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Battleground
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Battleground (1949) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   2,305 votes
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Up 161% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Robert Pirosh (story)
Robert Pirosh (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Battleground on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 January 1950 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The First Great Picture Of The Second World War ! more
Plot:
A squad of the 101st Airborne Division copes with being trapped in the besieged city of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
User Reviews:
The best movie about World War II more (52 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

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
James Arness ... Garby (as Jim Arness)
Scotty Beckett ... William J. Hooper
Brett King ... Lt. Teiss
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joel Allen ... Transportation Captain (uncredited)
Martha Bamattre ... French Peasant Woman (uncredited)
Richard Bartlett ... Casualty (uncredited)
Nan Boardman ... Belgian woman volunteer (uncredited)
Tommy Bond ... Runner (uncredited)
Robert Boon ... German Soldier (uncredited)
Michael Browne ... Levenstein (uncredited)
Norman Budd ... Crying Casualty (uncredited)
George Chandler ... Mess Sergeant (uncredited)
Tony Christian ... German Soldier (uncredited)
Lillian Clayes ... Old Woman (uncredited)
Louise Colombet ... French Peasant Woman (uncredited)
Gene Coogan ... G.I. Scout (uncredited)
Bert Davidson ... 101st Battalion Officer (uncredited)
George Dee ... Frenchman (uncredited)
Jean Del Val ... French Peasant Man (uncredited)
Victor Desny ... Wounded German Soldier (uncredited)
Chris Drake ... Medic Private (uncredited)
Jim Drum ... Supply Sergeant (uncredited)
Gretl Dupont ... French Peasant Woman (uncredited)
John Dutra ... G.I. (uncredited)
Ted Eckelberry ... G.I. (uncredited)

Bill Erwin ... Warrant Officer (uncredited)
Dan Foster ... Gunner (uncredited)
John Gardner ... G.I. (uncredited)
Eugene Gericke ... German Soldier (uncredited)
Edmund Glover ... G.I. from Maine (uncredited)
David Holt ... G.I. Straggler (uncredited)
James Horne ... Transportation Captain (uncredited)
Richard Irving ... G.I. from New York (uncredited)
Samuel Jaegers ... Drill sergeant (uncredited)
Dickie Jones ... Tanker (uncredited)
Tommy Kelly ... Casualty (uncredited)
Billy Lechner ... Runner (uncredited)
William F. Leicester ... Tank Destroyer Man (uncredited)
Martin Lowell ... G.I. (uncredited)
Ian MacDonald ... Army Colonel (uncredited)
John Mansfield ... Casualty (uncredited)
Dewey Martin ... G.I. Straggler (uncredited)
Jimmy Martin ... G.I. from the South (uncredited)
Roger McGee ... Tanker (uncredited)
Peter Michael ... German Soldier (uncredited)
William Murphy ... Non-Com (uncredited)
John Mylong ... German Major (uncredited)
Tommy Noonan ... G.I. Straggler (uncredited)
George Offerman Jr. ... K Company G.I. (uncredited)

Jerry Paris ... German Sergeant (uncredited)
Victor Paul ... G.I. (uncredited)
Steve Pendleton ... Sergeant (uncredited)
Janine Perreau ... Little Girl (uncredited)
Phillip Pine ... G. I. Non-Com (uncredited)
Albert Pollet ... French Peasant Man (uncredited)
Bob Porter ... G.I. (uncredited)
Otto Reichow ... German Platoon Leader (uncredited)
John R. Reilly ... Tanker filling up with Gas (uncredited)
Sammy Resnick ... Non-Com (uncredited)
Jon Riffel ... 'Kipp' Kipton (uncredited)
Henry Rowland ... German NCO (uncredited)
John Royce ... German Soldier (uncredited)
Edmon Ryan ... Major (uncredited)
Carl Saxe ... 101st Battalion Officer (uncredited)
Nelson Scott ... G.I. (uncredited)
Irene Seidner ... French peasent woman (uncredited)
William Self ... K Company G.I. (uncredited)
Charles Smith ... Walking Wounded (uncredited)
Ivan Triesault ... German Captain (uncredited)
Max Trujillo ... GI (uncredited)
Roland Varno ... German Lieutenant (uncredited)
Tommy Walker ... Mechanic (uncredited)
Arthur Walsh ... G.I. (uncredited)
Ward Wood ... Replacement (uncredited)
Fred Zendar ... German Soldier (uncredited)
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Directed by
William A. Wellman 
 
Writing credits
Robert Pirosh (story)

Robert Pirosh (screenplay)

Produced by
Robert Pirosh .... associate producer
Dore Schary .... producer
 
Original Music by
Lennie Hayton 
 
Cinematography by
Paul Vogel (director of photography) (as Paul C. Vogel)
 
Film Editing by
John D. Dunning  (as John Dunning)
 
Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons 
Hans Peters 
 
Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis 
 
Makeup Department
Jack Dawn .... makeup designer
 
Production Management
William Kaplan .... production manager (uncredited)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sid Sidman .... assistant director (uncredited)
 
Art Department
Alfred E. Spencer .... associate set decorator
 
Sound Department
Douglas Shearer .... recording supervisor
Conrad Kahn .... sound (uncredited)
 
Stunts
Gene Coogan .... stunts (uncredited)
Victor Paul .... stunts (uncredited)
Carl Saxe .... stunts (uncredited)
Fred Zendar .... stunts (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Henry Forrester .... grip (uncredited)
J. Harper .... camera operator (uncredited)
Ed Hubbell .... still photographer (uncredited)
 
Editorial Department
Peter Ballbusch .... montage
 
Other crew
H.W.O. Kinnard .... technical advisor (as H.W.O. Kinnard, Lt.Col., Inf.)
John Banse .... script supervisor (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributors
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Additional Details

Runtime:
118 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
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

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
James Whitmore, who played the hardened Sgt. Kennie, served in the Marine Corps. during World War II. more
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. more
Quotes:
The Chaplain: [at an interfaith service for the soldiers] Now it's nearly Christmas... and here we are in beautiful Bastogne enjoying the winter sports. And the $64 question is: "Was this trip necessary?" I'll try to answer that. But my sermons, like everything else in the army... depend on the situation and the terrain. So I assure you this is going to be a quickie. Was this trip necessary? Let's look at the facts. Nobody wanted this war but the Nazis. A great many people tried to deal with them, and a lot of them are dead. Millions have died...
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Some of the Best (1949) more

FAQ

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24 out of 30 people found the following review useful.
The best movie about World War II, 20 February 2003
Author: Cthulhu-7 from Gerrardstown, W.Va.

This is the best movie ever made about a democratic society going to war against fascism. The movie perfectly captures the fear and courage of American soldiers in war, fighting not to conquer like the Germans or destroy civilization like the terrorists, but to defend their fellow man. There's no sunshine patriotism in this movie. No flag waving or false heroics. But the lofty ideas behind the nation that made men such as these is there hidden like the sun behind fog and clouds. And at the end, the glory embodied in the men blazes true and shines as brightly as the sun when the weather lifts.

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