Battleground

19491949
ApprovedApproved
1h 58min

Battleground (1949)

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Action Drama History

True tale about a squad of the 101st Airborne Division coping with being trapped by the Germans in the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.True tale about a squad of the 101st Airborne Division coping with being trapped by the Germans in the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.True tale about a squad of the 101st Airborne Division coping with being trapped by the Germans in the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.

Director
- William A. Wellman
Writer
- Robert Pirosh(story and screenplay)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Won 2 Oscars
- 5 wins & 5 nominations total

Videos1

Official Trailer

Official Trailer

John Hodiak at an event for Battleground (1949)

Battleground (1949)

Battleground (1949)

Van Johnson and John Hodiak in Battleground (1949)

Battleground (1949)

Battleground (1949)

Van Johnson in Battleground (1949)

Battleground (1949)

Battleground (1949)

Van Johnson and John Hodiak in Battleground (1949)

Battleground (1949)

Battleground (1949)

Twelve O'Clock High

7.7

Twelve O'Clock High

Give 'em Hell, Harry!

7.3

Give 'em Hell, Harry!

Sands of Iwo Jima

7.1

Sands of Iwo Jima

Destination Tokyo

7.1

Destination Tokyo

Story of G.I. Joe

7.2

Story of G.I. Joe

Run Silent Run Deep

7.3

Run Silent Run Deep

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

7.3

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

Halls of Montezuma

6.6

Halls of Montezuma

Battleground

4.2

Objective, Burma!

7.3

Objective, Burma!

Bataan

6.9

Flying Leathernecks

6.4

Flying Leathernecks

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. —Michael C. Berch <mcb@postmodern.com>

year 1944 cold weather world war two in belgium american abroad u.s. soldier 122 more

Taglines
- The First Great Picture Of The Second World War !
Genres
Certificate
- Approved
Parents guide

Trivia
The white "card suit" stencils on the sides of the soldier's helmets in the film are accurate. The World War II 101st Airborne Division used the different suits to identify their three parachute infantry (diamonds, hearts, and spades) and one glider infantry (clubs) regiments. A white "tic" at either the twelve, three, six or nine o'clock positions around the suit indicated Headquarters, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Battalions, respectively. The soldiers in this film wear the club suit of the 101st's 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, with a "tic" at the nine o'clock position, indicating they belong to that regiment's 3rd Battalion.

Goofs
At the beginning of the movie Holley (Van Johnson) enters the tent wearing a class A uniform. Although currently worn above the ribbon rack, at the time the film takes place, the Combat Infantryman Badge was worn on the left breast pocket, below the ribbons.

Quotes
[last lines]
Holley: [as they begin marching from the battlefield, passing their replacements as they enter] Hey, Kinnie - what ever happened to Jody?
Sgt. Kinnie: All right, come on! Come on! What do you want these guys to think, you're a bunch of WACs? Alright, alright pick it up now. Hut, two, three. Hut, two, three, four. Hut, two, three, four. You had a good home but you left...
I Company: You're right!
Sgt. Kinnie: You had a good home but you left...
I Company: You're right!
Sgt. Kinnie: Jody was there when you left...
I Company: You're right!
Sgt. Kinnie: Your Baby was there when you left...
I Company: You're right!
Sgt. Kinnie: Sound off!
I Company: One, two
Sgt. Kinnie: Sound off!
I Company: Three, four.
Sgt. Kinnie: Cadence Count
I Company: One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four!
Sgt. Kinnie: Your baby was lonely - as lonely as could be...
I Company: 'Til Jody provided company!
Sgt. Kinnie: Ain't it great to have a pal...
I Company: Who works so hard to keep up morale!
Sgt. Kinnie: Sound off!
I Company: One, two
Sgt. Kinnie: Sound off!
I Company: Three, four.
Sgt. Kinnie: Cadence Count
I Company: One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four!
Sgt. Kinnie: You ain't got nothing to worry about...
I Company: He'll keep her happy till I get out!
Sgt. Kinnie: But you won't get home 'til the end of the war...
I Company: In nineteen hundred and seventy-four!
Sgt. Kinnie: Sound off!
I Company: One, two.
Sgt. Kinnie: Sound off!
I Company: Three, four...

Alternate versions
Also available in a computer colorized version.

Connections
Featured in Kisses (1991)

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

Top review

10/10

Most underatted and forgotten movie of WW2 ever...

Before "Band of Brothers" came out, I considered this the best, most accurate depiction of an infantry unit in action ever, and I still think it has an edge over "Saving Private Ryan" and "Patton" as the greatest World War II movie(not mini-series) yet made.

The entire cast is not only fun to watch, but very believable in their individual roles, and as a veteran, I can attest to the fact that the swings between humor and deep thoughts in their conversations are dead on accurate. Anybody who's ever served in an infantry unit will tell you that for all the bickering back and forth, members of a squad, platoon, or company will always look out for each other. "Battleground" captures this perfectly.

One of the saddest things for me about this movie is how few people know of it. Except for the occasional airing on AMC or TCM, it rarely shows up on TV and that's a shame. It's well worth the time and effort to find this one.

helpful•115

8

acerimmer308
Jan 18, 2005

Release date
- January 20, 1950 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Languages
Also known as
- Kesselschlacht
Filming locations
- Fort Lewis, Washington, USA
Production company
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Budget
- $1,631,000 (estimated)

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
- 1h 58min
Color
- Black and White
Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1

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Battleground (1949)

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By what name was Battleground (1949) officially released in India in English?

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