Anzio (1968)

One of WWII's bloodiest battles as the Allies smash through the German lines which have enclosed the Anzio beachhead. Four months and 30,000 casualties before the Allies finally march to Rome.

Directors:

Edward Dmytryk, Duilio Coletti

Writers:

H.A.L. Craig (screenplay) (as Harry Craig), Wynford Vaughan-Thomas (book)

Stars:

Robert Mitchum, Peter Falk, Robert Ryan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Mitchum	...	Dick Ennis (war correspondent, International Press)
Peter Falk	...	Cpl. Jack Rabinoff
Robert Ryan	...	General Carson
Earl Holliman	...	Platoon Sgt. Abe Stimmler
Mark Damon	...	Wally Richardson
Arthur Kennedy	...	Maj. Gen. Jack Lesley
Reni Santoni	...	Pvt. Movie
Joseph Walsh	...	Doyle
Thomas Hunter	...	Pvt. Andy
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Pvt. Cellini
Anthony Steel	...	Gen. Marsh
Patrick Magee	...	Gen. Starkey
Arthur Franz	...	Maj. Gen. Luke Howard
Tonio Selwart	...	Gen. Van MacKensen
Elsa Albani	...	Emilia

Storyline

Allied forces land at Anzio unopposed but instead of moving inland and north to Rome their commanding officer decides to dig in. A battle-hardened war correspondent borrows a jeep and driver and drives to Rome and back encountering no significant German forces. The report on the absence of the enemy is discounted as the general is concerned about having the strength to hold Anzio and support the offensive. By the time it is finally decided to make a move the Germans have arrived in strength. A US Ranger assault on Cisterna is ambushed with most of the forces killed or captured. A small group of survivors, including the war correspondent, struggle to make their way back to Anzio and report on the German defenses.

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Plot Keywords:

world war two in italy | italy | year 1944 | behind enemy lines | nazi occupied italy | 

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Taglines:

Where the end of World War II began.

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for war violence

Details

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

English Italian German

Release Date:

24 July 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Anzio

Filming Locations:

Royal Palace, Caserta, Campania, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Rapido River was the site of a major assault by the US 36th Infantry (Texas) Division. The attack was repulsed by the Germans with many casualties (143 killed, 663 wounded and 875 missing). Although the 36th Texas Infantry division suffered heavy casualties in the Rapido River crossing, they were reinforced and became a fighting division that was used in the Southern France invasion a couple of days before D-day in Normady. 36th fought with distinction through the Rhone Valley, Black Forest, Alsace Valley and entered southern Germany with many battle honors. Elements of the 442 RCT or Nisei Japanese-American Regiment (The most decorated US Army unit in Europe) were attached to the 36th Infantry Division in Italy, Southern France, and Germany. Elements of the 36th Texas Infantry Division caught the vice-Furher Herman Goring of the Luftwaffe in Bavaria. The 36th infantry Dvision was to be shipped to the Pacific Theater, but the atomic bomb was dropped.

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Goofs

The nickname, "Black Devils" (or "Devil's Brigade"), was a nickname acquired after the battle of Anzio. It would not have used been prior to the battle.

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Quotes

Dick Ennis: [referring to a radio that went dead] Ain't that a bitch? A dumb, dirty stupid useless bitch!

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Connections

Referenced in Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star (1991)

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Soundtracks

This World Is Yours
Sung by Jack Jones
Lyrics by Doc Pomus
Edizioni Musicali "Dino"

User Reviews

Uneven War Movie

It's always a bad sign when a film's theme tune sounds nothing like the genre it's claiming to be . THE BAT for example features a funky jazz tune and boy was that film a pile of rodent droppings and alarm bells started ringing when the opening credits of ANZIO started where a war weary corespondent played a very possibly drunk Robert Mitchum marched through a military HQ to the sounds of a Frank Sinatra style swing song ! Yeah there's nothing quite like a war film to get you on your feet grooving away , bah bah bah bah bah bah bah

ANZIO isn't an awful film but it's far from being a great one either with the script being the major problem . It opens one of those light hearted scenes of with over paid , over sexed and over confident US soldiers that we've seen far too many times before . I guess it's supposed to be amusing but it's not . Eventually the film lives up to its title and shows us what went wrong at the Anzio landings with the American generals Clark and Lucas not driving inland quick enough . This is a fairly good history lesson since it paints a fairly poor picture of American leadership in Italy . Remember in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN , BAND OF BROTHERS and A BRIDGE TOO FAR Monty is painted as possibly the most incompetent allied General of the war ? This was nothing compared to the ridiculous mistakes made by Clark and Lucas during the Italian campaign , though somewhat cowardly this film renames Clark as " Carson " and Lucas as " Lewis " which is a great pity because a history student could do worse than watch this film , though if they did they'd notice like a great number of war films made during this period ( BATTLE OF THE BULGE is a good example ) that both German and American tanks are from a different generation but the Anzio landings here are more accurate than the ones seen in PINK FLOYD THE WALL

After this the narrative then sadly settles down into a straightforward war film where the action could basically have taken place anywhere like France or the Phillipines where a bunch of GIs are surrounded by the enemy and have to make it back to enemy lines . As many people have pointed out on these pages the script is rather unfocused and slightly disjointed and I had a gut feeling that some of it ended up on the cutting room floor , for example we see the platoon escape from a house at night and almost immediately after the platoon are trapped by some German snipers in the middle of the day , though to be honest this isn't a movie that is afraid to kill off characters so deserves some credit alongside the historical accuracy