Battleground **** (1949, Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, James Whitmore, Marshall Thompson, Scotty Beckett) – Classic Movie Review 6714

Director William Wellman’s important and distinguished, if necessarily grim 1949 iconic war movie won Oscars for its screenplay by Robert Pirosh, who was involved in the actual Battle of the Bulge, and for Paul C Vogel’s gritty black and white cinematography. It stars Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy and James Whitmore (who was Oscar nominated for Best Supporting Actor), with Marshall Thompson, Scotty Beckett and Denise Darcel.

The battle ground is the 1944 Battle of the Bulge and this movie is the vivid reconstruction of the fortunes of war of a band of Americans in a a company of the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division caught up in the defence of Bastogne in an engagement in December 1944 between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge.

The Americans are hampered by fog, which prevents vital air cover, leaving the skies open for German heavy bombers. The siege of Bastogne took place from 20 to 27 December, until the besieged American forces were relieved by General George Patton’s Third Army. [Spoiler alert] Needless to say, the result was an American victory, otherwise the Americans would not have been making this movie in 1949. The Americans reject the German demand for surrender on 22 December 1944, with Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe’s real-life one-word response ‘Nuts!’

MGM boss Louis B Mayer decreed no one wanted a war film in 1949, but producer Dore Schary went ahead and the two men fell out. But Mayer was wrong and Battleground was a big hit in its day, taking $6,269,000 on a $1,631,000 budget, resulting in a profit of $2,388,000, making it the studio’s most profitable picture of the year. MGM made a follow-up in 1951, Go for Broke!, also starring Van Johnson and directed by Pirosh.

However, perhaps neither the screenplay and cinematography, nor the lightweight acting, nor the MGM interior sets quite seem to add up to a truly compelling classic film for today’s audiences.  The Battle of the Bulge (1965) is worth seeing for a more compelling account of the fighting.

Still, there are very considerable elements of both force and realism to be found in many parts of Battleground’s script and handling, with many of the incidents shown based on actual events and American soldiers frankly shown as vulnerable and human as well as courageous. And it is historically important as the first significant American post-war film about World War Two.

The Siege of Bastogne in December 1944.

The main cast are Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, Marshall Thompson, Jerome Cortland, James Whitmore, Leon Ames, Don Taylor, Bruce Cowling, Douglas Fowley, Leon Ames, Guy Anderson, Richard Jaeckel, Scotty Beckett, Brett King, Denise Darcel and Ian MacDonald.

Battleground runs 118 minutes, is written by Robert Pirosh, shot in black and white by Paul C Vogel, produced by Dore Schary and scored by Lennie Hayton.

Battleground won two Oscars for Best Cinematography Black-and-White (Paul C Vogel) and for Best 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 Supporting Actor (James Whitmore). Whitmore won a 1950 Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actor and Robert Pirosh won Best Screenplay. Photoplay magazine voted it Best Picture.

Twenty veterans of the 101st Airborne Division trained the actors and appeared as extras. Lt Col Harry Kinnard, the 101st’s deputy divisional commander at Bastogne, is the technical adviser. Shooting took place in northern California, Oregon, Washington state, and Fort Lewis, Washington for the tank relief sequence.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6714

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