The story of the Battle of Bastogne is told on screen for
the first time in “Battleground,” available on Blu-ray via the Warner Archive
Collection. The film begins with the arrival of replacement soldiers in France
to join other members of the 101st Airborne Division’s glider infantry in
December 1944. We meet several members of “I” Company as they prepare to head
out for the town of Bastogne, Belgium, and anyone familiar with the Battle of
Bastogne knows what’s in store for them. The German Army soon surrounds the
American soldiers as one of the coldest winters on record sets in as they
endure the severe conditions in the Ardennes Forrest.
Those familiar with the HBO series “Band of Brothers” saw
another version of this story in several episodes of that show. Fans of the
1965 big screen Cinerama epic “Battle of the Bulge” will be familiar with
incidents in “Battleground” such as German soldiers pretending to be American
soldiers to misdirect the Americans, the constant German artillery bombardment,
the extreme cold temperatures experienced by the Americans ill-equipped for the
winter, battle fatigue and the response “Nuts!” by Brig. General Anthony
McAuliffe to German surrender demands.
“Battleground” stars Van Johnson as Private Holley, but
the film is a who’s who of recognizable and up and coming actors. James
Whitmore is Sergeant Kinnie who chews and spits tobacco literally and
figuratively in every scene he appears in. Ricardo Montalban is Roderigues,
Richard Jaeckel is Bettis, James Arness is Garby, John Hodiak is Jarvess,
Marshal Thompson is Jim Layton, Don Taylor is Standiferd, George Murphy is
“Pop” Stozak and too many others to list here. The only woman member of the
cast is Denise Darcel as Denise, the owner of a Bastogne residence who takes in
some of the soldiers for some respite away from the front lines.
Known as the Battered Bastards of Bastogne, the various
infantry units who defended and fought in the Battle of the Bulge take umbrage
when they hear they were rescued by General Patton. The supply air drop at the
end as the men of the 101st are resupplied with food and ammo is followed by
the finale with Sergeant Kinnie marching his platoon in close order drill with
a wink and a nod twist by Kinnie.
Directed by William A. Wellman, “Battleground” wasn’t his
first effort depicting the infantry soldier in WWII and it wouldn’t be his
last. Wellman, known as “Wild Bill” from his WWI days as a pilot serving in the
French Foreign Legion, directed the 1943 classic WWII film, “The Story of G.I.
Joe,” released in 1943 and based on the exploits of war reporter Ernie Pyle and
his coverage of the North Africa and Italian campaigns and the soldiers he
journeyed with.
Along with the 1946 release “A Walk in the Sun,”
“Battleground” shares the common soldier’s view of war also seen in “The Story
of G.I. Joe” and all three films give a very realistic depiction of the war.
“Battleground” was filmed on two large MGM sound stages and cinematographer
Paul Vogel won an Oscar for his realistic lighting of the sets which made them
look like they were exterior shots.
The screenplay was by Robert Pirosh who was also made
associate producer on the film. He wrote the screenplay for over a dozen films
including “A Day at the Races” with the Marx Brothers, “Up in Arms” with Danny
Kay and “I Married a Witch.” Later, he would go on to also direct five movies
including “Go for Broke” and “Valley of the Kings.” Master Sergeant Pirosh was
a veteran of the Battle of Bastogne where he served as a combat infantryman
with the 35th Infantry Division.
“Battleground” became Pirosh’s pet project which he first
brought to RKO with the help of Dore Schary who was head of production and
shared Pirosh’s enthusiasm for the project. After returning from a research
trip to Bastogne in 1947 (where he found his old foxhole), new RKO head Howard
Hughes cancelled the project under the belief that American’s were no longer
interested in military combat movies. Pirosh and Schary quit RKO and Schary was
hired as head of production at MGM where he purchased “Battleground” and hired
Pirosh as executive producer. It became the first major studio military combat
movie made after the end of WWII.
MGM head Louis B. Mayer also thought Americans were no
longer interested in war films and thought the film would fail, but boy was he
wrong. “Battleground” became a huge hit for MGM and was their largest grossing
film in five years, ushering in a renewed interest in military themed movies
for decades to come. The movie also won an Oscar for Pirosh’s screenplay. I’d
say Pirosh and Schary had the last laugh.
“Battleground” had its premiere on 9 November, 1949 in
Washington D.C. The film was nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture,
Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Whitmore, Best Film Editing for John
D. Dunning and wins for Robert Pirosh for his screenplay and Paul Vogel for
black and white cinematography. The black and white image looks terrific on
this Warner Archive release and is presented in the pre-scope flat aspect
ratio. The film clocks in at 118 minutes and sounds great with a score by
Lennie Hayton who was the musical director for MGM from 1940-1953 and who was
married to singer Lena Horne.
Extras on the Warner Archives Blu-ray disc includes the
Tex Avery animated classic “Little Rural Riding Hood,” the Pete Smith short
film “Have You Ever Wondered No.2: Let’s Cogitate” and the “Battleground”
trailer. The release would have benefitted greatly from an audio commentary by
Steven Jay Rubin, the author of “Combat Films: American Realism, 1945-2010,”
McFarland & Company, 2011 (second edition). The book is an excellent
reference and the chapter on “Battleground” was helpful in both my enjoyment of
the movie and in writing this review. “Battleground” is highly recommended for
fans of military combat movies.
