting than almost all of the people that I was associating with during that period of my life. Therefore I hadn't read "Battle Cry," which at the time it was published (1953) was considered to be somewhat of an "adult novel" anyway, when I plunked down my quarter at the Harrison movie house, and entered the cool darkness, rather excited about getting to see a war movie. A couple of hours later, I came out wanting very, very, VERY much to be a United States Marine. A few Saturdays ago, appropriately around "matinee"-time, I watched "Battle Cry" on DVD (from Warner Bros.) again. Quite frankly, it isn't very much of a war movie. But it is a damn good film about friendship and camaraderie, luminously flecked with inspirational characters such as Aldo Ray's lyrical lug of a lumberjack, James Whitmore's super-saavy Sergeant Mac, and in particular, John Lupton as bespectacled Marion Hodgkiss, essentially Leon Uris' literary persona, a writer who is befriended by a goldenhearted lady of the evening. Already desirous of one day becoming a published writer, it was Marion Hodgkiss (who, it should be noted, is killed off, probably for associating with the aforementioned femme) who cemented my future aspirations. Yep, I was going to enlist in the Marines...and write the next great war novel. But first I had to deal with a few more years of living. For over three months during my 12th year, I was the guest of Los Angeles in Central Juvenile Hall, being placed there because I was "incorrigible." By the 12th grade at Alexander Hamilton High School in Culver City, I was getting pretty good at cranking out book reviews which sort of read like movie reviews. Up to my final English class in the Spring of 1960, I had been getting all A's on everything that I wrote. But then I ran into a buzz saw of a teacher who felt that my book review of "Battle Cry" was "too good to be the work of a 12th-grader." I opened with "Leon Uris' "Battle Cry" goes off like a grenade in your lap!" And I closed with "'Battle Cry' is about a group of men called 'Huxley's Whores'---you will laugh with them, you will cry with them, you will love with them, and you will die with them, but most importantly, you will never forget them---or the book about them!" And in between, I spun words that caused the class in front of which the book report was read (to supposedly shame me) to applaud when the teacher was through. My honesty was my only defense, and that wasn't good enough. So when I told the teacher what I thought of her, I was exiled to the principal's office for the balance of the semester. And, I was given a D in the class. Oh well, I was going to be a Marine. That would show her. But the Marines decided that because I had been "incorrigible" once, that I might still be, so I was refused the chance to serve my country. (For the record, the Navy used the same excuse a year later...on my 18th birthday!) In 1986, a very special person (who, among other things including being a Marine for six years, had worked "goldenheartedly" on The Block in Baltimore) named Stephanie entered my life. I gave her the adult industry name of Viper. And I adored her. In 1991, I received a letter from a Marine who was fighting in Saudi Arabia, stating that he didn't want to fight for freedom over there, only to have to return to his home country where his consenting adult freedoms were in peril. His sentiments ignited my chance to finally be as much of a Marine as I would ever be. Utilizing the legendary Iwo Jima image as my inspiration, I conceived and created (with the generous help of photographer Brad Willis) the iconic image that graces this page. Sealing the deal of course, is the fact that Viper is the luminous lady at the left/top of the shot. I'm going to try and find a swing on October 2. And if I can fit my fat ass into it, I'm going to try and kick a hole in the atmosphere. Who knows, perhaps I'll get the chance to thank Leon Uris in person...if not right now, then maybe later. Or does being "incorrigible" keep you out of certain other places as well? end NOTE: Originally published in LA Xpress, October 2, 2003 issue. |