The Outsider (1961 film)
| The Outsider | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Film poster | |
| Directed by | Delbert Mann |
| Produced by | Sy Bartlett |
| Written by | Stewart Stern |
| Based on |
The Hero of Iwo Jima by William Bradford Huie |
| Starring | Tony Curtis |
| Music by |
Leonard Rosenman (composed and conducted) |
| Cinematography | Joseph LaShelle, A.S.C. |
| Edited by | Marjorie Fowler, A.C.E. |
| Distributed by | Universal-International |
Release dates |
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Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Outsider is a 1961 biopic film about Ira Hayes, a Native American who fought in World War II in the United States Marine Corps and was one of the Marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. The film stars Tony Curtis as Hayes. It was directed by Delbert Mann.
Jim Sorenson, a Marine depicted as Hayes's best friend, is a fictional composite of others who raised the flag.
Plot
The 17-year-old Ira Hamilton Hayes has never been off the Pima reservation in Arizona when he enlists in the United States Marine Corps to serve his country in World War II.
Hayes is shunned by fellow soldiers or mocked as "Chief" by them except for one, Jim Sorenson. By chance they are two of the six U.S. servicemen who memorably hoist the American flag on Mount Suribachi during the violent battle at Iwo Jima, after which Sorenson is killed by enemy fire.
A morose and traumatized Hayes returns home, where he is proclaimed a hero and recruited to help sell war bonds to the public. As his depression mounts, Hayes, feeling unworthy of the attention and publicity, takes refuge in whiskey.
His continued drunkenness after he leaves the Marine Corps becomes a public scandal. Hayes simply wishes to be left alone, but a tribal chief implores him to go to Washington, D.C., on his people's behalf to seek political support for an irrigation bill. Not until he attends the dedication of the Marine Corps War Memorial (also called the Iwo Jima Memorial) in Arlington, Virginia on November 10, 1954, does he sober up and pull himself together.
Hayes returns to the reservation, but is deeply disappointed when the tribal council no longer seems to want anything to do with him. He begins drinking again and goes off into the hills, where he dies of exposure to the elements ten years after the Iwo Jima battle. He was 32.
End inscription
"Ira Hayes was buried with
full military honors at
Arlington National Cemetery
on February 2, 1955."
Cast
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Production
The movie was filmed on location at the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona, Camp Pendleton in California, Soldier Field in Chicago, San Diego, the Marine Corps War Memorial at Arlington, Virginia, Arlington National Cemetery, and at Universal Studios in California.