The film portrays American soldiers as vulnerable and human. While they remain steadfast and courageous, each soldier has at least one moment in the film when he seriously considers running away, schemes to get sent back from the front line, slacks off, or complains about the situation he is in. One writer – disregarding Warner's successful Fighter Squadron of 1948 – describes Battleground as the first significant American film about World War II to be made and released after the end of the war.[3]
In mid-December 1944, Privates Jim Layton and William J. Hooper are assigned to the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. As a newcomer, Layton receives a chilly welcome from his squad. Private First Class Holley returns to the company after recuperating from a wound.
Instead of going on leave in Paris, the squad is trucked back to the front because of a surprise German breakthrough in the Ardennes. They stop that night in Bastogne and are put up for the night in the apartment of a young woman, Denise, to whom Holley is attracted.
Jarvess later stands guard in the village, where he runs into some battle-weary soldiers making a "strategic withdrawal". The next morning, led by Platoon Sergeant Kinnie, the men are ordered to dig in on the outskirts of town. Just as they are nearly done, they are sent elsewhere and must dig in all over again.
Holley, Layton, and Kippton man a roadblock that night. German soldiers disguised as Americans infiltrate their position and later blow-up a nearby bridge. In the morning, Roderigues, a Latino from Los Angeles, is delighted by the novelty of snow from a heavy winter storm, but "Pop" Stazak, awaiting a "dependency discharge" that will send him home, is unimpressed. Layton goes to see Hooper, only to find he had been killed, and no one in his company had even known his name.
Kinnie informs the squad about the infiltration and dispatches a patrol comprising Holley, Roderigues, and Jarvess. Just before they start out, the platoon is shelled by German artillery, causing Bettis to panic and desert. Holley's patrol briefly skirmishes with the infiltrators. Roderigues is wounded by machine-gun fire from an enemy tank. Holley conceals him under a disabled jeep half-buried in snow, promising to return for him. Unfortunately, by the time Holley can return, Roderigues has died.
Sgt. Wolowicz, wounded by shrapnel, and a sick Cpl. Standiferd are sent to a field hospital. Later, Doc informs the 2nd Squad that the hospital has been captured.
Holley is appointed the new squad leader and partnered with Layton, while Pop is paired with Hansan. Pop's discharge finally comes in, but they learn from Kipp they are surrounded, meaning he's stuck and unable to leave.
Moved repeatedly, the 3rd Platoon is attacked at dawn. When it appears the platoon will be overrun, Hansan is wounded, Holley flees, and Layton follows Holley. Ashamed, Holley turns around and leads a flanking counterattack that stops the Germans, during which Abner Spudler is killed reaching for his boots, as he can't sleep with them on.
After they get Hanson to an aid station, the squad runs into Bettis, who is doing K.P. duty. Holley finds Layton being entertained by Denise. Later, while on guard duty, they encounter some Germans who have come under a flag of truce to offer Brigadier General McAuliffe surrender terms; his famous reply - "Nuts!" - puzzles the Germans.[5]
The squad is short of supplies, as bad weather has grounded the supply transport aircraft. Several men attend impromptu outdoor Christmas services held by a chaplain. (The chaplain had previously served as clergy at a Hanukkah ceremony, and when he asks a Jewish soldier how he did he responds, "Not bad for a beginner, padre.") The chaplain gives a short speech on the importance of the fight against fascism. He then asks "The 64 thousand dollar question is: was this trip worth it?" After giving an affirmative explanation, he says that people will forget, but they won't, and "don't let anyone ever tell you that you were a sucker to fight against fascism." That night, the Luftwaffe bombs Bastogne. Denise dies, and Bettis, slowed by his fear of returning to the lines, is killed by a collapsing house. The "walking wounded", including Hansan and a mess sergeant he befriends, are recalled for a last-ditch defense of the town.
As the platoon is down to its last few rounds of ammunition, the weather finally clears, allowing Allied fighter aircraft to attack the Germans and C-47 transports to drop supplies, enabling the 101st to hold. Afterward, Kinnie leads the platoon's survivors rearward for a well-earned rest.
Although the film is a fictionalized version of the siege of Bastogne, there were no Germans disguised as Americans GIs operating around Bastogne. Operation Greif only focused on the front of the 6th Panzer Army, many miles to the north. The scenes depicting US troops quizzing each other about their culture (like sports and films) to verify they were not German infiltrators did occur once news of the operation became known.
The unit portrayed in the film is the fictional "2nd Squad, 3rd Platoon of Item Company" of the real 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. The 327th Glider Infantry Regiment never had an Item Company. When the airborne divisions were conceived early in World War II, glider regiments were given two battalions; the first had companies named Able, Baker, Charlie, and Dog while the second got Easy, Fox, George, and How. The 327th held the western perimeter of Bastogne.
Production
Background
Robert Pirosh had based the script on his own experiences during the Battle of the Bulge,[7] although he did not serve with the 101st Airborne, but with the 35th Infantry Division.
Many of the incidents in the film were based on actual events, including the rejection of a German demand for surrender on December 22, 1944, with Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe's one word response, "Nuts!".[8] Other events in the film, like Private Kipp's continual loss of his false teeth and Private Roderigues' having never seen snow before, were from Pirosh's experiences.
Development and casting
Battleground was originally an RKO property, titled "Prelude to Love" to hide its subject matter,[9] 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 the public was tired of war films. At MGM, Robert Taylor and Keenan Wynn were reported to have been penciled in for the film, along with Van Johnson and John Hodiak, and the project was budgeted at $2 million.[10] Wellman put the cast through some military training with Robert Taylor, a former navy officer who dropped out believing the role was not right for him. He was replaced by Van Johnson.[11]
Twenty veterans of the 101st were hired to train the actors and appeared in the film as extras. Lt ColHarry Kinnard, who had been the 101st's deputy divisional commander at Bastogne, was the film's technical advisor. Pirosh also consulted with McAuliffe, who was enthusiastic about Pirosh's intention to show World War II strictly from the grunt's eye view.
The role of Staff Sergeant Kinnie was first offered to Spencer Tracy, but he turned it down. Wellman and Pirosh's second choice was James Whitmore, a Broadway theatre actor and former Marine Corps officer, who also bore resemblance to Tracy. However, the producers insisted a more well-known actor be cast. James Mitchell took on the role, but was fired before shooting, as Wellman thought he lacked the proper physicality and attitude to play a Staff Sergeant.
Filming
The film was in production from April 5 to June 3, 1949,[12] 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 innovative measures taken by Schary such as processing film as it was shot, then dubbing and cutting it so that scenes could be previewed within two days of being shot.[10] The film came in almost $100,000 under budget.[9]
Upon the conclusion of filming, cinematographer Paul C. Vogel described his work in a professional journal:
Except for the opening scenes (filmed at Sawtelle General Hospital) and the climax (shot at Fort McArthur), Battleground was filmed indoors on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s Stage 15. This is a cavernous affair, measuring 130x320 feet with a ceiling height of 70 feet, nearly three million cubic feet of air....All lighting...was from overhead....However, it frequently left actors' faces black under their regulation G.I. helmets. Supplementary lighting for face modelling was used from the floor up....despite the constant 40 degrees temperature maintained by the stepped-up air conditioning system, we discovered that soon after lighting the set each morning, the lamp heat started the air currents flowing—but not always in the same direction! We turned this meteorological oddity to advantage placing our fog machines—spraying vaporized light machine oil—at strategic positions, allowing the indoor currents to waft our fog into the desired place....En passant, the constant fog—chemical, not mental—in which we worked for more than seven weeks killed the desire to smoke. Cinematographers overly addicted to nicotine might try this effective, but drastic cure."[13]
Release
Battleground received a number of premieres before its general release. A private showing for President Harry S. Truman was arranged[9] even before the premiere in Washington D.C. on November 9, 1949, which was attended[10] by McAuliffe, who commanded the 101st during the siege. Two days later, the film premiered in New York City, and then on December 1 in Los Angeles.
Reception
Battleground was MGM's largest grossing film in five years.[10] According to studio records it earned $4,722,000 in the US and Canada and $1,547,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $2,388,000, making it the studio's most profitable picture of the year.[1] It was rated by Photoplay as the best picture of the year.[10]
MGM released a similar film in 1951, Go for Broke!, also starring Van Johnson and directed by Pirosh.[10]
^The actual incident involved F Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Glider Infantry on December 22, near Marvie, southeast of Bastogne. As depicted, the commander of the 327th GIR, Colonel Joseph Harper, was called upon to explain the term.
