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Battleground (1949)

Approved | | Action, Drama, War | 20 January 1950 (USA)
Battleground Poster
A squad of the 101st Airborne Division copes with being trapped in the besieged city of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.

Director:

Writer:

(story and screenplay)

Stars:

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Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
... Holley
... Jarvess
... Roderigues
... 'Pop' Stazak
... Jim Layton
... Abner Spudler
... Standiferd
... Wolowicz
... Kinnie
... 'Kipp' Kippton
... The Chaplain
... Hansan (as Guy Anderson)
Thomas E. Breen ... Doc
... Denise
... Bettis
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

We follow a band of American soldiers as they engage the Germans in a snowy, foggy winter near Bastogne in World War II. They're low on fuel, rations, and ammunition; the Germans are constantly encouraging their surrender via radio and leaflets, and most importantly, the pervasive thick fog makes movement and identification difficult and prevents their relief by Allied air support. This film focuses much more on the psychology and morale of the soldiers than on action footage and heroics. Written by Michael C. Berch <mcb@postmodern.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

u.s. army | battle of the bulge | uniform | christmas | jeep | See All (20) »

Taglines:

The guts! The girls! The glory! of a lot of wonderful guys! See more »

Genres:

Action | Drama | War

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

| |

Release Date:

20 January 1950 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Bastogne  »

Filming Locations:

 »
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Box Office

Budget:

$1,631,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$10,293,960

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,666,420
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show more on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The American small units, companies and platoons, depicted did not exist. The glider infantry regiment assigned to the 101st Airborne Division was the 327th. When these glider infantry regiments were constituted in the early part of World War II, they had only two battalions. There was no third battalion in the regiment at the time of the battle of Bastogne. Instead, the first battalion of the 401st Glider Infantry Regiment was detailed to the command of the 327th. This meant that the glider infantry component of the 101st Airborne Division at this time had no "Item", "King", "Love", or "Mike" companies, the companies mentioned in this movie. This was done cleverly to avoid having any veterans of the 101st come forward to say something like: "I was in Item Company at Bastogne, and no such thing ever happened to us." See more »

Goofs

At one point where the troops are all riding in the back of a truck; the truck and all the passengers are rocking back and forth. At one point the conversation centers on Hansan and he has a few lines to deliver; at that point neither Hansan or the men next to him are moving at all. See more »

Quotes

Holley: Yeah, they really shoulda sent out a bigger patrol.
PFC. Johnny Rodriguez: Do you want to goof off?
Holley: Who said anything about goofing off?
PFC. Johnny Rodriguez: Nobody. I'm just saying, the best way is to tell them you heard voices talking in German.
PFC. Donald Jarvess: Let's say we heard voices talking in Japanese and let G-2 figure that out.
See more »

Connections

Featured in Baseball (1994) See more »

Soundtracks

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
(uncredited)
Written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie
Sung by the soldiers
See more »

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User Reviews

impressive war movie from MGM
25 May 2004 | by – See all my reviews

MGM made one of their large studios into a freezing, war-torn hell, and let many of their young stars loose within it for this staggeringly realistic dramatisation on the Battle of the Bulge. As war movies go, this one does everything but pile on the glamour; these boys really did have to do some serious acting!

The cast is headed by a surprisingly good Van Johnson, proving he can do more than just romances, musicals, and various takes on 'the boy next door'. With him are some impressive co-stars: Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, and John Hodiak the most memorable; also James Whitmore, Don Taylor, and Leon Ames.

This movie is more than just boy's own stuff; there is a genuine story here and you do care about the characters and what happens to them. It all seems so hopeless and yet you want to keep on watching. This production caused a lot of friction at MGM as Mayer really didn't approve of the starkness of it all in the midst of his family pictures. He was wrong, 'Battleground' is one of the studio's best.
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