- Film Review
- Reviewed By Tony Sloman
-
4 out of 5
This grimy and authentic-looking study of wartime close combat comes, surprisingly, from MGM, fabled home of glamour and glossy production values. The studio supplied an all-star cast, and then proceeded to make the likes of Van Johnson, George Murphy and Ricardo Montalban virtually unrecognisable in combat duds as members of a US Army infantry unit trapped during the siege of Bastogne in 1944. Writer Robert Pirosh actually served at Bastogne, and his screenplay was taken to Metro by new head of production Dore Schary and made in the face of opposition from studio boss Louis B Mayer. It won an Oscar, as did Paul C Vogel's cinematography, though director William A Wellman lost out to Joseph L Mankiewicz for A Letter to Three Wives. Even those who aren't fans of war movies might find much to appreciate in this one.
Plot Summary
Second World War drama starring Van Johnson and John Hodiak. Towards the end of the war, a US Army infantry unit is trapped when the Germans besiege the town of Bastogne in south-east Belgium.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Holley
- Van Johnson
- Jarvess
- John Hodiak
- Roderigues
- Ricardo Montalban
- Pop Stazak
- George Murphy
- Jim Layton
- Marshall Thompson
- Abner Spudler
- Jerome Courtland
- Standiferd
- Don Taylor
- Wolowicz
- Bruce Cowling
- Kinnie
- James Whitmore
- Kipp Kippton
- Douglas Fowley
Crew
- Director
- William A Wellman
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