Attack (1956)

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Norman Brooks (play)
James Poe (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 October 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War | Action

Tagline:

The Story of the "Fragile Fox" Company!

Plot:

During the closing days of WWII, a National Guard Infantry Company is assigned the task of setting up artillery observation posts in a strategic area...

Plot Keywords:

WWII | National Guard | One Word Title | Officer | Coward

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jack Palance	...	Lt. Joe Costa, Fox Co.
Eddie Albert	...	Capt. Erskine Cooney, CO, Fox Co.
Lee Marvin	...	Lt. Col. Clyde Bartlett, CO, White Battalion
Robert Strauss	...	Pfc. Bernstein
Richard Jaeckel	...	Pvt. Snowden
Buddy Ebsen	...	Sfc. Tolliver, Fox Co.
Jon Shepodd	...	Cpl. John Jackson, Fox Co. (communications)
Peter van Eyck	...	SS Captain (as Peter Van Eyck)
James Goodwin	...	Pfc. Ricks (as Jimmy Goodwin)
Steven Geray	...	Otto, German NCO
Jud Taylor	...	Pvt. Jacob R. Abramowitz (radioman) (as Judson Taylor)
Louis Mercier	...	Brouise (French blacksmith)
Henry Rowland	...	German with Binoculars
Holly Bane	...	Soldier with binoculars (as Mike Ragan)
Ron McNeil	...	Pfc. Jones
Strother Martin	...	Sgt. Ingersol
Leonard Bremen	...	Mess Sergeant
William Smithers	...	Lt. Harold 'Harry' Woodruff
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bing Russell	...	Medic (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Aldrich

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Norman Brooks		play "Fragile Fox"
James Poe		screenplay

Produced by
Robert Aldrich	....	producer
Walter Blake	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Frank De Vol		(as Frank Devol)

Cinematography by
Joseph F. Biroc		(photographed by) (as Joseph Biroc)

Film Editing by
Michael Luciano

Art Direction by
William Glasgow

Set Decoration by
Glen Daniels		(as Glen L. Daniels)

Makeup Department
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jack R. Berne	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert H. Justman	....	assistant director (as Robert Justman)

Sound Department
Robert A. Reich	....	sound effects
Jack Solomon	....	sound

Special Effects by
Dave Koehler	....	special effects (as David B. Koehler)

Stunts
Loren Janes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Rose	....	stunts (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jack Murton	....	casting supervisor

Music Department
Frank De Vol	....	conductor (as Frank Devol)

Other crew
Bud Cokes	....	technical supervisor
Robert Sherman	....	dialogue supervisor
Adele T. Strassfield	....	assistant to producer
Paul Vroom	....	producer: stage play
Saul Bass	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Associates & Aldrich Company, The (presents)

Distributors

• United Artists (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• United Artists (1957) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Critics' Choice Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Glen Glenn Sound  recording (as Glen Glenn Sound Co.)

Also Known As:

Attack! (USA) (alternative spelling)
Command Attack (USA) (working title)
The Fragile Fox (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp | UK:PG | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Albertson Ranch, Triunfo, California, USA

Company:

Associates & Aldrich Company, The

Trivia:

After reading the script, the military flatly refused to allow any co-operation with the production. That meant no tanks, no uniforms, no troops. They didn't even allow director Robert Aldrich to view any Signal Corps footage. Aldrich managed to rent two tanks; by careful staging and ingenuity, he was able to convey the impression that many more were being used.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Throughout the picture, German infantrymen use what seems to be some variation of the water-cooled Browning 30-caliber machine gun, which was a U.S. weapon. Also, the German tanks don't resemble any Panzers in use during World War II.

Quotes:

Sfc. Tolliver, Fox Co.: [refusing a drink] Captain, down around where I come from we dearly love our whiskey. But we don't drink with another man unless we respect him.

The Great Jack Palance in a Powerful War Film

Long on several "lost film" lists, "Attack" is at last available on video. There are several reasons to see this film. It is a forerunner of so many grim, realistic movies that treat the subject with intelligence ("Men In War", "Pork Chop Hill", "Platoon", "The Thin Red Line"). It is brilliantly directed (many scenes are almost unbearable in their naked dramatic truth). And it contains several performances that demand attention.

The conviction of Eddie Albert's playing of the cowardly Lieutenant may come as a surprise to those unaware of his talents. Lee Marvin also delivers a solid characterization, as do most of the other supporting players. But the main feature of this film is the astonishing portrayal of Lt. Costa by Jack Palance. The kind of immersion in a role that Palance exhibits here is rare. It is the kind of performance that seems more like "being" than acting. A number of close-ups of Palance's face deliver a frisson of emotional intensity and truth that are rare and wonderful in the cinema of any period. In fact, Palance helps to demonstrate, in this picture, why "war films" should exist as a genre. The condition of war, of combat in particular, serves to foreground, polarize and intensify emotions and moral convictions. It can call into question the very nature of humanity. Just what is the price of a human life? What do we as humans mean to one another? When do concepts like 'bravery' and 'cowardice' cease to have meaning?

"Attack" is a small film, great in its impact.