The Execution of Private Slovik (1974)

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.

Director:

Lamont Johnson

Writers:

Richard Levinson (written for television by), William Link (written for television by),

Stars:

Martin Sheen, Mariclare Costello, Ned Beatty

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 7 nominations.

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
Joe George	...	109th Regiment Sergeant (as Joseph George)
Laurence Haddon	...	Piper
James Burr Johnson	...	NCO
Tom Ligon	...	Childs

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

desertion | firing squad | world war two | execution | 1940s | 

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Taglines:

Was it an Act of Cowardice... or an Act of Conscience?

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

13 March 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Execução do Soldado Slovik

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

TV debut of Charlie Sheen.

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Quotes

Father Stafford: Give it another volley if you like it so much!
Lt. Col. Leacock: Take it easy, Padre! None of us are enjoying this.

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Soundtracks

"Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby"
Performed by Louis Jordan

User Reviews

A Tough Call

This was made-for-TV movie shown about 30 years ago about the only American since the Civil War to be shot for desertion. Slovik (Martin Sheen) was a strange person and I didn't know how to react to this story, frankly. I knew Hollywood was going to give it its usual liberal bias, especially with Sheen in the starring role, so I tried to look at this objectively with no prejudices - something I don't see here with any of these reviews.

Unfortunately, in trying to be totally neutral, it's easy to watch this film and come away with no definite stance. On one hand, you can't blame the military because it would be in chaos if every soldier who didn't want to fight could get out of it. That's ludicrous. On the hand, Slovik was such a nice, gentle guy, the death penalty for his actions seemed severe, too. Couldn't something else have been worked out? I don't know, and at least I'm being honest. I never was in the military and maybe if I was, it would be an easier call. It is a tough call....but at least the film - except for a couple of lulls with the romance angle - kept my attention and made me think about an issue, so it served its purpose.