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Battleground (1949 film)
Encyclopedia
Battleground is a 1949 American war film that tells the story of the 2nd Squad, 3rd Platoon of Item Company, 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division
, trying to cope with the Siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge
in World War II
. It stars Van Johnson
, John Hodiak
, Ricardo Montalban
and George Murphy
, and features James Whitmore
. It was directed by William Wellman from a script by Robert Pirosh
.
The film is notable for portraying American soldiers as vulnerable and human, as opposed to just inspirational and gung-ho. While there is no question about their courage and steadfastness, each soldier has at least one moment in the film when he seriously considers running away, schemes to get sent away from the front line, slacks off
, or complains about the situation he is in. Battleground is considered to be the first significant film about World War II to be made and released after the end of the war.
) and his buddy, William J. Hooper, replacement soldiers fresh from the United States, are assigned to separate companies in a battalion of glider
infantry
in the 101st Airborne Division
. Holley (Van Johnson
) returns to the company after recuperating from a wound. Layton discovers that as the new man in the squad, he is ignored and unwanted.
Instead of going on leave, the squad is trucked back to the front to help stop a surprise German breakthrough in the Ardennes
. They stop that night in the town of Bastogne
. The platoon is put up for the night in the apartment of a local young woman, Denise (Denise Darcel
), with whom Holley hopes to fraternize. Their comfort is brief. The next morning, led by Platoon Sgt. Kinnie (James Whitmore
), they march to the outskirts of town and are ordered to dig in. As Layton is the odd man he is forced to dig his foxhole alone. Just as their positions are nearly prepared, they are moved abruptly to a new location and have to begin digging again.
Holley, Layton, and Kippton (Douglas Fowley
) stand guard that night at a roadblock. A patrol of German soldiers, disguised as American G.I.s, infiltrates their position and later blows up a nearby bridge. In the morning, the squad awakes to find themselves in a heavy winter storm. Roderigues (Ricardo Montalb%C3%A1n), a latino
from Los Angeles
, is delighted by the novelty of snow, but his foxhole mate Pop Stazak (George Murphy
), awaiting a "dependency discharge" that will send him to America, rolls over and goes back to sleep. Layton discovers that Hooper's company is nearby, so he goes over to see his friend, only to find that he had been killed hours before by a mortar
shell.
Kinnie informs the squad about the infiltration and sends out a patrol — Holley, Roderigues, and Jarvess (John Hodiak
)— to search the woods. Just before they start out, the platoon is shelled by German artillery, during which Bettis (Richard Jaeckel
) panics and runs away. During the barrage, Layton informs his squad leader, Sgt. Wolowicz (Bruce Cowling
), of his name and finds for the first time that he has been accepted as a part of the squad. Holley's patrol encounters the same group of infiltrators, and in a brief skirmish, Roderigues is wounded by machine-gun fire from an enemy tank
. He is unable to walk, so Holley hastily conceals him under a disabled jeep
half-buried in snow, promising to return for him. Unfortunately, Roderigues is left over night and is discovered the next day frozen to death.
Wolowicz, wounded by shellfire, and a sick Standiferd (Don Taylor
) are sent back to a field hospital
, further depleting the squad. Holley becomes the new squad leader, partnered with Layton, while Pop Stazak is paired with Hansan (Herbert Anderson
). The squad, starved for news, finds out from a copy of the Stars and Stripes
that they are making a "heroic stand" in Bastogne, from their medic that the field hospital has been captured by the Germans, and from Kippton that the 101st is surrounded.
Moved again and again, 3rd Platoon is attacked at dawn. Just when it appears the platoon will be overrun, Hansan is wounded, and Holley loses his nerve and starts to run away. Layton follows Holley and afraid of being a coward in front of the younger man, Holley regains his courage and leads a flanking counterattack that defeats the German attack. Jarvess's partner, Abner Spudler (Jerome Courtland
), is killed while trying to put on his wet boots.
The squad runs into Bettis doing K.P. duty in the rear and gets a hot meal. In the brief respite, Holley shows his indifference to the plight of civilian victims of the war, angering Jarvess, who was a newspaper columnist before the war. Holley discovers that Layton is a quick learner, finding him being entertained by Denise. Later, while on guard duty, they encounter a party of Germans who have come under a flag of truce to offer Brig. Gen. McAuliffe
terms for surrender; McAuliffe gives the puzzled Germans his famous answer, "Nuts!"
In the bitter and foggy weather, the squad is short of supplies – bad weather has grounded the transport planes which could have airlifted them in. Several men attend impromptu outdoor Christmas services held by a chaplain (Leon Ames
).
That night, the German Luftwaffe
bombs Bastogne. During the bombing, Denise's house is shown destroyed and she screams her death cry.
The next morning, the "walking wounded", including Hansan, are called back to duty for a last ditch defense. Bettis, slowed down by his fear of going back into the front lines, is killed in the collapse of a house shaken by an explosion.
As the squad is down to its last few rounds of ammunition, the weather clears, allowing Allied fighters to attack the Germans and C-47 transports
to drop supplies by parachute. With the support, the 101st successfully holds its ground. Afterward, the siege lifted, Kinnie leads the survivors of the platoon toward the rear for a well-earned rest.
resigned, despite $100,000 having been put into the property to that point. When Schary went to MGM, he purchased the rights to the script from RKO, over the objections of Louis B. Mayer
, who believed that the public was tired of war films. At MGM, Robert Taylor
and Keenan Wynn
were reported to be penciled in for the film, along with Van Johnson and John Hodiak, and the project was budgeted at $2 million.
Robert Pirosh had based the script on his own experiences during the Battle of the Bulge
, although he did not serve with the 101st Airborne. Many of the incidents in the film were based on actual events, including the rejection of a German demand for surrender on December 22, 1944, with the one word response "Nuts!" by Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe
. Twenty veterans of the 101st were hired to train the actors and were used in the film as extras.
The film was in production from April 5 to June 3, 1949, with location shooting in northern California, Oregon and Washington state. Fort Lewis, Washington was used for the tank sequence showing the relief of the 101st Airborne by Patton
's Third Army. Shooting took 20 days less than was scheduled, due in part to innovations instituted by Schary such as processing film as it was shot, and dubbing and cutting it so that scenes could be previewed within two days of being shot. The film came in almost $100,000 under budget.
Battleground received a number of premieres before its general release. A private showing for President Harry S. Truman
was arranged even before the premiere in Washington D.C. on November 9, 1949, which was attended by McAuliffe, who commanded the 101st during the siege. Two days later, the film premiered in New York City
, and then on December 1 in Los Angeles
. The film's general American release was on January 20, 1950.
, also starring Van Johnson and directed by Pirosh.
: for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
(Paul C. Vogel) and for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay (Robert Pirosh
). It was also nominated for Best Picture
, Best Director
(William A. Wellman
), Best Film Editing
(John D. Dunning), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role
(James Whitmore
).
James Whitmore won a 1950 Golden Globe Award
as Best Supporting Actor, and Robert Pirosh's script won Best Screenplay. Pirosh was also nominated for a Writers Guild Award for Best Written American Drama.
, as it was known, only operated in front of the 6th SS Panzer Army, many miles to the north.
A minor inaccuracy is that, at the time of the Battle of Bastogne, the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment did not have an Item Company. When the airborne divisions were conceived early in World War II, the Army's senior commanders decided that the glider regiments would have only two battalions each. The first battalion would be made up of Able, Baker, Charlie, and Dog Companies, while the second would have Easy, Fox, George, and How Companies. When by 1944 it became evident that these two-battalion regiments were not suited to combat operations, certain glider regiments were broken up and their battalions attached to others. The 327th was assigned the First Battalion of the 401st Glider Infantry Regiment, getting "doubles" on Able, Baker, Charlie, and Dog Companies. Thus "the 2nd Squad, 3rd Platoon of Item Company, 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division," did not exist at the time of the Ardennes campaign. The producers did not want to have someone complain that he was in Item Company during the fighting around Bastogne, and that no such thing happened.
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
, trying to cope with the Siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
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...
. It stars Van Johnson
Van Johnson
Van Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
, John Hodiak
John Hodiak
John Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio and film.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter Hodiak and Anna Pogorzelec . He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent...
, Ricardo Montalban
Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
and George Murphy
George Murphy
George Lloyd Murphy was an American dancer, actor, and politician.-Life and career:He was born in New Haven, Connecticut of Irish Catholic extraction, the son of Michael Charles "Mike" Murphy, athletic trainer and coach, and Nora Long. He was educated at Peddie School, Trinity-Pawling School, and...
, and features James Whitmore
James Whitmore
James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
. It was directed by William Wellman from a script by Robert Pirosh
Robert Pirosh
Robert Pirosh was an American screenwriter and director.-Early years:Pirosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from the Baltimore City College high school in 1928...
.
The film is notable for portraying American soldiers as vulnerable and human, as opposed to just inspirational and gung-ho. While there is no question about their courage and steadfastness, each soldier has at least one moment in the film when he seriously considers running away, schemes to get sent away from the front line, slacks off
Slacker
The term "slacker" is used to refer to a person who habitually avoids work. Slackers may be regarded as belonging to an antimaterialistic counterculture, though in some cases their behavior may be due to other causes ....
, or complains about the situation he is in. Battleground is considered to be the first significant film about World War II to be made and released after the end of the war.
Plot
In mid-December 1944, Jim Layton (Marshall ThompsonMarshall Thompson
Marshall Thompson was an American film and television actor.He was born James Marshall Thompson in Peoria, Illinois. In 1943 Thompson, known for his boy-next-door good looks, was signed by Universal Pictures...
) and his buddy, William J. Hooper, replacement soldiers fresh from the United States, are assigned to separate companies in a battalion of glider
Military glider
Military gliders have been used by the military of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g...
infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
in the 101st Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
. Holley (Van Johnson
Van Johnson
Van Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
) returns to the company after recuperating from a wound. Layton discovers that as the new man in the squad, he is ignored and unwanted.
Instead of going on leave, the squad is trucked back to the front to help stop a surprise German breakthrough in the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
. They stop that night in the town of Bastogne
Bastogne
Bastogne Luxembourgish: Baaschtnech) is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes. The municipality of Bastogne includes the old communes of Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardin...
. The platoon is put up for the night in the apartment of a local young woman, Denise (Denise Darcel
Denise Darcel
Denise Darcel is a retired French actress who made a few films in Hollywood.Born as Denise Billecard in Paris, she was college educated. According to one of her friends who she met in Paris during WWII, she was a passenger in an L-5 Stinson light observation aircraft on VJ Day to see the...
), with whom Holley hopes to fraternize. Their comfort is brief. The next morning, led by Platoon Sgt. Kinnie (James Whitmore
James Whitmore
James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
), they march to the outskirts of town and are ordered to dig in. As Layton is the odd man he is forced to dig his foxhole alone. Just as their positions are nearly prepared, they are moved abruptly to a new location and have to begin digging again.
Holley, Layton, and Kippton (Douglas Fowley
Douglas Fowley
Douglas Fowley was an American movie and television actor.Fowley was born Daniel Vincent Fowley in The Bronx, New York. The 5'11" actor is probably best remembered for his role as the movie director Roscoe Dexter in Singin' in the Rain . The actor appeared in over 240 films and later in dozens of...
) stand guard that night at a roadblock. A patrol of German soldiers, disguised as American G.I.s, infiltrates their position and later blows up a nearby bridge. In the morning, the squad awakes to find themselves in a heavy winter storm. Roderigues (Ricardo Montalb%C3%A1n), a latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, is delighted by the novelty of snow, but his foxhole mate Pop Stazak (George Murphy
George Murphy
George Lloyd Murphy was an American dancer, actor, and politician.-Life and career:He was born in New Haven, Connecticut of Irish Catholic extraction, the son of Michael Charles "Mike" Murphy, athletic trainer and coach, and Nora Long. He was educated at Peddie School, Trinity-Pawling School, and...
), awaiting a "dependency discharge" that will send him to America, rolls over and goes back to sleep. Layton discovers that Hooper's company is nearby, so he goes over to see his friend, only to find that he had been killed hours before by a mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
shell.
Kinnie informs the squad about the infiltration and sends out a patrol — Holley, Roderigues, and Jarvess (John Hodiak
John Hodiak
John Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio and film.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter Hodiak and Anna Pogorzelec . He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent...
)— to search the woods. Just before they start out, the platoon is shelled by German artillery, during which Bettis (Richard Jaeckel
Richard Jaeckel
Richard Hanley Jaeckel was an American actor of film and television.-Life and career:Jaeckel was born in Long Beach, New York. A short, but tough guy, he played a variety of characters during his fifty years in movies & television and became one of Hollywood's best known character actors...
) panics and runs away. During the barrage, Layton informs his squad leader, Sgt. Wolowicz (Bruce Cowling
Bruce Cowling
Bruce Cowling was a film and television actor in the 1940s and 1950s. The Coweta, Oklahoma-born actor appeared in twenty films including Battleground and Cause for Alarm! .-External links:...
), of his name and finds for the first time that he has been accepted as a part of the squad. Holley's patrol encounters the same group of infiltrators, and in a brief skirmish, Roderigues is wounded by machine-gun fire from an enemy tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
. He is unable to walk, so Holley hastily conceals him under a disabled 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...
half-buried in snow, promising to return for him. Unfortunately, Roderigues is left over night and is discovered the next day frozen to death.
Wolowicz, wounded by shellfire, and a sick Standiferd (Don Taylor
Don Taylor (actor)
Don Taylor was an American movie actor and director best known for his performances in 1950s classics like Stalag 17 and Father of the Bride and the 1948 film noir The Naked City...
) are sent back to a field hospital
Field hospital
A field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...
, further depleting the squad. Holley becomes the new squad leader, partnered with Layton, while Pop Stazak is paired with Hansan (Herbert Anderson
Herbert Anderson
Herbert Anderson was an American character actor from Oakland, California, probably best remembered for his part as Henry Mitchell in the classic television sitcom Dennis The Menace.-Career:...
). The squad, starved for news, finds out from a copy of the Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes (newspaper)
Stars and Stripes is a news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests,...
that they are making a "heroic stand" in Bastogne, from their medic that the field hospital has been captured by the Germans, and from Kippton that the 101st is surrounded.
Moved again and again, 3rd Platoon is attacked at dawn. Just when it appears the platoon will be overrun, Hansan is wounded, and Holley loses his nerve and starts to run away. Layton follows Holley and afraid of being a coward in front of the younger man, Holley regains his courage and leads a flanking counterattack that defeats the German attack. Jarvess's partner, Abner Spudler (Jerome Courtland
Jerome Courtland
Jerome Courtland is an American actor, director and producer. He acted in films in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and in television in the 1950s and 1960s...
), is killed while trying to put on his wet boots.
The squad runs into Bettis doing K.P. duty in the rear and gets a hot meal. In the brief respite, Holley shows his indifference to the plight of civilian victims of the war, angering Jarvess, who was a newspaper columnist before the war. Holley discovers that Layton is a quick learner, finding him being entertained by Denise. Later, while on guard duty, they encounter a party of Germans who have come under a flag of truce to offer Brig. Gen. McAuliffe
Anthony McAuliffe
General Anthony Clement "Nuts" McAuliffe was the United States Army general who commanded the 101st Airborne Division troops defending Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II...
terms for surrender; McAuliffe gives the puzzled Germans his famous answer, "Nuts!"
In the bitter and foggy weather, the squad is short of supplies – bad weather has grounded the transport planes which could have airlifted them in. Several men attend impromptu outdoor Christmas services held by a chaplain (Leon Ames
Leon Ames (actor)
Leon Ames was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis , as Judy Garland's father, and in Little Women ....
).
That night, the German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
bombs Bastogne. During the bombing, Denise's house is shown destroyed and she screams her death cry.
The next morning, the "walking wounded", including Hansan, are called back to duty for a last ditch defense. Bettis, slowed down by his fear of going back into the front lines, is killed in the collapse of a house shaken by an explosion.
As the squad is down to its last few rounds of ammunition, the weather clears, allowing Allied fighters to attack the Germans and C-47 transports
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
to drop supplies by parachute. With the support, the 101st successfully holds its ground. Afterward, the siege lifted, Kinnie leads the survivors of the platoon toward the rear for a well-earned rest.
Cast
- Van JohnsonVan JohnsonVan Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
as Holley - John HodiakJohn HodiakJohn Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio and film.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter Hodiak and Anna Pogorzelec . He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent...
as Jarvess - Ricardo MontalbanRicardo MontalbánRicardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
as Roderigues - George MurphyGeorge MurphyGeorge Lloyd Murphy was an American dancer, actor, and politician.-Life and career:He was born in New Haven, Connecticut of Irish Catholic extraction, the son of Michael Charles "Mike" Murphy, athletic trainer and coach, and Nora Long. He was educated at Peddie School, Trinity-Pawling School, and...
as "Pop" Stazak - Marshall ThompsonMarshall ThompsonMarshall Thompson was an American film and television actor.He was born James Marshall Thompson in Peoria, Illinois. In 1943 Thompson, known for his boy-next-door good looks, was signed by Universal Pictures...
as Jim Layton - Jerome CourtlandJerome CourtlandJerome Courtland is an American actor, director and producer. He acted in films in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and in television in the 1950s and 1960s...
as Abner Spudler - Don TaylorDon Taylor (actor)Don Taylor was an American movie actor and director best known for his performances in 1950s classics like Stalag 17 and Father of the Bride and the 1948 film noir The Naked City...
as Standiferd - Bruce CowlingBruce CowlingBruce Cowling was a film and television actor in the 1940s and 1950s. The Coweta, Oklahoma-born actor appeared in twenty films including Battleground and Cause for Alarm! .-External links:...
as Wolowicz - James WhitmoreJames WhitmoreJames Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
as Kinnie - Douglas FowleyDouglas FowleyDouglas Fowley was an American movie and television actor.Fowley was born Daniel Vincent Fowley in The Bronx, New York. The 5'11" actor is probably best remembered for his role as the movie director Roscoe Dexter in Singin' in the Rain . The actor appeared in over 240 films and later in dozens of...
as "Kipp" Kippton - Leon AmesLeon Ames (actor)Leon Ames was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis , as Judy Garland's father, and in Little Women ....
as The Chaplain - Herbert AndersonHerbert AndersonHerbert Anderson was an American character actor from Oakland, California, probably best remembered for his part as Henry Mitchell in the classic television sitcom Dennis The Menace.-Career:...
as Hansan - Thomas E. Breen as Doc
- Denise DarcelDenise DarcelDenise Darcel is a retired French actress who made a few films in Hollywood.Born as Denise Billecard in Paris, she was college educated. According to one of her friends who she met in Paris during WWII, she was a passenger in an L-5 Stinson light observation aircraft on VJ Day to see the...
as Denise - Richard JaeckelRichard JaeckelRichard Hanley Jaeckel was an American actor of film and television.-Life and career:Jaeckel was born in Long Beach, New York. A short, but tough guy, he played a variety of characters during his fifty years in movies & television and became one of Hollywood's best known character actors...
as Bettis - James ArnessJames ArnessJames King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
as Garby - Scotty BeckettScotty BeckettScott Hastings "Scotty" Beckett was an American child actor. He starred in the Our Gang and Rocky Jones, Space Ranger series.-Early career:...
as William J. Hooper - Brett King as Lt. Teiss
Production
Battleground was originally an RKO property, which was called "Prelude to Love" to hide its subject matter, but was shelved when production head Dore ScharyDore Schary
Isadore "Dore" Schary was an American motion picture director, writer, and producer, and playwright who became head of production at MGM and eventually president of the studio...
resigned, despite $100,000 having been put into the property to that point. When Schary went to MGM, he purchased the rights to the script from RKO, over the objections of Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
, who believed that the public was tired of war films. At MGM, Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
and Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
were reported to be penciled in for the film, along with Van Johnson and John Hodiak, and the project was budgeted at $2 million.
Robert Pirosh had based the script on his own experiences during the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, although he did not serve with the 101st Airborne. Many of the incidents in the film were based on actual events, including the rejection of a German demand for surrender on December 22, 1944, with the one word response "Nuts!" by Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe
Anthony McAuliffe
General Anthony Clement "Nuts" McAuliffe was the United States Army general who commanded the 101st Airborne Division troops defending Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II...
. Twenty veterans of the 101st were hired to train the actors and were used in the film as extras.
The film was in production from April 5 to June 3, 1949, with location shooting in northern California, Oregon and Washington state. Fort Lewis, Washington was used for the tank sequence showing the relief of the 101st Airborne by Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
's Third Army. Shooting took 20 days less than was scheduled, due in part to innovations instituted by Schary such as processing film as it was shot, and dubbing and cutting it so that scenes could be previewed within two days of being shot. The film came in almost $100,000 under budget.
Battleground received a number of premieres before its general release. A private showing for President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
was arranged even before the premiere in Washington D.C. on November 9, 1949, which was attended by McAuliffe, who commanded the 101st during the siege. Two days later, the film premiered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and then on December 1 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The film's general American release was on January 20, 1950.
Response
Battleground was MGM's largest grossing film in five years, taking in a total of over $5 million in the U.S. market alone, and was rated by Photoplay as the best picture of the year. MGM released a similar film in 1951, Go For BrokeGo for Broke! (1951 film)
Go for Broke! is a 1951 war film directed by Robert Pirosh, produced by Dore Schary and starred Van Johnson, several veterans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and Henry Nakamura....
, also starring Van Johnson and directed by Pirosh.
Awards and honors
Battleground won two Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
: for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
(Paul C. Vogel) and for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay (Robert Pirosh
Robert Pirosh
Robert Pirosh was an American screenwriter and director.-Early years:Pirosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from the Baltimore City College high school in 1928...
). It was also nominated for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
, Best Director
Academy Award for Directing
The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
(William A. Wellman
William A. Wellman
William Augustus Wellman was an American film director. Although Wellman began his film career as an actor, he worked on over 80 films, as director, producer and consultant but most often as a director, notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often focusing on aviation...
), Best Film Editing
Academy Award for Film Editing
The Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
(John D. Dunning), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(James Whitmore
James Whitmore
James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
).
James Whitmore won a 1950 Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
as Best Supporting Actor, and Robert Pirosh's script won Best Screenplay. Pirosh was also nominated for a Writers Guild Award for Best Written American Drama.
Accuracy
Although the film is a fictionalized version of the siege of Bastogne, it is highly accurate with one major exception. There were no Germans disguised as Americans around Bastogne. Operation GreifOperation Greif
Operation Greif was a special false flag operation commanded by Waffen-SS commando Otto Skorzeny during the Battle of the Bulge. The operation was the brainchild of Adolf Hitler, and its purpose was to capture one or more of the bridges over the Meuse river before they could be destroyed...
, as it was known, only operated in front of the 6th SS Panzer Army, many miles to the north.
A minor inaccuracy is that, at the time of the Battle of Bastogne, the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment did not have an Item Company. When the airborne divisions were conceived early in World War II, the Army's senior commanders decided that the glider regiments would have only two battalions each. The first battalion would be made up of Able, Baker, Charlie, and Dog Companies, while the second would have Easy, Fox, George, and How Companies. When by 1944 it became evident that these two-battalion regiments were not suited to combat operations, certain glider regiments were broken up and their battalions attached to others. The 327th was assigned the First Battalion of the 401st Glider Infantry Regiment, getting "doubles" on Able, Baker, Charlie, and Dog Companies. Thus "the 2nd Squad, 3rd Platoon of Item Company, 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division," did not exist at the time of the Ardennes campaign. The producers did not want to have someone complain that he was in Item Company during the fighting around Bastogne, and that no such thing happened.
External links
- 1949 review by Bosley CrowtherBosley CrowtherBosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
in the New York Times