Battleground (film)
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| Battleground | |
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 theatrical poster |
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| 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 |
| Editing by | John D. Dunning |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | 9 November 1949 (DC) 11 November (NYC) 1 December (LA) 20 January 1950 (gen) |
| Running time | 118min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $2 million (est) |
| Gross revenue | $5 million (app.) |
| IMDb profile | |
Battleground is a 1949 war film that tells the story of a platoon of Item Company, 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division,[1] trying to cope with the Siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. It stars Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban and George Murphy, and features James Whitmore. It was directed by William Wellman from a script by Robert Pirosh.
Battleground is considered to be the first significant film about World War II to be made and released after the end of the war.[2]
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[edit] Description
In Bastogne, Belgium in the bitter and foggy winter of December 1944, the American 101st Airborne Division is completely surrounded by the German Wehrmacht during the Battle of the Bulge, and is short on fuel, food and ammunition – bad weather has grounded the transport planes which could airlift them supplies. Battleground follows one platoon as they get the orders which lands them up in Bastogne, and as they cope with their many difficulties during the siege.
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 steadfastness 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.
[edit] Cast
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[edit] Production
Battleground was originally an RKO property, which was called "Prelude to Love" to hide its subject matter,[3] but was shelved when production head Dore Schary resigned, despite $100,000 having been put into the property to that point. When Schary went to MGM, he purchased the rights to the script from RKO, over the objections of Louis B. Mayer, who believed that the public was tired of war films. At MGM, Robert Taylor and Keenan Wynn were reported to be penciled in for the film, along with Van Johnson and John Hodiak, and the project was budgeted at $2 million.[4]
Robert Pirosh had based the script on his own experiences during the Battle of the Bulge, although he did not serve with the 101st Airborne. Many of the incidents in the film were based on actual events. Twenty veterans of the 101st were hired to train the actors and were used in the film as extras.[5]
The film was in production from 5 April to 3 June 1949,[6] with location shooting in northern California, Oregon and Washington state. Fort Lewis, Washington was used for the tank sequence showing the relief of the 101st Airborne by Patton's Third Army. Shooting took 20 days less than was scheduled, due in part to innovations instituted by Schary such as processing film as it was shot, and dubbing and cutting it so that scenes could be previewed with two days of being shot.[4] The film came in almost $100,000 under budget.[3]
Battleground received a number of premieres before its general release. A private showing for President Harry S. Truman was arranged[3] even before the premiere in Washington D.C. on 9 November 1949, which was attended[4] by Brigadier General Anthony Clement McAuliffe, who commanded the 101st during the siege of Bastogne.[7] Two days later, on 11 November, the film premiered in New York City, and then on 1 December in Los Angeles. The film's general American release was on 20 January 1950.[8]
[edit] Response
Battlegound was MGM's largest grossing film in five years,[4] taking in a total of over $5 million in the U.S. market alone,[9] and was rated by Photoplay as the best picture of the year.[4] MGM released a sequel in 1951, Go For Broke, also starring Van Johnson. [4]
[edit] Awards
Battleground won two Academy Awards: for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Paul C. Vogel) and for Best Writing, 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 Actor in a Supporting Role (James Whitmore).
James Whitmore won a 1950 Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor, and Robert Pirosh's script won Best Screenplay. Pirosh was also nominated for a Writers Guild Award for Best Written American Drama.[10]
[edit] Notes
- ^ In actuality the unit would have been part of 1st Battalion 401st Glider Infantry Regiment.
- ^ Filmsite.org War and Anti-War Film
- ^ a b c Lang Thompson "Battleground" (TCM article)
- ^ a b c d e f TCM Notes
- ^ IMDB Notes
- ^ TCM Overview
- ^ It was McAuliffe who responded to a request by the Germans to surrender with the succinct message "Nuts!"
- ^ IMDB Release dates
- ^ IMDB Business data
- ^ IMDB Awards
[edit] External links
- Battleground at the Internet Movie Database
- Battleground at the TCM Movie Database
- Battleground at Allmovie
- Battleground movie posters at MoviePosterDB.com
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