IMDb > The Execution of Private Slovik (1974) (TV)

The Execution of Private Slovik (1974) (TV) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   446 votes
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Director:
Lamont Johnson
Writers:
William Bradford Huie (book)
Lamont Johnson (writer)
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Contact:
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Release Date:
13 March 1974 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Plot:
The story of Eddie Slovik, who was executed by the Army in 1945, the only American soldier to be executed for desertion since the Civil War. | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 7 nominations more
User Comments:
Pretty Well Balanced more (23 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Martin Sheen ... Eddie Slovik
Mariclare Costello ... Antoinette Slovik

Ned Beatty ... Father Stafford

Gary Busey ... Jimmy Feedek
Matt Clark ... Dunn
Ben Hammer ... Lt. Col. Leacock
Warren J. Kemmerling ... Maj. Fellman (as Warren Kemmerling)
Charles Haid ... Brockmeyer
Kathryn Grody ... Margaret
Paul Lambert ... Joe Sirelli

Jon Cedar ... Holloway
Joseph George ... 109th Regiment Sergeant

Laurence Haddon ... Piper
James Burr Johnson ... NCO

Tom Ligon ... Childs
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
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Runtime:
120 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | French
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Iceland:12 | Sweden:15
Filming Locations:
Montréal, Québec, Canada
Company:
Universal TV more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The court-martial scene was filmed in the Grand Ballroom of the passenger ship and tourist attraction Queen Mary, in Long Beach, California. more
Soundtrack:
Tangerine more

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User Comments

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful.
Pretty Well Balanced, 2 June 2009
Author: rudge49 from United States

I read the book in 1970 or so when I was in the Army, I thought the movie was pretty well balanced. The book starts with Huie visiting the "Dishonored Dead" section of the US Oise-Aisne Cemetery in France where Slovik was initially buried-his remains were repatriated in 1987. The author keeps asking why only one death sentence carried out and why Slovik, why if the purpose was to make an example of him was the execution carried out in secrecy. From there he goes into Slovik's troubled youth, his criminal record which initially protected him from the draft. But as the Drill Sergeant tells him and his fellow recruits in Basic, "You guys are the bottom of the barrel. But now the heat's one, Uncle Same needs bodies, and the bottom of that barrel is starting to look mighty good." Armies-and the governments they serve-have a funny way of lowering their standards as wars drag on. The official name of the Draft in the USA was (and is) Selective Service, by 1943 they were a lot less selective. Slovik was a good example of what WWII GIs called "The Sad Sack" (in my day, 1967-1971, a "dud", in civilianese we might say a loser.

One poster said Slovik gambled and lost, a very apt description. He repeatedly declared he would desert if given the chance, he was given a chance to redeem himself, he refused-I can clearly recall the scene where he tells the JAG officer "I want my court martial." Eisenhower hoped he could equal Pershing's record of no executions for desertion, but as the author notes he had a lot of other things on his plate. The author notes the court martial was made up of rear echelon officers, he notes the presence of some combat arms officers would have been better but they were otherwise engaged. I recall the scene where the president of the court reads the written secret ballots, realizes the vote is unanimous for death, tells the others "Let's have another cigarette and think about this."

Worth watching, very true to the source, this is one you watch and you draw your own conclusions.

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Deserved it?? mlmartinny
My favorite Martin Sheen performance. heberald26
This movie belongs on DVD. sublevel27
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