When a genuine American hero becomes a star — Audie Murphy’s ‘To Hell and Back’

Stick around for a thorough review of soft-spoken Texas soldier turned Hollywood cowboy Audie Murphy’s World War II memoir “To Hell and Back,” Universal’s top box office champ for 20 years straight until defeated by Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” in 1975. In the accompanying still Murphy lets eldest child Terry examine a German helmet during the Bakersfield, California, location filming for “To Hell and Back,” September — October 1954. Image Credit: The Vic Mizzone Collection / Universal Studios

To Hell and Back, distributed by Universal International Pictures in September 1955, recounts the story of Audie Murphy’s battle heroics. The most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, Murphy enlisted at 17 with the help of elder sister Corrine, who surreptitiously lied about his age.