Battleground (1949)

Regarded as one of the best films made about WW2.

Most of the film takes place in the snowy woods of France. I liked the interplay between the soldiers. Ricardo Montalban plays a soldier from Los Angeles who's never seen snow before.

There's a great scene where the platoon meets up with some other soldiers in a jeep and they suspect them of being Germans in disguise. Van Johnson and the other soldiers drill them with questions about American culture, baseball, Terry and the Pirates
and the Dragon Lady, and Betty Grable's current romantic interests (Harry James now, not Cesar Romero).

James Whitmore was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as the drill sergeant.  Also with Don Taylor, who was in Stalag 17.

The film was one of the biggest box office hits of 1949, according to the book Box Office Hits.

The movie won Oscars for Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay.

Desperate Journey (1942)

The TCM channel aired this adventure a few months ago during a tribute to Raymond Massey. The movie is about a group of bomber pilots stranded in WWII Germany when their plane gets shot down. Among the airmen are Errol Flynn and a comical Ronald Reagan who declares he's "half American, half Jersey City". He has a few other funny lines in the movie such as "How come every time you wake me up I'm on a date with Ann Sheridan?". 

I liked Alan Hale's character, a man in his 50s who dyed his hair to look younger and lied about his age so he could serve. The others tease him about being the oldest in the group and call him "grandpa".

There's a good interrogation scene with Reagan and Massey who plays a Nazi general.

Interestingly, Massey was in another movie with some similarities to this one: The 49th Parallel/The Invaders (1941) in which Nazis are stranded in Canada and Massey plays a good guy.

 Directed by Raoul Walsh. Music by Max Steiner. Also with Arthur Kennedy and Nancy Coleman as a member of the German resistance. Available on DVD.

Visiting Arlington Cemetery (Arlington Virginia, USA)

Last month I went on a work-related trip in the Arlington/Washington DC area, and had an opportunity to visit Arlington National Cemetery, spending about 3 hours on a Sunday morning there before having to catch my plane back home. It was my first time visiting.

At Arlington, soldiers from almost every American war and military battle are buried there, including well known  leaders such as General George S Patton.





Some well know movie legends who served in the military are buried there, including Lee Marvin, Charles Durning, and Jackie Cooper. Also buried there are actresses Constance Bennett and Phyllis Kirk, whose husbands were veterans.

I did not have a chance to visit all of their graves (that might have taken all day to do), but I did see the grave of Audie Murphy, who was the most decorated soldier in WWII, and also acted in the autobiographical film of his life To Hell and Back.

Some Presidents of the US are buried there including John F Kennedy. I got to see his grave; next to it is an eternal flame. Nearby his brothers and father are buried there as well. Here are some additional photos.



Overall it was a very emotional and inspiring experience, and I recommend everyone visit if they are ever in the area. Plan for at least a half day or a day, and plan on lots of walking!

Superman theatrical cartoons of the 1940s

A blog post by Leonard Maltin recently highlights an old newspaper ad from 1942 where a Superman short subject is promoted. Check it the ad here.

It's amazing to me that Superman cartoons were already being produced in Technicolor just 3 years after Superman's debut in the print comics.

I've never seen any of these theatrical Superman shorts before. But now, thanks to YouTube, they are watchable. But sadly, this episode contains some unfortunate racist stereotyping. 

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In "Japoteurs", Supe saves Lois Lane from a plane piloted by Japanese saboteurs.

Went the Day Well? (1942)

Went the Day Well? starts with a friendly chap addressing the camera and welcoming us to a small village cemetery. He tells us about some "past" events that happened here, specifically a German infiltration of a small British village.

Though not an account of any one specific event that happened during the war (the town in the film - "Bramley End" - is fictional), the film portrays what a German takeover could look like.

When you watch this movie - 70 years later -  keep in mind this movie was made in 1942. Not 1948 or 1952. 1942. The opening narration is set after the war when Hitler had been defeated, says the chap. The movie was quite ahead of its time.

The first half of the movie shows us how the Germans take over the town over a period of several days in May.  One of the title cards announces that one of the days is "Whit Sunday"; I had to look up what that meant because I didn't know Whit Sunday was a commemorative holiday for many in England.

There are some very emotional moments in the film. It's sad to see one of the trusted dignitaries of the village (Leslie Banks) aid the Germans, and shocking to see the town pastor get shot and killed in cold blood (in his own church on Whit Sunday, no less).

The suspense continues to build by the second half of the film when the villagers begin to fight back. Old folks, women, and children become heroes and in some cases, die fighting the enemy.

Went the Day Well?  had its premiere airing on the Turner Classic Movies channel a few months ago, and host Robert Osborne commented that he was amazed that more people had not seen this film.

Director: Albreto Cavalcanti.

More About This Film:

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LA Times Film Review, 2011
The UK Guardian Film Review, 2010
Review from the blog, The Stalking Moon, 2010
Film Review from the blog Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule (2011)
Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, 2014 (review)

Actors Who Fought on D-Day

Today, Comet Over Hollywood commemorates D-Day with a post honoring the popular film & TV actors who served in WWII on June 6, 1944.

Read the post here:

http://cometoverhollywood.com/2014/06/06/the-longest-day-actors-who-fought-in-d-day/

To learn more about D-Day, visit

 http://www.army.mil/d-day/

http://www.dday.org/

The Cross of Lorraine (1944)

Jean-Pierre Aumont

In one of my favorite films, 1953's Stalag 17, the POW character Cookie wonders why there aren't more movies about war prisoners.

Stalag 17 was set in 1944, so Cookie and his fellow barracks mates would not yet have known about  1944's The Cross of Lorraine, a great POW film that was released by MGM.

Lorraine is an unusual American production in that it's about French prisoners and stars a great French actor in the lead role, Jean-Pierre Aumont, playing a bilingual solider who reluctantly serves as a translator.

Unlike Stalag 17, there is little comedy relief in  Lorraine.

Based on factual accounts, it is set in a German prison camp not far from the French border. Some of the prisoners are killed by the Germans. Some are tortured.  And some hope to escape the prison and join the French Resistance.

Gene Kelly and Hume Cronyn play French soldiers. Peter Lorre is a German officer.

It is well made film, and a great tribute to the French alliance.

The Cross of Lorraine aired on Turner Classic Movies a few weeks ago, and was recently reviewed here at the blog Silver Screenings.

The Caine Mutiny (1954)

An exciting and compelling drama featuring memorable performances by Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson and Fred MacMurray, set during WWII.

In the first part of the film, a naval captain (Bogart) pushes his crew to the limits, forcing the crew - believing him to be mentally unstable - to stand against him and his orders. In the second part of the film, the officers are brought to trial, and in his testimony the captain's true state-of-mind is revealed.

The movie is brilliantly told from the perspective of an Ensign, played by Robert Francis (1930-1955). Mr. Francis died very young at the age of 25 in a plane crash, and only had 4 films to his credit: They Rode West (1954, with Donna Reed), The Long Gray Line (1955, with Tyrone Power), and The Bamboo Prison (1954, with Dianne Foster).

Another promising young star in the film is May Wynn (1928 - ), who plays the Ensign's girlfriend. She retired from films after the 1950s; this was her best-known film. More about May Wynn here at the blog Captain Critic.

Van Johnson, Robert Francis, and Fred MacMurray

Nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Bogart), Best Supporting Actor (Tom Tully), Best Screenplay, and Best Score (Max Steiner).

Directed by Edward Dmytryk.  Co-starring Jose Ferrer, Tom Tully, EG Marshall, and James Edwards. A number of other recognizable actors have smaller roles aboard the ship, including Lee Marvin, James Best, Claude Akins, Jerry Paris, and Todd Karns, who played brother Harry Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life.

Based on the acclaimed novel by Herman Wouk (1915 - 2019).

Trivia: Herman Wouk served in the U.S. Navy as Executive Officer on the Destroyer-Minesweepers U.S.S. Zane and U.S.S. Southard. This later became the inspiration for his novel The Caine Mutiny. (IMDb)

Further Reading:
Greenbriar Picture Shows: The Caine Mutiny, Part 1
Greenbriar Picture Shows: Part 2: Exhibitor Memories of The Caine Mutiny

Midway (1976)

Midway was shown on American network television in June of 1992, and I remember watching it and really enjoying the battle scenes, and learning a little about the battle of Midway.

Toshiro Mifune plays Japanese Admiral Yamamoto and Henry Fonda plays American Admiral Chester Nimitz. The battle is planned and executed.

There is a subplot involving American naval captain Charlton Heston and his son played by Edward Albert, whose girlfriend is Japanese. The interracial romance was reflective of the times and relevant to the audiences of the 1970s but otherwise the film isn't  too remarkable.

It's an all star cast, so if you know your classic movie stars, you can play the game "Oh look it's .....". James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Robert Wagner, Dabney Coleman, Pat Morita, Erik Estrada, Robert Mitchum, Hal Holbrook, Tom Seleck, Cliff Robertson and more.

Read another review from the blog Mike's Take on Movies here. 

The Password is Courage (1962)

Charlie Coward on the set of
The Password Is Courage,
with Dirk Bogarde, who played him
in the film

I first heard about this movie from Kate's site devoted to Dirk Bogarde and thought I might like it, the story of a British soilder's numerous attempts to escape a German POW camp during WW2.  Watching Bogarde and his fellow offers outsmart the Nazis is just as fun as watching William Holden and the rest of the boys of Stalag 17 (1953). Like that film (one of my favorites ever), Courage has a similiar tone in that it is a partial comedy with some very suspenseful moments, including several train crashes and a prison camp set ablaze. However, this film is based on a true story of  Charlie Coward, who served as techinical advisor on the film. Reportedly much of the action was fictionalized for dramatic purposes, but he did recount many of his experiences in his book, which I have not read.

The ending of the film features an exciting escape sequence.  And I love the scene in the beginning of the film where Bogarde hides out in a barn and is mistaken for a wounded Nazi soilder. He's then awarded a medal by the Nazis - and this really happened! The poster for the film read: "The Only Man Ever Awarded the Iron Cross - by the Enemy!"

One thing that should be noted: the film leaves out some of the most heroic episodes of Charles' life. Towards the end of the war, he was actually shipped to the Monowitz concentration camp in Poland, and eventually saved the lives of hundreds of Jews (this alone would make for a great film).

Coward has a tree planted in his honour in the Avenue of Righteous Gentiles in Yad Vashem. I've been to Yad Vashem and have seen these trees, but I didn't know about all that Coward did, nor of his book/film. I did see the tree planted in honor of Oscar Schindler. And just last year, Coward was posthumously named a British Hero of the Holocaust by the British Government (read article).

The Password is Courage is an inspiring movie and great entertainment; I highly recommened it. You can occasionally catch it playing on the Turner Classics channel.

Thanks Kate for the copy of the DVD!

Ernest Borgnine interview in WWII magazine

A new special edition of the magazine America In WWII features stories about celebrities who went to war, including a new interview with Ernest Borgnine about his experiences. The 96-page special edition also features many war-era photos.

The magazine may be ordered online from the America In WWII website if not available at your local newsstand or bookstore.

(Video from http://www.youtube.com/user/1947Desoto)

General Patton military museum in Chiriaco Summit, California (photos)

In December of 2008 I went on a road trip from Los Angeles, California to the Joshua Tree National Park in the Mojave desert. I passed alot of interesting towns, attractions, and museums, including the General Patton Military Museum; below are some pictures. (I have not yet been to the other Patton museum in Fort Knox)

The General Patton Military Museum is located in Chiraco Summit, California, which is near an actual desert training center used during WWII. 

West Coast Vietnam Wall

statue of Gen. Patton

The location of the museum is on the land where a desert training camp was during WW2.

Patton was the commanding general of the desert training camp.

Model of the desert area used as WW2 training.

WW2 era newspaper clippings and letters

The museum is about 2-1/2 hours east of Los Angeles (approx 150 miles)

artwork and photos

Trench art

Germany surrenders

Poland - first to fight

for prisoners of war

A typewriter. No PCs, laptops, iphones, etc. back then.

masks

God of Battles by George Patton

Ration book

Ski troops of WW2

Lucky strike.

Emergency drinking water, cookies, etc.

Language guide to North Africa

Leaflets

Shrapnel

Letter from Patton

Right across the way is a nice restaurant and a trading post, but I didn't have time to stop in. A trip to visit the museum would surely be one-day trip from Los Angeles. It all depends on where your starting point would be. I drove 1-10 east from Los Angeles which was a nice trip because you pass through Palm Springs and Cabazon (where the huge dinosaur monuments are).

 I decided to spend the night in San Bernadino, which is a nice town. The weather was quite pleasant in late December; I only needed a jacket. I called home and heard that Chicago was having blizzard weather that day, so I was fortunate to have been out in the Mojave. I wish I was able to see more of the Joshua Tree park, perhaps do a little more hiking. Perhaps next time.