The Lost Battalion (2001) (TV)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Russell Mulcahy

Writer (WGA):

James Carabatsos (written by)

Release Date:

2 December 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

Caught between two lines of fire, the Germans gave them two options: surrender or die. They chose a third.

Plot:

Fact-based war drama about an American battalion of over 500 men which gets trapped behind enemy lines in the Argonne Forest in October 1918 France during the closing weeks of World War I.

Plot Keywords:

France | Argonne | Army | Homing Pigeon | Remake

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Rick Schroder	...	Maj. Charles White Whittlesey
Phil McKee	...	Capt. George McMurtry
Jamie Harris	...	Sgt. Gaedeke
Jay Rodan	...	Lt. Leak
Adam James	...	Capt. Nelson Holderman, Co. K 307 th
Daniel Caltagirone	...	Pvt. Phillip Cepeglia
Michael Goldstrom	...	Pvt. Jacob Rosen
André Vippolis	...	Pvt. Lipasti
Rhys Miles Thomas	...	Pvt. Bob Yoder (sharpshooter)
Arthur Kremer	...	Pvt. Abraham Krotoshinsky (runner)
Adam Kotz	...	Col. Johnson
Justin Scot	...	Pvt. Omer Richards (carrier pigeons)
Anthony Azizi	...	Pvt. Nat Henchman
George Calil	...	Pvt. Lowell R. Hollingshead
Wolf Kahler	...	Gen. von Sybel

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA | Luxembourg

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Argentina:13 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R13

Filming Locations:

Luxembourg

Company:

A&E Television Networks

Trivia:

The name "Mulcahy" is carved above the Major's office in the trench. The director of the film was Russell Mulcahy.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Private Philip Cepaglia's name is misspelled as "Cepeglia".

Quotes:

Gen. Robert Alexander: Major Whittlesey, there's going to be promotions and commondations for everybody! No wonder our airplanes couldn't find this place.
Lipasti: Well your artillery certainly found it, General.
Gen. Robert Alexander: [to Whittlesey] Where's the rest of your battallion?
Maj. Whittlesey: [Whittlesee hands the General the collection of dog-tags] Sgt. Gaedeke we couldn't find enough to bury. Lt. Schenck's platoon is somewhere out there. I sent him to link with the French you said were on our flank, General.
Gen. Robert Alexander: [pulls Whittlesey aside] These are acceptable losses...
Maj. Whittlesey: Not to me sir.
Gen. Robert Alexander: I understand your feelings fo your men.
Maj. Whittlesey: You said our flanks were supported and you ordered my men to attack. You said supply would catch up to us which it did not. Is that acceptable to you?
Gen. Robert Alexander: Yes, that's acceptable to me. We were able to break through the German line because you held on here... because you held on here like a thorn in their belly. Major, you did an incredible job out here, but you had 600 men to worry about and I had 20,000 sent into action. I have to live with that...
Gen. Robert Alexander: I sent for trucks to bring your men back. They've been through hell.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinemania: I anodos kai i ptosi tou Nazismou" (2008)

Not worth the hype.

This movie, for all the hype, is really a let down to those who know what really happened in the Charlevaux Ravine between October 2nd and October 8th, as well as the offensive fought in the Argonne Forest between September 26th and November 11th. Factually the movie repeatedly persists in making very basic mistakes concerning uniforms, dialog, military matters, and a whole host of other points too numerous to mention in this post. The quality of the acting is marginal at best, the continuity falls well short of the mark, and the story line fails to follow what really happened. The researchers obviously didn't do their jobs - otherwise the majority of the mistakes made would never have occured (ie: it wasn't the '308th Battalion', it was basically the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 308th Infantry Regiment, 154th Infantry Brigade, 77th Division, and elements of the 306th Machine Gun Battalion, and Company 'K' of the 307th Infantry - it is also inconceivable that combat soldiers would STAND UP in the middle of an attack and expose themselves to infilading fire) The location chosen for the film does not resemble the Charlevaux Ravine in the least, nor does Rick Schroeder resemble Charles Whittlesey (or act like him for that matter). All in all, except for certain battle scenes, this movie was a pure waste of film. Robert J. Laplander Author of the forthcoming book "Epic in the Argonne: A Comprehensive History of Charles W. Whittlesey and the Lost Battalion"