Anzio (film)
Encyclopedia
Anzio, also known as Lo Sbarco di Anzio or The Battle for Anzio, is a 1968 war film
about Operation Shingle
, the 1944 Allied seaborne assault on the Italian port of Anzio
in World War II
. The film was adapted from the book Anzio by Wynford Vaughan-Thomas
, who had been the BBC
war correspondent
at the battle.
The film starred Robert Mitchum
, Peter Falk
, and a variety of international film stars. The all-star cast mostly portrayed fictitious characters based on actual participants in the battle. The two exceptions were Wolfgang Preiss
and Tonio Selwart
, who respectively played Field Marshal
Albert Kesselring
and General Eberhard von Mackensen
. This was a U.S./Italian co-production made in Italy with an Italian film crew; however, none of the major stars were Italian, nor were there any major Italian characters. The film was directed by Edward Dmytryk
along with Italian director Duilio Coletti.
The Italian public are portrayed speaking their native language, but in scenes involving the German military commanders, they speak English to each other.
before advancing inland. Ennis and a Ranger drive in a jeep
through the countryside, discovering there are few Germans between the beachhead and Rome, but his information is ignored. As a result, the German commander, Kesselring, has time to gather his forces and launch an effective counterattack.
Ennis is with the Rangers when they are ambushed at the Battle of Cisterna
. From there, the film departs from being a view of all sides and levels of the campaign to a story of a handful of survivors making their way back through enemy lines. Ennis asks what makes one human being willingly kill another. Corporal Jack Rabinoff (Peter Falk) replies that he loves it, and his lifestyle makes him live more than anyone else. Rabinoff is based on a real First Special Service Force soldier Jake Wallenstein, who ran an illegal brothel of Italian prostitutes in a stolen ambulance. Most of the men, including Rabinoff, are killed. (In reality, Wallenstein was killed by shrapnel at Port Cros during Operation Dragoon
, the invasion of southern France.) Ennis survives to publicly question the competence of the Allied commander.
, the Italian producer ... who thinks big but often produces small". In contrast, Chicago Sun-Times
critic Roger Ebert
had a more favourable opinion of the film, described it as "a good war movie and even an intelligent one".
scored the film with a ballad with lyrics by Doc Pomus
that was sung beneath the credits by Jack Jones
. Luigi Scaccianoce was the production designer
.
Peter Falk thought that the script he read was clichéd and wanted off the film. At the last minute, Dino DeLaurentiis put Falk's name above the title billing and gave him his choice of writer for his character's dialogue. Falk stayed and wrote his lines himself.
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
about Operation Shingle
Operation Shingle
Operation Shingle , during the Italian Campaign of World War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was commanded by Major General John P. Lucas and was intended to outflank German forces of the Winter Line and enable an...
, the 1944 Allied seaborne assault on the Italian port of Anzio
Anzio
Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The film was adapted from the book Anzio by Wynford Vaughan-Thomas
Wynford Vaughan-Thomas
Lewis John Wynford Vaughan-Thomas CBE was a British newspaper journalist and radio and television broadcaster. In later life he took the name Vaughan-Thomas after his father....
, who had been the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
at the battle.
The film starred Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
, Peter Falk
Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
, and a variety of international film stars. The all-star cast mostly portrayed fictitious characters based on actual participants in the battle. The two exceptions were Wolfgang Preiss
Wolfgang Preiss
Wolfgang Preiss was a German theatre, film and television actor.The son of a teacher, in the early 1930s Preiss studied philosophy, German and drama. He also took private acting classes with Hans Schlenck, making his stage début in Munich in 1932...
and Tonio Selwart
Tonio Selwart
Tonio Selwart was a Bavarian actor and stage performer.-Biography:Named Antonio Franz Theus Selmair-Selwart at birth, Tonio Selwart was born in Wartenberg, Bavaria, Germany, and raised in Munich. After studying medicine like his father , he decided instead to become an actor, following a life-long...
, who respectively played Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring was a German Luftwaffe Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. In a military career that spanned both World Wars, Kesselring became one of Nazi Germany's most skilful commanders, being one of 27 soldiers awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords...
and General Eberhard von Mackensen
Eberhard von Mackensen
Friedrich August Eberhard von Mackensen was a German general who served in World War II, and one of 882 German recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves...
. This was a U.S./Italian co-production made in Italy with an Italian film crew; however, none of the major stars were Italian, nor were there any major Italian characters. The film was directed by Edward Dmytryk
Edward Dmytryk
Edward Dmytryk was an American film director who was amongst the Hollywood Ten, a group of blacklisted film industry professionals who served time in prison for being in contempt of Congress during the McCarthy-era 'red scare'.-Early life:Dmytryk was born in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada,...
along with Italian director Duilio Coletti.
The Italian public are portrayed speaking their native language, but in scenes involving the German military commanders, they speak English to each other.
Plot
After meeting a general, war correspondent Dick Ennis (Robert Mitchum) is assigned to accompany US Army Rangers for the upcoming attempt to outflank the tough enemy defenses. The amphibious landing is unopposed, but the bumbling American general is too cautious, preferring to fortify his beachheadBeachhead
Beachhead is a military term used to describe the line created when a unit reaches a beach, and begins to defend that area of beach, while other reinforcements help out, until a unit large enough to begin advancing has arrived. It is sometimes used interchangeably with Bridgehead and Lodgement...
before advancing inland. Ennis and a Ranger drive in a jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
through the countryside, discovering there are few Germans between the beachhead and Rome, but his information is ignored. As a result, the German commander, Kesselring, has time to gather his forces and launch an effective counterattack.
Ennis is with the Rangers when they are ambushed at the Battle of Cisterna
Battle of Cisterna
The Battle of Cisterna took place during World War II, on 30 January-2 February 1944, near Cisterna, Italy, as part of the battle of Anzio that followed Operation Shingle. The battle was a clear German victory which also had repercussions on the employment of U.S...
. From there, the film departs from being a view of all sides and levels of the campaign to a story of a handful of survivors making their way back through enemy lines. Ennis asks what makes one human being willingly kill another. Corporal Jack Rabinoff (Peter Falk) replies that he loves it, and his lifestyle makes him live more than anyone else. Rabinoff is based on a real First Special Service Force soldier Jake Wallenstein, who ran an illegal brothel of Italian prostitutes in a stolen ambulance. Most of the men, including Rabinoff, are killed. (In reality, Wallenstein was killed by shrapnel at Port Cros during Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
, the invasion of southern France.) Ennis survives to publicly question the competence of the Allied commander.
Cast
- Robert MitchumRobert MitchumRobert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
as Dick Ennis, war correspondent (based on Ernie PyleErnie PyleErnest Taylor Pyle was an American journalist who wrote as a roving correspondent for the Scripps Howard newspaper chain from 1935 until his death in combat during World War II. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1944...
) - Peter FalkPeter FalkPeter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
as Corporal Jack Rabinoff (based on Sergeant Jake Wallenstein) - Robert RyanRobert RyanRobert Bushnell Ryan was an American actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains.-Early life and career:...
as Lieutenant General Carson (based on Mark ClarkMark Wayne ClarkMark Wayne Clark was an American general during World War II and the Korean War and was the youngest lieutenant general in the U.S. Army...
) - Earl HollimanEarl Holliman-Early life:Earl Holliman was born at Delhi in Richland Parish of northeastern Louisiana. Holliman’s biological father died before he was born, and his biological mother, living in poverty with several other children, gave him up for adoption at birth...
as Technical Sergeant Abe Stimmler - Mark DamonMark DamonMark Damon is an American film actor and producer. He started his career in his native country, appearing in such films as Young and Dangerous and Roger Corman's House of Usher...
as Private Wally Richardson - Arthur KennedyArthur Kennedy (actor)Arthur Kennedy was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage" especially in the original casts of Arthur Miller plays on Broadway.- Early life and education :Kennedy was born John...
as Major General Jack Lesley (based on John P. LucasJohn P. LucasJohn Porter Lucas was an American Major General and one of the commanders of VI Corps during the Italian Campaign of the Mediterranean Theater of World War II.-Early career:...
) - Wolfgang PreissWolfgang PreissWolfgang Preiss was a German theatre, film and television actor.The son of a teacher, in the early 1930s Preiss studied philosophy, German and drama. He also took private acting classes with Hans Schlenck, making his stage début in Munich in 1932...
as GeneralfeldmarschallGeneralfeldmarschallField Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...
Albert KesselringAlbert KesselringAlbert Kesselring was a German Luftwaffe Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. In a military career that spanned both World Wars, Kesselring became one of Nazi Germany's most skilful commanders, being one of 27 soldiers awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords... - Reni SantoniReni SantoniReni Santoni is an American film, television and voice actor.Santoni was born in New York City of French and Spanish descent.He began his career in off-Broadway theatre...
as Private Movie - Joseph Walsh as Private Doyle
- Thomas Hunter as Private Andy
- Giancarlo GianniniGiancarlo GianniniGiancarlo Giannini is an Italian actor and dubber.Giannini was born La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. He studied at the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica in Rome, and made his film debut in a small part in Fango sulla metropoli in 1965...
as Private Cellini - Wayde PrestonWayde PrestonWayde Preston or William Erskine Strange was a television actor noted for the series Colt .45 and for his appearance as Waco Williams in a 1958 episode of Maverick entitled "The Saga of Waco Williams"...
as Colonel Hendricks (based on William O. Darby) - Arthur FranzArthur FranzArthur Franz was a B-movie actor whose most notable role was as Lieutenant, Junior Grade H. Paynter, Jr. in The Caine Mutiny. He also appeared in Roseanna McCoy , Invaders from Mars , Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man and The Unholy Wife , among others...
as Major General Howard (based on Lucian TruscottLucian TruscottLucian King Truscott, Jr. was a U.S. Army General, who successively commanded the 3rd Infantry Division, VI Corps, U.S. Fifteenth Army and U.S. Fifth Army during World War II.-Early life:...
) - Anthony Steel as Major-General Marsh
- Patrick MageePatrick Magee (actor)Patrick Magee was a Northern Irish actor best known for his collaborations with Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, as well as his appearances in horror films and in Stanley Kubrick's films A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon.-Early life:He was born Patrick McGee in Armagh, County Armagh, Northern...
as Major-General Starkey
Response
The New York Times film review of 25 July 1968 was generally dismissive, and describes the film as "a very ordinary war movie with an epic title, produced by Dino De LaurentiisDino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis was an Italian film producer.-Early life:He was born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples, and grew up selling spaghetti produced by his father...
, the Italian producer ... who thinks big but often produces small". In contrast, Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
had a more favourable opinion of the film, described it as "a good war movie and even an intelligent one".
Production
Riz OrtolaniRiz Ortolani
Riziero "Riz" Ortolani is an Italian film composer.In the early 1950s Ortolani was founder and member of a jazz band of national Italian renown...
scored the film with a ballad with lyrics by Doc Pomus
Doc Pomus
Jerome Solon Felder, better known as Doc Pomus , was a twentieth-century American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lyricist of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the category of non-performer in 1992. He was also inducted into...
that was sung beneath the credits by Jack Jones
Jack Jones (singer)
John Allan "Jack" Jones is an American jazz and pop singer. He was one of the most popular vocalists of the 1960s.-Overview:...
. Luigi Scaccianoce was the production designer
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...
.
Peter Falk thought that the script he read was clichéd and wanted off the film. At the last minute, Dino DeLaurentiis put Falk's name above the title billing and gave him his choice of writer for his character's dialogue. Falk stayed and wrote his lines himself.
External links
- Trailer http://youtube.com/watch?v=uRtlxUC1k9A&feature=related
- Thomas Hunter interview on the film http://wconnolly.blogspot.com/2009/05/thomas-hunter-on-anzio.html