Attack (1956)

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Norman Brooks (play)
James Poe (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 October 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War | Action

Tagline:

It rips open the hot hell behind the glory!

Plot:

During the closing days of WWII, a National Guard Infantry Company is assigned the task of setting up artillery observation posts in a strategic area...

Plot Keywords:

Captain | Drunk | Privilege | Cowardice | Soldier

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jack Palance	...	Lt. Joe Costa, Fox Co.
Eddie Albert	...	Capt. Erskine Cooney, CO, Fox Co.
Lee Marvin	...	Lt. Col. Clyde Bartlett, CO, White Battalion
Robert Strauss	...	Pfc. Bernstein
Richard Jaeckel	...	Pvt. Snowden
Buddy Ebsen	...	Sfc. Tolliver, Fox Co.
Jon Shepodd	...	Cpl. John Jackson, Fox Co. (communications)
Peter van Eyck	...	SS Captain (as Peter Van Eyck)
James Goodwin	...	Pfc. Ricks (as Jimmy Goodwin)
Steven Geray	...	Otto, German NCO
Jud Taylor	...	Pvt. Jacob R. Abramowitz (radioman) (as Judson Taylor)
Louis Mercier	...	Brouise (French blacksmith)
Henry Rowland	...	German with Binoculars
Holly Bane	...	Soldier with binoculars (as Mike Ragan)
Ron McNeil	...	Pfc. Jones

Also Known As:

Attack! (USA) (alternative spelling)
Command Attack (USA) (working title)
The Fragile Fox (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG | Australia:PG | West Germany:16 (f) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Albertson Ranch, Triunfo, California, USA

Company:

Associates & Aldrich Company, The

Trivia:

After reading the script, the military flatly refused to allow any co-operation with the production. That meant no tanks, no uniforms, no troops. They didn't even allow director Robert Aldrich to view any Signal Corps footage. Aldrich managed to rent two tanks; by careful staging and ingenuity, he was able to convey the impression that many more were being used.

Quotes:

Costa: Listen to me, Cooney! If you put me and my men in a wringer - -if you send us out there and let us hang - -I swear, I swear by all that's holy, I'll come back. I'll come back and take this grenade and shove it down your throat and pull the pin!

The Great Jack Palance in a Powerful War Film

Long on several "lost film" lists, "Attack" is at last available on video. There are several reasons to see this film. It is a forerunner of so many grim, realistic movies that treat the subject with intelligence ("Men In War", "Pork Chop Hill", "Platoon", "The Thin Red Line"). It is brilliantly directed (many scenes are almost unbearable in their naked dramatic truth). And it contains several performances that demand attention.

The conviction of Eddie Albert's playing of the cowardly Lieutenant may come as a surprise to those unaware of his talents. Lee Marvin also delivers a solid characterization, as do most of the other supporting players. But the main feature of this film is the astonishing portrayal of Lt. Costa by Jack Palance. The kind of immersion in a role that Palance exhibits here is rare. It is the kind of performance that seems more like "being" than acting. A number of close-ups of Palance's face deliver a frisson of emotional intensity and truth that are rare and wonderful in the cinema of any period. In fact, Palance helps to demonstrate, in this picture, why "war films" should exist as a genre. The condition of war, of combat in particular, serves to foreground, polarize and intensify emotions and moral convictions. It can call into question the very nature of humanity. Just what is the price of a human life? What do we as humans mean to one another? When do concepts like 'bravery' and 'cowardice' cease to have meaning?

"Attack" is a small film, great in its impact.