Battleground (1949 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Battleground | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | William Wellman |
| Produced by | Dore Schary Robert Pirosh |
| Written by | Robert Pirosh |
| Starring | Van Johnson John Hodiak Ricardo Montalban George Murphy |
| Music by | Lennie Hayton |
| Cinematography | Paul Vogel |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | 1949 |
| Running time | 118min |
| IMDb profile | |
Battleground is a 1949 war film that tells the story of a squad of the 101st Airborne Division trying to cope during the Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne, Belgium. It stars Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, Marshall Thompson, Jerome Courtland, Don Taylor, Bruce Cowling, James Whitmore, Douglas Fowley, Leon Ames, and James Arness.
The movie won two Academy Awards: for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Paul C. Vogel) and for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay (Robert Pirosh). Other nominations included Best Picture, Best Director (William A. Wellman), Best Film Editing (John D. Dunning), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (James Whitmore).
This film is notable for portraying American soldiers as vulnerable and human, as opposed to just inspirational and gung-ho. While there is no question concerning the courage and steadfastedness of the members of the squad, each has at least one moment in the film when he seriously considers running away, schemes to get sent away from the front line, or vocally complains about being in the situation he is in. In spite of all their fears and misery, though, they stay at their posts when the battle is at its worst, and exhibit great pride in their unit and in themselves.
