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FESTIVAL HONORS WAR HERO & FILM STAR AUDIE MURPHY THIS YEAR

 Since 9/11 America has rediscovered heroes. The Lone Pine Film Festival is honoring the most decorated hero of World War II, Audie Murphy, on October 11, 12, and 13th. Audie Murphy made three of his best movies in Lone Pine after his military service was done. The Festival is showing Posse From Hell and presenting a panel of experts who either worked with the star or have researched his story extensively.

 Part of being a hero is self-sacrifice and Audie Murphy's personal story was one of success and sacrifice that still inspires people today. Audie was born on June 20, 1924 near the little town of Kingston, Texas on a sharecropper's farm. When Audie was 12, his father deserted the family and when he was 16, his mother died and he went to work as a farm hand, forcing him to place his three younger siblings in an orphanage. Sue Gossett, author of The Films and Career of Audie Murphy, and a Festival panel guest this year, reports, "Audie mourned his mother's passing the rest of his life."
Audie in "Posse from Hell"

 After the war broke out, he enlisted, being sent first to North Africa. Later, in Sicily, he killed two Italian soldiers escaping on white horses. When his platoon leader asked why he did it, Audie replied, "It was my job." Finally, he returned home with every medal the country could bestow, including three purple hearts and was lauded as "The most decorated combat soldier of World War II." He was overwhelmed by his country's gratitude. But he still had to earn a living. He went to Hollywood in 1945 at the invitation of James Cagney, who saw the young man's star quality, but after a year nothing had developed. He left the Cagney household and depended on the hospitality of friends until a few parts came his way. Finally, back in Texas, he was cast in the film Bad Boy and his career took off, albeit slowly

 His first marriage to starlet Wanda Hendrix ended quickly, but his second marriage to Pamela Archer produced two sons. His hard life and the violence he had seen so young had taken a personal toll of Audie, but his film career accelerated, as he worked hard on his skills as an actor.

 When he came to Lone Pine for his three films, he was at the top of career and critics consider them among his best. Hell Bent For Leather opened in 1960 and Posse From Hell in 1961. Finally Showdown opened in 1963.

 In Posse From Hell, Audie stars as a gunfighter who hunts down four escaped desperadoes who killed his friend and wreaked havoc on a small town. Robert Nott notes that Posse signaled the slow evolution of Murphy's on -screen persona from a naïve cowpoke forced to act because of circumstance to a tightlipped veteran. Nott writes, "The Murphy character would change, through the 1960's into a hardened, humorless leader with little use for other men. 'None of you are worth a damn' he tells his posse, a group thrown together…."

 Sue Gossett records an interesting event that happened in Lone Pine during the filming of Posse From Hell. They were filming at Rattlesnake Hill, known to most locals, and the crew and cast found the name appropriate, spotting more than thirty rattlers even before the cameras began to roll. Gossett writes, "The reptiles were removed by a professional herpetologist before the company could get into the mood of their work."

 One critic wrote of Murphy's performance, "Audie Murphy, whose heroic exploits in real life make him ideally suited for and extra believable, does his usual commendable restrained job in super heroic roles." Audie Murphy was a believable killer on the screen because of his experiences as a killer during the war.

 The Panel at the Festival, scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, October 13 has several notable members. The moderator is producer William Wellman, Jr. who worked with Audie. Author Sue Gossett, mentioned above, will also be on hand. Earl Bellamy directed Audie in one of his later films Gunpoint.

 Neil Summers worked with Audie several times and wrote the forward for Gossett's book. He plans to be in Lone Pine for the panel. Of Murphy, he said, "Audie Murphy wasn't an actor trying to be a man. Audie was a man who was an actor. We are sorely lacking for men in this country, and there is hardly a day goes by that I don't think of Audie and how he impressed me and how kind he was to me."

 Paul Picerni, an actor who worked with Audie in his movies rounds out the panel. Also as part of this special commemoration, Barbara Bahl, our local Audie enthusiast, has developed and printed a self-tour in the Alabamas visiting many of the spots used in Audie's three movies here, along with illustrations of the location from the film in the pamphlet. The Audie Murphy Self-guided Tour of the Alabamas is free and will be available at the Festival in several places. Hero, actor, family man, businessman, patriot: Audie Murphy's life will be celebrated and explored this year at the Lone Pine Film Festival October 11,12,13th.

Audie Murphy and Neil Summers
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