Battleground (1949)

Battleground
Directed by William A. Wellman
Written by Robert Pirosh
1949/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Hansan: This is an M-1, semi-automatic, high velocity…

Soldier: Look, you’re not selling it to me, you’re showing me how to fire it.[/box]

Late in life, William A. Wellman still could direct a mean action sequence. The repartee among the GIs is the other stand-out in this rather formulaic war picture.

This is one of those slice-life plots beloved of war movie makers in which we are introduced to a host of soldiers, each with his own backstory.  As the film begins, we see the day-to-day grousing and bantering of an airborne division about to be taken to Paris for some well-earned leave.

Leave is cancelled and the squad is sent to the front to fight in what later would become known as The Battle of the Bulge.  Unfortunately for these men, they become trapped forests near the town of Bastogne where they are surrounded by German forces.  The weather only adds to their troubles.  They are stuck in a blizzard in fog too thick for air support.  We follow the heartbreak and heroics marking the days until the sun shines again.  With Van Johnson, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, John Hodiak, and James Whitmore as some of the soldiers.

This is actually one of the better war films, largely due to the quality of the dialogue.  The situations may be cliche but the talk seems very real.  It is also very nicely staged by Wellman, who had by now honed his combat work to a fine edge.

Battleground won Academy Awards for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White.  It was nominated in the categories of Best Picture; Best Supporting Actor (Whitmore); Best Director; and Best Film Editing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrkN0q7Hs1o

Trailer