Battleground (1949)

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Robert Pirosh (story)
Robert Pirosh (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 January 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Action | War | Drama

Tagline:

The First Great Picture Of The Second World War !

Plot:

A squad of the 101st Airborne Division copes with being trapped in the besieged city of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.

Plot Keywords:

Army | Battle Of The Bulge | Infantry | Paratrooper | WWII

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Dec. 30

12:00 AM

TCM

Cast

Van Johnson	...	Holley
John Hodiak	...	Jarvess
Ricardo Montalban	...	Roderigues
George Murphy	...	'Pop' Stazak
Marshall Thompson	...	Jim Layton
Jerome Courtland	...	Abner Spudler
Don Taylor	...	Standiferd
Bruce Cowling	...	Wolowicz
James Whitmore	...	Kinnie
Douglas Fowley	...	'Kipp' Kippton
Leon Ames	...	The Chaplain
Herbert Anderson	...	Hansan (as Guy Anderson)
Thomas E. Breen	...	Doc
Denise Darcel	...	Denise
Richard Jaeckel	...	Bettis

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #13886) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Douglas Fowley, who plays Pvt. Kippton (he of the continually lost false teeth) served in the Navy in the South Pacific in World War II and lost all his own teeth in an explosion aboard his aircraft carrier during battle.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Near the end of the film, when the C-47s are paradropping supplies to the soldiers, one of the stock footage pieces is of paratroopers jumping from planes, not supplies being dropped.

Quotes:

Hansan: This is an M-1, semi-automatic, high velocity...
Soldier: Look, you're not selling it to me, you're showing me how to fire it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Some of the Best (1949)

Men at war

"Battleground" is a curious film that came out of Hollywood in 1949. WWII had been over, so the public was not wishing for more war films at the time. Yet, MGM went ahead with this project and gave it to William Wellman, a veteran director who knew his craft. The film was written by Robert Pirosh.

The movie is a curiosity also because it was shot in Culver City, yet, at times, it gives the impression of having been shot on location in the Ardennes. The casting of some of the best acting talents MGM had under contract at the time contributes to give the film another dimension, as the viewer becomes involved with these men that are trying to survive during the worst possible conditions.

In spite of some of the criticism in this forum, the film has a real feeling because it stresses the dependency among the men that are caught in the conflict. Their every day lives back home is at the center of the conversation one hears the men talk about. Wives, children, sweethearts, parents, and even popular figures of the pop culture, like Bette Grable, are the basis of communication as the men idle away waiting to be called to fight the enemy.

Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, Marshall Thompson, Don Taylor, Leon Ames, and a wonderful James Whitmore, are seen as the soldiers around Bastogne. Denise Darcel is seen as the kind French woman who befriends the soldiers.

Ultimately, "Battleground" is William Wellman's tribute to the men in uniform.