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U.S. 1st Infantry Division - A short History of the 'Big Red One'
The 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army
—nicknamed the Big Red One after its shoulder patch—
is the oldest continuously serving division in the United States Army.
The division's motto is "Duty First", with unofficial, but frequently used additional motto of "No Mission Too Difficult, No Sacrifice Too Great", and often a combination of "No Mission Too Difficult, No Sacrifice Too Great - Duty First".
1st Infantry Division
Active:
May 24, 1917
Branch:
Regular Army
Type:
Division
Role:
Infantry
Command structure:
Forces Command
Garrison/HQ:
Fort Riley
Culture and history
Nickname: Big Red One
Motto: "Duty First"
Colors: Red and Blue
Notable battles or wars:
World War I
Operation Torch
Operation Husky
D-Day
Battle of Hurtgen Forest
Vietnam War
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Iraqi Freedom
(Still Active)
Units
From the Division's organization web page,
the units of the 1st Infantry Division are:
1st Brigade Combat Team-- "Devil Brigade"
2d Brigade -- "Dagger Brigade"
3d Brigade -- "Duke Brigade"
4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team -- "Dragon Brigade"
CAB
DIVARTY (Division Artillery), "Drumfire"
Engineer Brigade -- "Sapper's Attack", "Devestator"
Separate Units
1-4 CAV -- "Quarterhorse"
121st Signal Battalion -- "Dangers Voice", "Durable"
101 MI
106 FN
38th PSB
HHC, 1ID -- Headquarters and Headquarters Company
1st MP CO
12th CHEM -- 12th Chemical Company
1ID BAND -- 1st Infantry Division Band
History
World War I
Commanders:
Maj. Gen. William L. Sibert (18 June 1917),
Maj. Gen. R. L. Bullard (14 December 1917),
Brig. Gen. Beaumond B. Buck (5 April 1918),
Maj. Gen. R. L. Bullard (13 April 1918),
Maj. Gen. Charles Pelot Summerall, II (15 July 1918),
Brig. Gen. F. E. Bamford (12 October 1918),
Brig. Gen. Frank Parker (18 October 1918),
Maj. Gen. E. F. McGlachlin, Jr. (21 November 1918)
Narrative
The First Expeditionary Division, later designated the 1st Infantry Division, was Constituted on May 24, 1917 in the Regular Army, and was Organized on June 8, 1917 at Fort Jay, on Governors Island in New York harbor under the command of Brigadier General William L. Sibert, from Army units then in service on the U.S.-Mexico border and at various Army posts throughout the United States.
The original Table of Organization and Equipment included two Organic Infantry Brigades of two Infantry Regiments each, one Engineer Battalion; one Signal Battalion; one Trench Mortar Battery; one Field Artillery Brigade of three Field Artillery Regiments; one Aero Squadron; and a full Division Train.
The total Authorized Strength of this TO&E was 18,919 Officers and Enlisted Men.
George S. Patton, who served as the first Headquarters Commandant for the American Expeditionary Force oversaw much of the arrangements for the movement of the 1st Division to France, and their organization in-country.
The first units sailed from New York and Hoboken, N.J., June 14, 1917.
Throughout the remainder of the year, the rest of the Division followed, landing at St. Nazaire, France, and Liverpool, England.
After a brief stay in rest camps, the troops in England proceeded to France, landing at Le Havre.
The last unit arrived in St. Nazaire December 22.
Upon arrival in France, the Division, less its artillery, was assembled in the First (Gondrecourt) training area, and the artillery was at Le Valdahon.
On the 4th of July, the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry (2-16), paraded through the streets of Paris to bolster the sagging French spirits.
At Lafayette's tomb, one of General John J. Pershing's staff uttered the famous words,
"Lafayette, we are here!"
Two days later, July 6, Headquarters, First Expeditionary Division was redesignated as Headquarters, First Division'.
On August 8, 1917, the 1st Division adopted the Square Table of organization and Equipment, which included two organic Infantry Brigades of two Infantry Regiments each; one Engineer Regiment; one Signal Battalion; one Machine Gun Battalion; one Field Artillery Brigade of three Field Artillery Regiments, and a complete Division Train.
The total Authorized Strength of this new TO&E was 27,120 Officers and Enlisted Men.
On the morning of October 23, the first American shell of the war was sent screaming toward German lines by a First Division artillery unit.
Two days later, the 2-16th Inf., suffered the first American casualties of the war.
By April 1918, the Germans had pushed to within 40 miles of Paris.
In reaction to this thrust, the Big Red One moved into the Picardy Sector to bolster the exhausted French First Army.
To the Division's front lay the small village of Cantigny, situated on the high ground overlooking a forested countryside.
The U.S. 28th Infantry Regiment attacked the town, and within 45 minutes captured it along with 250 German soldiers.
It was the first American victory of the war.
The 28th was thereafter named the "Black Lions of Cantigny".
Soissons was taken by the First Division in July 1918.
The Soissons victory was costly
—700 men were killed or wounded.
The First Infantry helped to clear the St. Mihiel salient by fighting continuously from September 11–13, 1918.
The last major World War I battle was fought in the Meuse-Argonne Forest. The Division advanced seven kilometers and defeated, in whole or part, eight German divisions.
The war was over when the Armistice was signed.
The Division was at Sedan, the farthest American penetration of the war.
The Division was the first to cross the Rhine into occupied Germany.
By the end of the war, the Division had suffered 22,668 casualties
and boasted five Medal of Honor recipients.
Casualties
4,411 Killed in Action 17,201 Wounded in Action
1,056 Missing or Died of Wounds
Interwar period
1st Division returned to the Continental U.S. during September of 1919, and demobilized its war-time TO&E at Camp Zachary Taylor at Louisville, Kentucky, and then returned to New York, with its headquarters located at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York.
On October 7, 1920, the 1st Division organized under the peacetime TO&E, which included two Organic infantry Brigades of two Infantry Regiments each, one Engineer Regiment; one Observation Squadron; one Field Artillery Brigade of two Field Artillery Regiments; one Medical Regiment; one Division Quartermaster Train; and a Special Troops Command replacing the remainder of the Division Train.
The total authorized strength of this TO&E was 19,385.
1st Division was one of three Infantry Divisions and one Cavalry Division that was authorized to remain at full peacetime strength, and it was the only Regular Army division assigned to the II Corps Area, which also included the 27th Infantry Division of the New York Army National Guard; the 44th infantry Division of the New Jersey, New York, and Delaware Army National Guards; the 21st Cavalry Division of the New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and New jersey Army national Guards; and the 77th, 78th, and 98th Infantry Divisions and the 61st Cavalry Division of the Organized Reserves.
This was the organization that existed in the II Corps area for the duration of the peace period.
1st Division adopted a new peacetime TO&E in preparation for war on January 8, 1940, which included three Infantry Regiments, one MP Company, one Engineer Battalion, one Signal Company, one Light Field Artillery Regiment of three Field Artillery Battalions and one Medium Field Artillery Regiment of two Field Artillery Battalions, one Medical Battalion, and one Quartermaster Battalion.
The authorized strength of this TO&E was 9,057 Officers and Enlisted Men.
1st Infantry Division reorganized again on November 1, 1940 to a new TO&E, which added a Reconnaisance Troop, and organized the two Field Artillery Regiments into a Division Artillery Command, and beefed up the strength to a total Authorized Strength of 15,245 Officers and Enlisted men.
World War II Getting Ready
Commanders
Maj. Gen. Donald Cubbison (February 1941),
Maj. Gen. Terry de la Mesa Allen (2 August 1942),
Maj. Gen. Clarence R. Huebner, July 1943),
Maj. Gen. Clift Andrus (December 1944),
Maj. Gen. Frank Milburn (August 1946).
Narrative
1st Division started preparing for World War II by moving to Fort Benning on November 19, 1939, and ran its personnel through the Infantry School.
It then moved to the Sabine, Louisiana area on May 11, 1940 to participate in the Louisiana Maneuvers.
They then returned to Fort Hamilton on June 5, 1940.
The headquarters was then transferred to Fort Devins at Ayer, Massachusetts February 4, 1941, and then participated in the October and November maneuvers in the Carolinas, with a garrison at Samarcand, North Carolina on October 16, 1941.
1st Division then returned to Fort Devins on December 6, 1941, which is where they were when Pearl Harbor was attacked.
1st Division then deployed to Camp Blanding at Starke, Florida on February 21, 1942, which is where they were when 1st Division was officially redesignated at Headquarters, 1st Infantry Division on August 1, 1942.
At this time, 1st ID reorganized under the new Wartime TO&E, which increased the Authorized Strength to 15,514 Officers and Enlisted men.
This TO&E resulted in the following Order of Battle:
Headquarters, 1st Infantry Division
Headquarters & Military Police Company
1st Cavalry Reconnaisance Company
1st Signal Company
16th Infantry Regiment
18th Infantry Regiment
26th Infantry Regiment
HHB, 1st Division Artillery
5th Field Artillery Battalion
7th Field Artillery Battalion
32nd Field Artillery Battalion
33rd Field Artillery Battalion
1st Infantry Division Artillery Band
1st Engineer Battalion
1st Medical Battalion
1st Quartermaster Battalion
Deployment to War
In World War II, the division landed in Oran, Algeria as part of
Operation Torch.
Elements then took part in combat at Maktar, Medjez el Bab, Kasserine Pass, Gafsa, El Guettar, Béja, and Mateur, 21 January – 9 May 1943,
helping secure Tunisia.
In July, 1943 it took part in Operation Husky in Sicily under the command of Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen.
It was assigned to U.S. II Corps.
On 7 August 1943, command was assumed by
Major General Clarence R. Huebner.
When that campaign was over, the Division returned to England to prepare for the Normandy invasion.
It was the division that stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day, some units suffering 30 percent casualties in the first hour, and secured
Formigny and Caumont in the beachhead.
The Division followed up the St. Lo break-through with an attack on Marigny, 27 July 1944, and then drove across France in a continuous offensive, reaching the German border at Aachen in September.
The Division laid siege to Aachen, taking the city after a direct assault,
21 October 1944.
The First then attacked east of Aachen through Hurtgen Forest, driving to the Roer, and moved to a rest area 7 December for its first real rest in 6 months' combat, when the Wacht Am Rhein offensive
(commonly called the Battle of the Bulge) suddenly broke loose,
16 December.
The Division raced to the Ardennes, and fighting continuously from
17 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, helped blunt and turn back the German offensive.
Thereupon, the Division attacked and again breached the Siegfried Line, fought across the Roer, 23 February 1945, and drove on to the Rhine, crossing at the Remagen bridgehead, 15–16 March 1945.
The Division broke out of the bridgehead, took part in the encirclement of the Ruhr Pocket, captured Paderborn, pushed through the Harz Mountains, and was in Czechoslovakia, at Kinsperk, Sangerberg, and Mnichov, when the
war in Europe ended.
16 members of the division were awarded the Medal of Honor.
Casualties
3,616 Killed in Action 15,208 Wounded in Action 664 Died of Wounds
Assignments in the European Theater of Operations
1 November 1943: First Army.
6 November 1943: VII Corps.
2 February 1944: V Corps.
14 July 1944: First Army.
15 July 1944: VII Corps.
1 August 1944: VII Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group.
16 December 1944: V Corps.
20 December 1944:
Attached, with the entire First Army, to the British 21st Army Group.
26 January 1945: XVIII (Abn) Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group.
12 February 1945: III Corps.
8 March 1945: VII Corps.
27 April 1945: VIII Corps.
30 April 1945: V Corps.
6 May 1945: Third Army, 12th Army Group.
In these tabulations, the army and higher headquarters to which the division is assigned or attached is not repeated when the division is assigned or attached to a different corps in the same army.
On 6 November 1943, for example, the 1st Infantry Division was assigned to the VII Corps which was itself assigned to First Army; on 1 August 1944, the 12th Army Group became operational; and on 6 May 1945, the 1st Infantry Division left First Army for the first time during the operations on the Continent for reassignment to the Third Army.
Korean War
During the Korean War, the Big Red One was serving as an occupation force in Germany, and discouraging any Soviet designs on Europe.
In 1955 the division colors left Germany and were relocated to
Fort Riley, Kansas.
Vietnam
The division fought in the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1970.
Arriving in July of 1965, the division began combat operations within
two weeks.
By the end of 1965 the Division had participated in three major operations:
Hump, Bushmaster I and Bushmaster II,
under the command of MG Jonathan O. Seaman.
In 1966 the division took part in Operations Marauder, Crimp II, and Rolling Stone in the early part of the year.
In March, MG William E. DePuy took command.
In June and July the division took part in the battles of Ap Tau O, Srok Dong and Minh Thanh Road.
In November they participated in Operation Attleboro.
1967 saw the 1st I.D. in Operations Cedar Falls, Junction City, Manhattan, and Shenandoah II.
MG John H. Hay assumed command in February.
On October 17, 1967, the 1st I.D suffered heavy casualties at the
Battle of Ong Thanh with 58 KIA.
1968 would see the division involved in the Tet Offensive, securing the massive Tan Son Nhut Air Base.
In March, MG Keith L. Ware took command.
That same month the division took part in Operation Quyet Thang
(Resolve to Win), April would see the division participate in the largest operation in the Vietnam conflict, Operation Toan Thang (Certain Victory).
On 13 September, the Division Commander, MG Ware, was killed in action when his command helicopter was shot down by hostile fire.
MG Orwin C. Talbott moved up from his position of Assistant Division Commander to assume command of the Division.
In the first half of 1969, The Big Red One conducted reconnaissance-in-force and ambush operations, including a multi-divisional operation, Atlas Wedge, and participated in the Battles of An Loc.
The last part of the year saw the division take part in "Dong Tien"
(Progress Together) operation.
These operations were intended to assist South Vietnamese forces to take a more active role in combat.
In August MG A. E Milloy took command of the 1st I.D. while the division took part in battles along National Highway 13, known as "Thunder Road" to the end of the year.
In January 1970 it was announced that the division would return to Fort Riley.
11 members of the division were awarded the Medal of Honor.
Casualties
3,146 Killed in Action 18,019 Wounded in Action 20 Prisoner of War
First Gulf War
The division, commanded by Major General Thomas G. Rhame, also participated in Operation Desert Storm.
It was responsible for the initial breach of the Iraqi defenses, consequently rolling over the Iraqi 26th Infantry Division and taking 2,600 prisoners of war. The Big Red One continued with the subsequent 260 kilometer assault on enemy-held territory over 100 hours, engaging eleven Iraqi divisions, destroying 550 enemy tanks, 480 armored personnel carriers and
taking 11,400 prisoners.
By the early morning of February 28, 1991, the division had taken of position along the Highway of Death, preventing any Iraqi retreat.
The division's 2nd Dagger Brigade, led by Colonel Anthony Moreno, was then tasked with securing town of Safwan, Iraq, which was to be the site for the permanent cease-fire negotioations.
In 1996 the division colors were relocated to the German city of Würzburg.
Bosnia/Kosovo
2nd (Dagger)Brigade Combat Team deployed to Bosnia as part of IFOR2 / SFOR1 from October 1996 to April 1997.
2nd Brigade was replaced by element from 3rd Brigade and 4th Brigade(AVN).
2003 Invasion of Iraq
As of 2004, the unit is headquartered at Leighton Barracks in Würzburg, Germany, but has been sent to Iraq, where it relieved as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF-2) the 4th Infantry Division in Sunni Areas, mainly near towns such as Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, since March 2004.
The Division has been replaced by the 42d Infantry Division, New York National Guard, and has returned to its home in Germany.
On November 28, 2005, members of the 1st Infantry Division appeared on the MTV program Total Request Live with Korn, and presented the show's host, Damien with momentos of the Division's symbols.
In July, 2006 the division was withdrawn from Germany back to Fort Riley in the United States
Honors
Campaign Participation Credit
World War I:
Montdidier-Noyon
Aisne-Marne
St. Mihiel
Meuse-Argonne
Lorraine 1917
Lorraine 1918
Picardy 1918
World War II:
Algeria-French Morocco
Tunisia
Sicily
Normandy
Northern France
Rhineland
Ardennes-Alsace
Central Europe
Vietnam:
Defense
Counteroffensive
Counteroffensive, Phase II
Counteroffensive, Phase III
Tet Counteroffensive
Counteroffensive, Phase IV
Counteroffensive, Phase V
Counteroffensive, Phase VI
Tet 69/Counteroffensive
Summer-Fall 1969
Winter-Spring 1970
Southwest Asia:
Defense of Saudi Arabia
Liberation and Defense of Kuwait
Cease-Fire
Decorations
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for VIETNAM 1968
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for SOUTHWEST ASIA
Army Superior Unit Award for 1997
French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War II for
KASSERINE Pass
French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War II for
NORMANDY Omaha Beech
French Croix de Guerre, World War II,
Fourragere
Belgian Fourragere 1940
Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at MONS
Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at
EUPEN-MALMEDY
Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for VIETNAM 1965-1968
Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class for VIETNAM
1965-1970
Add Intrest Media
The Big Red One -
Directed by Samuel Fuller
Produced by Gene Corman
Written by Samuel Fuller
Starring Lee Marvin Mark Hamill Robert Carradine Bobby Di Cicco Kelly Ward
Distributed by United Artists Warner Bros. (DVD)
Release date(s) July 18, 1980 U.S. release
Running time 113 min / USA:158 min (reconstructed version)
Language English
Fuller saw a great deal of action in World War II as a member of the US
First Infantry Division, which was nicknamed The Big Red One for the red
"1" on the Division's shoulder patch.
Synopsis
The film starts at the end of the First World War with Sergeant Lee fighting a German.
As he fights with the man, the camera moves away from the action and towards a life-size wooden crucifix in the background.
As we get closer we see that while the soldiers are fighting, Christ is rotting.
When Lee returns victorious to his company's headquarters he is told that the war ended hours ago and that the German was trying to surrender when Lee attacked him.
Killing versus murder is a theme that repeats throughout the film.
The film cuts to the Sergeant decades later as he leads a squad of men through North Africa, Sicily, then on to the D-Day landings, where The Big Red One lands on Omaha Beach at the start of the Battle of Normandy.
The squad then treks though Europe, ending up at the liberation of
Falkenau concentration camp (a subcamp of Flossenbürg) in Czechoslovakia.
The story's focus is on the four enlisted men (and Lee) who survive the war from beginning to end with their sergeant, becoming known as
"The Sergeant's Four Horsemen."
Midway though the film the Sergeant crosses the same field where he stabbed the German decades before, but now contains a memorial:
Johnson:
Would you look at how fast they put the names of all our guys who got killed?
The Sergeant:
That's a World War One memorial.
Johnson:
But the names are the same.
The Sergeant:
They always are.
Characters
Sergeant "Possum" (Lee Marvin) -
The Squad leader, he calls his squad "wet noses" and was captured during the battle at Kasserine Pass.
Pvt. Griff, 1st Squad (Mark Hamill)
- He's a skilled marksman who detests shooting at Frenchman in North Africa.
Pvt. Zab, 1st Squad (Robert Carradine)
- He's an author of "The Dark Deadline".
He's also the narrator.
Pvt. Vinci, 1st Squad (Bobby Di Cicco)
- He's a Sicilian.
Pvt. Johnson, 1st Squad (Kelly Ward)
- He's a farmer and is knowledgeable in first aid.
Schroeder (Siegfried Rauch)
- He's a Nazi and a counterpart to the Sergeant.
Pvt. Shep (Joseph Clark)
- He dislikes Italians.
Pvt. Lemchek (Ken Campbell)
- he wanted to swap with Vinci at the Bangalore relay
Pvt. Switolski (Doug Werner)
- Thinks not all Germans are Nazis
Pvt. Kaiser (Perry Lang)
- he liked the book written by Zab.
Pvt. Smitty (Howard Delman)
- soldier who trips mine in Sicily.
Trivia
Lee Marvin,
(who was wounded and almost killed while fighting in the Pacific during WWII), plays "Sergeant" who while his name is unknown does refer to himself once as "Sergeant Possum".
The battle scenes were generally considered realistic, though some technical details are incorrect, such as the German Panzers actually being
Israeli Sherman tanks painted with German insignia, and the low budget and Israeli location is especially evident in the film's portrayal of the
Normandy landings.
Suggested reading
The Fighting First: The Untold Story of The Big Red One on D-Day
by Flint Whitlock - 2004. ISBN 0-8133-4218-X
The Big Red One (novel version) by Samuel Fuller
- 1980; republished in 2004.
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (2005), a video game focusing on the Division in WWII was released on November 1, 2005
Famous Veteran
Samuel Fuller
Samuel Michael Fuller (August 12, 1912 – October 30, 1997)
was an American film director and world war two vet.
Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Benjamin Rabinovitch
(a Jewish immigrant from Russia) and Rebecca Baum
(a Jewish immigrant from Poland).
At the time of Samuel's birth, the family had already changed their surname to "Fuller".
Fuller began, at the age of 12, in the field of journalism.
His first newspaper job was as a copyboy.
He became a crime reporter in New York City at age 17, working for the New York Evening Graphic.
His biggest scoop came when he broke the story of the death of
Jeanne Eagels.
He wrote pulp novels and screenplays from the mid-30s onwards.
During World War Two, Fuller joined the army, was assigned to the
1st Infantry Division, and saw heavy fighting.
He was involved in landings in Africa, Sicily, and Normandy.
He also saw action in Belgium, Germany and Czechoslovakia.
For his service, he was awarded the Bronze Star, the Silver Star, and
the Purple Heart.
His war-time experiences as a soldier were used as material in his films, especially in the 1980 film: The Big Red One
(a nickname of the 1st Infantry Division).
He died of natural causes on October 30, 1997.
Films as writer and/or director
Hats Off (1936) marked Fuller's first credit as a screenwriter.
Fuller wrote many screenplays throughout his career, but he is best remember as a director.
He did not direct a film until I Shot Jesse James (1949), which he also wrote.
His first five films were genre films.
His first two films were westerns and they were followed by two war films in 1951 and then a period piece set in 1880s New York City.
He followed these with Pickup on South Street (1953), which remains
Fuller's most well-known and critically examined film.
It was noted upon its release for an extraordinarily apolitical stance, although it depicts Communists as murderers compared to the well-intentioned
FBI agents.
This film was condemned by the FBI as Communist propaganda and condemned by the Communist party as anti-Communist propaganda.
Other films that Fuller directed in the 1950s include:
House of Bamboo, Forty Guns, China Gate, and Run of the Arrow.
Fuller's work throughout the 1950s and early 1960s followed a basic format:
lower-budget genre movies, deeply informed by his personal experiences, that nonetheless tended to explore controversial topics.
Shock Corridor (1963) is set in a psychiatric hospital and
The Naked Kiss (1964) features a prostitute attempting to change her life by working in a children's pediatric ward.
He is considered one of the better directors of film noir.
His war movies are thought to realistically portray the battlefield, due to his own combat experience.
These films are valued by film cultists for their extreme visual storytelling, highly unusual settings and characters, as well as for their relatively low budgets.
Between 1967 and 1980, Fuller directed only two films, the
Mexican-produced Shark (1969) and Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street (1972).
Shark is not considered a good example of Fuller's work due to extensive recutting by the film producers and Fuller asked the
Director's Guild to remove his name from the credits.
Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street featured his wife Christa Lang.
Fuller returned in 1980 with The Big Red One, a well respected World War II movie that failed at the box office.
This was followed by the controversial White Dog (1982), which the
studio refused to release until 1991.
In 1983 Fuller moved to France and would only have two more theatrical releases, Les Voleurs de la nuit (Thieves After Dark) (1984) and
Street of No Return (1989), both were produced outside the
United States.
He continued to work in television, his last credit as director came in
1990 (Madonne et le dragon) and as writer in 1994 (Girls in Prison).
His last work in film was as an actor.
He appeared in The End of Violence (1997), a film directed by Wim Wenders.
Style and theme
Fuller's work is known for its simplicity and coarseness, also known as the "primitive" style.
This was the result of his often lower budgets, but also reflected Fuller's
pulp-inspired writing.
The dialog in his films has been criticized by some as heavy-handed or
over-the-top.
Fuller often featured marginalized characters in his films.
The protagonist of Pickup on South Street is a pickpocket who keeps his beer in the East River because he cannot afford a refrigerator.
Shock Corridor concerns the patients of a mental hospital.
Underworld USA (1961) focuses on an orphaned victim of mobsters.
These characters sometimes find retribution for the injustices against them.
White Dog and The Crimson Kimono (1959) have definite anti-racist elements.
However, Fuller is usually not considered liberal in his politics.
Film critic Andrew Sarris wrote an influential book called:
The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929-1968.
This book is an examination of American film directors of the sound era and Sarris puts Fuller in the category of The Far Side of Paradise.
In his short essay on Sam Fuller, Sarris said:
"Fuller is an authentic American primitive whose works have to be seen to be understood....
Fuller's ideas are undoubtedly too broad and oversimplified for any serious analysis, but it is the artistic force with which his ideas are expressed that makes his career so facinating to critics who can rise above their political predudices....
Fuller belongs to the cinema, and not to literature and sociology"
Legacy
Although Fuller's films were not considered great achievements at the time of their release, they began to gain more respect starting in the late 1960s. Fuller himself welcomed this new-found esteem, appearing in several films by other directors and associating himself with younger filmmakers.
The French New Wave claimed Fuller as a major influence.
His visual style and rhythm were thought to be distinctly American, and appealing for their simplicity and energy.
He makes a cameo in Jean-Luc Godard's Pierrot le fou (1965), where he famously intones,
"Film is like a battleground...
Love, hate, action, violence, death.
In one word, emotion!"
He also plays a film director in Dennis Hopper's ill-fated
The Last Movie (1971).
Martin Scorsese praised Fuller's ability to capture action through movement of the camera.
More recently, Quentin Tarantino and Jim Jarmusch have expressed that Fuller has had an influence on their work.
Fuller was the first international director guest at the
Finnish Midnight Sun Film Festival in the middle 80's.
And, honoring his memory, the festival's hometown (Sodankylä) named a street "Samuel Fuller" (Samuel Fullerin katu, Samuel Fuller's street).
However, this professional respect did not transfer to the general public as easily.
Fuller and his work remain fairly unknown.
Many of his movies have not made it to DVD.
Filmography
I Shot Jesse James (1949)
The Baron of Arizona (1950)
The Steel Helmet (1951)
Fixed Bayonets (1951)
Park Row (1952)
Pickup on South Street (1953)
Hell and High Water (1954)
House of Bamboo (1955)
Run of the Arrow (1957)
China Gate (1957)
Forty Guns (1957)
Verboten! (1958)
The Crimson Kimono (1959)
Underworld USA (1961)
Merrill's Marauders (1962)
Shock Corridor (1963)
The Naked Kiss (1964)
Shark! (1970)
The Big Red One (1980)
White Dog (1982)
Les Voleurs de la nuit (Thieves After Dark) (1984)
Street of No Return (1989)
Further reading
Amiel, Olivier.
Samuel Fuller. Paris: Henri Veyrier, 1985.
A detailed biography of Fuller, less about the man
(although Olivier dedicates a chapter to this subject) than his films
- describes narration style, mise en scene, production, reception of films, and his ambitions in directing and screenwriting.
Includes long investigations into the process of making individual films.
Fuller, Samuel
with Christa Lang Fuller and Jerome Henry Rudes.
A Third Face : My Tale of Writing, Fighting and Filmmaking.
New York: A. Knopf, 2002 Sam Fuller's autobiography with family input
Gifford, Barry.
Out of the Past: Adventures in Film Noir.
Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2001.
This book discusses Fuller’s work (specifically Pickup on South Street) as a precipitator of the French New Wave.
Gifford’s tone is personal and responds to Fuller’s work subjectively.
Hare, William.
Early Film Noir: Greed, Lust and Murder, Hollywood Style.
London: McFarland & Company, INC. 2003.
Responds to the fame of Fuller and Pickup on South Street.
Muller, Eddie.
Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir.
New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998.
Discusses Fuller’s work in cinema, specifically film noir, in the context
of the war drama.
Porfirio, Robert, et al.
Film Noir: Reader 3. New York: Limelight Editions, 2002.
Provides, “Interviews with filmmakers of the Classic Noir Period”. Includes an extended interview with Fuller, in which he talks candidly about his work as a noir screenwriter and director, discusses his novels, and speaks about his thoughts on his place within the Noir genre.
Silver, Alain, et al.
Film Noir. New York: The Overlook Press, 1979.
A reference guide to the American style; provides detailed information concerning many of Fuller’s more obscure titles, and discusses mise en scene, plot, structure, etc.
An objective reference.
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