Saints and Soldiers (2003)

Four American soldiers and one Brit fighting in Europe during World War II struggle to return to Allied territory after being separated from U.S. forces during the historic Malmedy Massacre.

Director:

Ryan Little

Writers:

Geoffrey Panos (story), Matt Whitaker

Stars:

Corbin Allred, Alexander Polinsky, Kirby Heyborne

16 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Corbin Allred	...	Cpl. Nathan 'Deacon' Greer
Alexander Polinsky	...	Medic Steven Gould (as Alexander Niver)
Kirby Heyborne	...	Flt. Sgt. Oberon Winley
Larry Bagby	...	Pvt. Shirley 'Shirl' Kendrick (as Lawrence Bagby)
Peter Holden	...	SSgt. Gordon Gunderson
Ethan Vincent	...	Rudolph 'Rudi' Gertz
Melinda Renee	...	Catherine Theary
Ruby Chase	...	Sophie Theary (as Ruby Chase O'Neil)
Jeff Birk	...	Radio Announcer
Benjamin Gourley	...	Private McKinley (as Ben Gourley)
Tane Williams	...	Injured One-Armed Soldier
Randy Beard	...	German Officer #1
Curt Doussett	...	German Soldier #1
Michael Buster	...	German Soldier #2
M. Casey Reeves	...	Weeping Soldier

Storyline

After surviving a massacre in Malmedy, a location behind the German army in Europe, four American soldiers with only one weapon rescue the British pilot Oberon Winley (Kirby Heyborn) in a tree and they move together, trying to reach the allied forces and save a great number of allied soldiers from a German attack with the information got by Winley in his flight. While marching, each soldier discloses inner secrets to the rest of the group.

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Plot Keywords:

soldier | massacre | american soldier | battle | behind enemy lines | 

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Taglines:

Trapped behind enemy lines. All they have is their hope.

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Genres:

War | Action | Drama | Adventure

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for war violence and related images

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

25 March 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Saints of War

Filming Locations:

Alpine, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$780,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$129,056 (USA) (6 August 2004)

Gross:

$1,310,270 (USA) (20 May 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Go Films, Medal of Honor Productions LLC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Gordon Gunderson, played by Peter Holden, is named after Holden's grandfather, a veteran who fought in the actual Battle of the Bulge.

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Goofs

At the time of the massacre there was no snow on the ground. The snow came later and covered the bodies.

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Connections

Followed by Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Villa"
Performed by JoAnn Ottley
JOANN OTTLEY: Retrospective
1999 Tantara Records
Used by permissionn

User Reviews

Proselytizing with WWII

It's a Mormon production that avoids explicitly labeling the hero as a Mormon in order to draw in a wider Christian audience. The movie has many problems that were not related to the limited budget. To begin with, the characters who escape the Malmedy Massacre are wearing 101st Airborne Div. shoulder patches. This unit was not in the area of attack at the beginning of the German's Ardennes offensive. In fact, it was members of a field artillery observation battalion who were captured at Malmedy. The portrayal of the medic is is unbelievable and designed to make the Mormon hero appear even more saintly. It was a rare occurrence that a combat medic in the European Theater would carry a sidearm, let alone a rifle while wearing red cross identification patches as this was a violation of the Geneva Conventions. The medic in this movie carries a rifle without hesitation and acts more like an infantryman. The movie claims to be based on actual events, but the only actual event it seems to use is the massacre. The plot line for the RAF pilot seems pretty bogus. He says he was flying photo reconnaissance, but that early in the battle Allied aircraft were grounded by the weather. Even if conditions were clear in England, ground fog and a low cloud cover would have prevented the taking of intelligence photos from the air.

The film looks nice, but that is about it. The production needed a fact checker.