Reviews (11)

One of Hayward's Best
Susan Hayward stars in this biography of Lillian Roth, a talented singer pushed into the spotlight by her stage mother, and when she is unable to deal with her insecurities and the tragedies in her life, she turns to alcohol. It's one of those roles that every actress must dream of getting, and Hayward really sinks her teeth into it. She goes from glamour to degradation, with a very realistic portrayal of Roth's descent into alcoholism. She puts everything into it, and her performance is forceful and truthful. Jo Van Fleet is also terrific as her grasping mother, too eager to give her daughter the life she never had, and her scenes with Hayward are among the best in the film. It must have taken a lot for Roth to write her life story and let it be filmed, but she has in Hayward an actress that lays bare the painful honesty and ultimate courage of her struggle. It's a tribute to Roth and to the fine work done at Alcoholics Anonymous.

Lillian Roth cries today
The biopic is a corrupt movie genre. Do they ever get it right?! Probably the worst offence against the life of a singer is to cast an actress who cannot sing, and this is the downfall of this film. For whilst I have never seen or heard Lillian Roth perform, I can guess that she needed to have more going for her than Susan Hayward does in this treatment. It is said that Hayward did her own singing, presumably because it was felt the Jolson Story way, with someone miming the singer's own recordings, is too false. However, Hayward's singing is flat and she sounds as though she is dubbed anyway. The only number that isn't a total embarassment is her rendition of Happiness is a Thing Called Joe, perhaps because it is less demanding and the cameraman spares us the indignity of Hayward trying to dance. One might explain away her lead-footedness with the idea that Roth couldn't dance either, but I remember Hayward's awful dance number in I Want to Live, where that time the camera never left her upper torso. Alcoholism here is said to be a "quarrel with fate", where the failure to cope with a trauma leads one to drink via self-pity, self-hate, self-destruction. The cataclysmic trauma in Roth's life in this narrative is the loss of a boyfriend when she is 18 (Hayward plays 18 going on 40), though we are given prophetic touches of doom from the beginning, with Roth's stagemother and the Alex North music score. However what is interesting is what starts her drinking. A nurse in Lillian's entourage gives her a bottle to help her sleep and "forget" about the boyf. The nurse herself admits that it's "not in the rule book" but that "she can't think of anything else" to help what appears to be a case of depression. The nurse's action is in response to Hayward delivering a meandering speech about the anguish of time making her forget the face and name (!) of the boyf. (A cynic might think that the nurse should be the one to take a drink after such an earful of stream of consciousness psychodribble). That Lillian is an "adorable" drunk as opposed to a mean drunk isn't much compensation for addictive behaviour, more an obvious sympathy device by the writer of a memoir. As the representation of a star, director Daniel Mann provides no sense of period and we certainly gain no understanding of Roth's career other than performing one song in a nightclub, and then no longer performing because she's married or drunk. When Hayward takes over from the requisite little girl playing the star as a child (who actually suggests more talent than Hayward offers), we see her doing a movie take, but never hear what becomes of the film. This kind of makes the final This is Your Life a joke, as generic as the crowd we see in the audience. About the only time Hayward manages to be inspired in her choices is the use of twitches when she is drunk. A silent walk down a street, with her finally falling into a collection of trash cans, is beautifully done, the scene all the better because we're spared the generally uninspired screenplay, reportedly based on Roth's book. As her mother, Jo Van Fleet steals the film, even if she is discarded half way through. Her squinty-eyed Jewish intoned monster of ambition borders on camp, and it's a pity we never get to see the life she wants to spare her daughter, though ironically the life the daughter chooses turns out to be presumably much worse. And Eddie Albert as prospective husband number 3 adds an additional uncomfortableness, apart from his own polio-induced lameness. Perhaps it's the prospect of having to listen to Hayward's vocals for eternity. That would drive anyone to drink.

Powerful and worthy of an Oscar for Hayward
Susan Hayward and Jo Van Fleet both should have won Oscars for their roles in "I'll Cry Tomorrow." Hayward was absolutely astounding and Van Fleet was excellent in her role as the overly ambitious mother. I had no idea Hayward was such an excellent actress! She is the second person, (next to Judy Garland for her role in "A Star Is Born)" who was robbed of their awards. I don't know who won the year Hayward was nominated, but I'm convinced she performed a performance almost impossible to beat! It left me speechless.

HAYWARD IS RIVETING!
The VHS is worth every cent just to watch and hear Hayward sing, "Sing you Sinners"! Her performance as the talented, broken and beautiful alcoholic Lillian Roth is a revelation and truly one of the legendary performances in film history.
SO HEAR IS THE QUESTION? WHERE, OH WHERE IS THE DVD?!?!?!

This Movie Should of Been Named I Want To Live!
This movie by far was the greatest, I love Susan Hayward, and she's a brilliant actress, she up there with Bette Davis, she really puts her all in this, while filming this movie she was going through hard times so a lot of her emotions are visible in this movie, and that's what makes this movie great. This is a most have to sit at home and watch on a Saturday Night. Basically, it tells the story of what a lot of entertainers, movie stars, and atheletes go through, drugs, alchohol, but this movie is dealing with alcohol and how it can mess up your life and what mess up a lot of entertainers lives. This is better to watch then to go to some 7.00 dollar movie, even though it was made in the 50s and a lot of movies didn't deal with those type of roles this is a most see, and all you young people out there don't let it scare you because it was made in the 1950s it is a really great film for all ages. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

"I Hope You Don't Mind Drinking This Early"
Starting with "The Thin Man", William Powell and Myrna Loy were Nick and Nora Charles, Dashiell Hammett's greatest creation. This series stood apart from others in that it was a class "A" production all the way, MGM giving these wildly popular films their best contract players and their finest behind the scenes people to create something unparalleled in American film history.

The origional "The Thin Man" was a masterpiece of light and witty comedy mystery that has never been equaled. For that reason it is unfair to compare the five films that followed with the first one, and once that is set aside, each of the five was charming, witty, and classy, the perfect way to solve a mystery and be entertained at the same time. This was the last entry and was just teriffic, as "The Thin Man" went out in style.

Manhattan meets the hip jazz scene in this one as Nick and Nora are involved in solving another delicious murder, with nice touches from Nicky Jr., and of course, their dog Asta. It begins when Nick and Nora have a night out on the gambling ship "S. S. Fortune".

The film opens with a young and stunningly beautiful Gloria Grahame singing "Your Not That Easy to Forget" and only gets better. As Nick and Nora rub shoulders with the elite, and a few of Nicky's old 'pals', a chain of events leads to murder, discovered the next morning when the chief suspect stops by with his fiance to ask for Nick's help. Nick turns him over to the cops for his own safety when he is shot at but the deal is sealed when the bullet hits a bottle Nick had been saving for a special occasion , and as he puts it, "An old friend of mine went completely to pieces".

There are no shortage of suspects as Nick and Nora start nosing around, aided by a young Keenan Wynn as one of the hip band members. It's very funny as Nora begins to pick up the 'lingo' of Wynn and his jazz friends, who seem to have a language of their own. The victim seemingly had no end of enemies. He was deep in debt to a dangerous gambler, had been cheating on his girlfriend (Grahame), was running out on a contract to play at the "S. S. Fortune" for greener pastures, had publicly humiliated Grahame's former boyfriend Buddy Hollis (Don Taylor), and more.

Before it's over, Nick and Nora will walk in on another murder, and Nick will stage a suprise back on the waters, gathering all the suspects back on the swanky "S. S. Fortune" to trick a killer. Patricia Morison, Jayne Meadows, Dean Stockwell, Ralph Morgan, William Bishop and Marie Windsor all offer fine support to make this closing chapter one of their best. Some nice family moments (Nick and Nora style) with Asta and Nicky Jr. are put in the mix as well, Nicky Jr. seemingly a 'chip of the old block'.

The same carefree and fun loving ambiance that was a staple of every entry is here and a good, atmospheric mystery to boot. There is nothing shabby about "Song of the Thin Man". It is a bar that many have attempted to reach when making a light comedy mystery but these films have endured because of their wit, fun, and charm. Nothing has ever come close to them and you won't want to miss this one!

The Thrill Is Gone
While the previous THE THIN MAN GOES HOME was hampered by a very weak script, THE SONG OF THE THIN MAN actually has a decent script but lacks the energy and sparkle of the first four films in the series. Even William Powell and Myrna Loy seem a bit tired of the whole thing, and this film finds their legendary chemistry reduced to the occasional twinkle.

The script is entertaining enough, concerning the murder of a band leader with ties to casino gamblers, and the supporting cast has a number of fine performances by the likes of Gloria Grahame, Jayne Meadows, and Keenan Wynn. Most viewers will find it all reasonably entertaining, but the bloom is gone; newcomers to the 'Thin Man' series would do better to select one of the first four films in the series.

For fans only!
I loved the earlier THIN MAN movies. The chemistry between Nick and Nora was cute and new at the time the films originated. Nick, the former police detective, who loved to drink but had the deductive capabilities of Sherlock Holmes. Nora was the adventurous rich girl who proved to be more than a match for her street smart husband. This formula worked very well during the early movies but by the time SONG OF THE THIN MAN was released the magic was gone.

Now Nick, & Nora are now parents of Nick Jr. played by Dean Stockwell (QUANTUM LEAP's Rear Admiral Albert 'Al' Calavicci)and both clearly showing their middle age wear and tear. All the interplay between Nick and Nora seems old and tired. Nick continues to use his street connections to try and generate clues while Nora still seems to be curious about Nick's detective powers. Nick, as always, rounds up all the suspects and as everybody, except the criminal who must not be familiar with Nick's modus operandi, knows he revels the criminal and saves the day. I should have listed this as a spoiler but anyone familiar the THIN MAN movies will know how the film ends. The only mystery is who did it and not how it will be revealed.

I love THE THIN MAN movies. I really enjoyed THE THIN MAN GOES HOME. However the series should have ended there. SONG OF THE THIN MAN was an obvious attempt to ring a little more money out of the franchise. Even though I'm not a big fan of the film I do hope it and all the other THIN MAN movies are released on DVD.

What's the Thin Man Got to do With Charlie the Tuna?
This is not the best of the Thin Man series but it is entertaining; particularly for the mainstream stereotyping of the Jazz world. An interesting bit part is played by Henry Nemo ("The Neem") a Jazz musician, composer, and hustler who--according to the writer who created 60's T.V. icon Charlie the Tuna--was the inspiration for the Starkist spokesfish. The original Charlie (whose motto was "the shortest distance between two points is a angle") was a cool New York hustler who was always looking to get taken by Starkist as a shortcut to gaining status; but never quite got the concept.

Not With A Bang But A Wimper
In SONG OF THE THIN MAN Nick and Nora board a gambling ship where a band leader is murdered. Nick is drinking again after being forced to abstain from alcohol during his last case in THE THIN MAN GOES HOME. Nick and Nora are accompanied by Nick, Jr. who is played by a young Dean Stockwell. Keenan Wynn has an important role as a member of the band. Edward Buzzer is the director.

The film marked the sixth and final entry in the THIN MAN Series. William Powell and Myrna Loy held the starring roles of Nick and Nora Charles in all of the movies. The sixth film was definitely one of the weakest in many respects except for the atmosphere which was quite upbeat. ... Read more

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"Ladies and gentlemen, the motion picture you are about to see is called The Naked City." With a helicopter shot slowly closing in on Manhattan, producer Mark Hellinger's staccato narration introduces the film ("It was not photographed in a studio . . .") and continues throughout like a documentary commentator with a literary flair. It's a conceit that serves this police story nicely, giving the patina of realism to this deglamorized look at the work of the homicide squad. Barry Fitzgerald reigns over the film with his jovial good humor as a veteran detective investigating the murder of a high-living model. He has few clues and fewer suspects, until he cracks the story of big-talking Howard Duff and throws some light on his shady past. Jules Dassin, who had just come off the shadowy, expressionist Brute Force, peels away those flourishes to shoot in a straightforward style influenced by the Italian neo-realists and the contemporary American newsreels. The film is rich in supporting performances by soon-to-be-famous character actors--Arthur O'Connell, James Gregory, Paul Ford--but the city itself becomes the film's most vivid character. Shot entirely on location in New York City, the distinctive cityscape looms over practically every shot and injects the film with a defining sense of place (cinematographer William Daniels won an Oscar for his work). You can see the roots of The French Connection in the bustling city scenes and the exciting foot chase finale on an elevated walkway. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A Turning Point In Film Noir Style
There are two styles of Film Noir. Fueled by writers like James M. Cain, Dashiell Hammett, and Raymond Chandler, the first style emerged in the 1940s and was characterized by a cynical, often witty tone; anti-heroes, dangerous women, and assorted criminal elements; and complex plots that emphasized betrayal and moral ambiguity. It was also photographed in a remarkable visual style that combined glossy production values with atmospheric emphasis on light and shadow--and films like THE MALTESE FALCON, THIS GUN FOR HIRE, MILDRED PIERCE, THE BLUE DAHLIA, and DOUBLE INDEMNITY remain great classics of their kind.

But after World War II public taste began to change. Things that could only be hinted at in earlier films could now be more directly stated, and as audiences clamored for a more gritty realism the glossy sophistication of 1940s Noir fell out of fashion. The result was a new style of Noir--photographed in a grainier way, more direct, more brutal, and even less sympathetic to its characters. And the 1948 THE NAKED CITY was among the first to turn the tide. The sophisticated gumshoe, slinky gun moll, and glossy production values were gone; this film felt more like something you might read in a particularly lurid "true detective" tabloid.

In an era when most films were shot on Hollywood backlots, THE NAKED CITY was actually filmed in New York--and while filmmakers could film with hidden cameras sound technology of the day posed a problem. But producer Mark Hellinger turned the problem into an asset: the film would be narrated, adding to the documentary-like style of the cinematography and story. (Hellinger performed the narrative himself, and his sharp delivery is extremely effective.) The story itself reads very much like a police report, following NYPD detectives as they seek to solve a dress model's murder.

For 1948 it was innovative stuff-but like many innovative films it falters a bit in comparison to later films that improved upon the idea. The direct nature of the plot feels slightly too direct, slightly too simple. The same is true of the performances, which have a slightly flat feel, and although Barry Fitzgerald gives a sterling performance he is very much a Hollywood actor whose style seems slightly out of step alongside the deadpan style of the overall cast. Even so, the pace and drive of the film have tremendous interest, and while you might find yourself criticizing certain aspects you'll still be locked into the movie right to the very end. Particularly recommended for Film Noir addicts, who will be fascinated to see the turning point in the style.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Dear God, why wasn't she born ugly?
I can't remember another movie that took as many chances as THE NAKED CITY and successfully pulled it off. It doesn't look quite like any movie I've seen before and doesn't play quite like any other movie.
The story is simply enough - a young model is found murdered and the Homicide Squad is called in to solve the case.
Even before the murder, though, we're introduced to something new. We're given and aerial sweep and pan shot of the skyline of New York City. A voice over narrator emphatically tells us that this movie was NOT photographed in a studio; the stars perform "in the streets, in the apartment houses, in the skyscrapers of New York City itself." And so it is. No matter how well the set is designed, you can usually spot it as quickly as you can CG animation, and this ALL looks like NYC to me.
The casting is out of the ordinary, as well. I mean, Barry Fitzgerald as top-star in a crime story? Come on. Get serious. Yeah, maybe if you want a pleasant little slightly inebriated Irish chap - but a homicide detective? Yeah, right.
But it works. Fitzgerald is just right as Lt. Daniel Muldoon because this movie doesn't rely on Mike Hammer-ish brutality, or a brilliant and intuitive crime solver. I think the film makers here were looking for a cast who could meld into the city rather than rise above it, and Fitzgerald is a surprising and inspired choice.
This is a movie about dusting for fingerprints and putting evidence in plastic bags. It's about wearing out shoes interviewing potential witnesses and striking out 90% of the time. The Fitzgerald character works because he fits into the world better than a major star would have. The film-makers seem to be striving for a documentary feel to things (I trying not to use the term cinema veritie here).
Scenes are bracketed by location street scenes - hordes of people entering a subway station, a horse-drawn milk cart and milkman on a quiet city street, two young women admiring a gown in an upscale store window.
There's a price to be paid for relying exclusively on location shots. There are a few scenes that sound like the voice recording were done in an echo chamber. And the film has a flat look to it (not all that bad for a noir-ish crime drama.) The reason we can tell studio shots so quickly is because they look good - the photographer has control over lighting and light sourcing.
If there are detective movies and gangster movies and any number of other sub-genres in the Crime category, I guess you'd call this a police procedural movie. There are a couple of punches thrown and a few guns fired, but for the most part attention lingers on characters and procedures. This is one of the first movies, to my knowledge, that seems to recognize that crimes are more likely solved in the lab than in the brain of an inspired crime fighter.
I unhesitatingly recommend this to everybody. For crime and noir buffs, this is a must see.

EXCELLENT, REALISTIC NOIR.
THE NAKED CITY is New York: a metropolis of playgrounds and police precincts, fire escapes and brownstones, neon lights, subways rushing during rush-hour & fire hydrants sprinkling the streets on a sweltering summer day. Definitely not a city constructed on a Hollywood back lot: this film benefits immensely from location shooting. The film is a series of powerful scenes, first depicting the murder of a pretty, man-hungry larcenous young model, and then detailing the efforts of the cops to sniff out her killers. Eventually, they unravel the case culminating with a thrilling chase sequence across the Williamsburg Bridge from Manhattan's Lower East Side into Brooklyn. The fact that big-name star weren't cast in the film add to its appeal: this curiousty adds to the realism of this film. Highly innovative for 1948 was the cinematography technique used: the camera crew worked from inside a van equipped with a one-way mirror which enabled them to film the city while remaining invisible to the passerby: this technique has inspired scores of films since.

Top Notch Police Procedural
This movie really stands out as being different from the usual noir crime story of the past. One observant reviewer already pointed out the difference in the realism conveyed here as opposed to the Hollywood stylized reality of its contemporary "The Big Sleep". You won't find any tough talking detectives slugging down a shot of bourbon in the middle of the day and conversing with a tough dame like Lauren Bacall in a dialogue, which no one would ever have in real life. What you have here is a police story with cops who get up in the morning, kiss their wives good-bye, and go to work. The work can be frustrating and tiresome; a lot of walking and asking questions around town; many leads are followed and few pan out. At the end of the day they ride commuter trains back home in the heat and humidity. They get home and kiss their wives hello. There is a dynamic here that is very different from modern police crime dramas as well. How many times today do we see the same tired and clichéd characters and relationships in police movies? The chief of police is always a jerk. The hero cop has to solve the case in spite of the chief's meddling and hostility (sometimes he's even suspended and has to solve it on his own time). The hero cop is a disillusioned veteran who is probably divorced and lives alone with nothing but cold pizza and beer in the fridge. Does this sound familiar? Throw in a partner who is probably a rookie learning the ropes and probably gets shot in the shoulder during the last chase scene (don't worry it's always just a flesh wound). You want realism? Use the four letter word whenever possible. Aren't we all tired of that by now? See this movie if you are.

Another reason to see this film is because it was shot in the streets of New York around 1948 and from the first shot where we see the Empire State Building before it had the antennae added, it offers us a glimpse of the city that has changed and will never be the same. If you knew New York around this time, or if you are just interested from a cultural perspective, you'll enjoy the views of the city streets where milk is still delivered in horse drawn vehicles and every one seems dressed to the 9s.

Dark As Tar!
The naked City plays out like no other film noir eve made. Unlike other noir's that explore a vast landscape the Naked City turns NYC into a fully fleshed out character. In this vision NYC is the home of run rampant jewel thieves, beautiful women and wisdom filled cops. But it's the overwhelming sense of reality adn open ended didalogue that blasts this gem off the screen. Unlike many Noir's Naked City has no problem placing the action in the day light which is glorius. Taking the gloss and sheen off the actor's faces and replacing it with sweat and urgency as they chase criminals; over the years this technique became standard. THe film begins with a shocking image of two men corvorting over a woman's dead limp body only to take off in numerous plot twists and turns as a winding road. To follow film noir is to love it the reverse of good and evil with extended laps in judgement and violence with in the world of irony. The naked City is a prime example of brilliant film making; a precise plot, elegant cinematography and brilliant acting and casting. This film is a little seen gem that has to be viewed now! ... Read more

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Black comedy and suspenseful action inside a German POW camp during World War II--a setting that was later borrowed for the TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes. The great director Billy Wilder adapted the hit stage play, applying his own wicked sense of humor to the apparently bleak subject matter. William Holden plays an antisocial grouse amid a gang of wisecracking though indomitable American prisoners. Because of his bitter cynicism, Holden is suspected by the others of being an informer to the Germans, an accusation he must deal with in his own crafty way. Holden, who had delivered a brilliant performance for Wilder in Sunset Boulevard, won the 1953 Best Actor Oscar for Stalag 17. Very much his equal, however, is Otto Preminger, an accomplished director himself, who plays the strict, sneering camp commandant. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (52)

An excellent blend of humor and drama...
Stalag 17 is one of the best war movies ever, and it is probably the second best film ever made about prisoners of war (The Great Escape would be the best). Directed and co-written by the great Billy Wilder, Stalag 17 features an exciting plot, great performances, especially from William Holden, and many humorous moments. All in all - very entertaining!

Essentially, as Cookie, the narrator, explains, the movie is about what happened in a certain barrack in Stalag 17, a German prisioners of war camp. Because of several failed escape attempts and their horrible luck in concealing secrets for the Germans, the inhabitants of the barrack conclude that there must be a traitor in their midst. Their suspicions turn towards the character played by William Holden, who is an extremely cynical loner who spends his time trading with the Germans and running projects to earn money from his fellow prisioners.

In addition to the exciting plot about the traitor, Stalag 17 paints an accurate and often humorous, sometimes serious, portrait of the men in the camp and how they deal with their situation through joking around. Anyhow, Stalag 17 is a classic war movie and is very entertaining - highly recommended!

The BEST WWII POW FILM for real life drama, now on DVD !!
The Best WWII post-war Classic films dealing with the human factor were; "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946), "Twelve O'Clock High" (1949) & "Stalag 17" (1953). These Black & White Classics dealt with the dark & forgotten side of war. The Best years - war battled veterans returning home, Twelve O'Clock - the terror of dying & Stalag - the captured, imprisoned POWs. Hollywood was at their best with these films and we are forever reminded of the sacrifices that the "Greatest Generation" made for us.

Summary: We are introduced to American POW airmen at a WWII German prison camp ("STALAG 17"). It is Christmas 1944 and the narrator Cookie (Gil Stratton) explains the specific situation happening at his Barracks #4. The latest problem is all escaping POW's are being killed so their is suspicion that there is a "Stoolie" amongst them. Sefton (William Holden - Oscar winning performance) is the lead suspect since he is the Barracks hustler and friend to all (including the Germans) for a price. The Security Officer Price (the young Peter Graves - outstanding) seems a little to perfect for Sefton. So the story has many turns but finding the spy is the primary focus.

This DVD is Black & White, Full Screen / Standard Format (before WideScreen). Excellent quality picture.

This the Best POW film dealing with the true "Black Comedy" of war. Note: Black Comedy / Dark Comedy was the nervous humor which came out in the most dismal time and the horrors of war.

This is a CLASSIC FILM to watch again & again. Shall we never forget !!!

Caught this once again during the Memorial Day orgy of
World War II flicks. It is special & because of William Holton stands above the rest. I loved Steve McQueen & James Garner in The Great Escape & The Bridge over the River Kwai, also starring Holton, is epic. This movie is on a much smaller scale & is the best of the POW genre. Holton plays the disreputable Sgt. Sefton, a prisoner throughly despised & suspected of being the traitor in the POW camp responsible for escapees being caught & shot. How he singlehandedly reveals the Nazi in their midst is the movie's climax. Shot in glorious black & white adds to its grittiness realistic feel. I get caught up in it every time. It's on cable often, rent it or buy it cheap, here. Classic cinema from the 50's.

Entertaining story set over sixty years ago, in Germany

Studio: Paramount Studio
Video Release Date: August 21, 2001

Cast:
William Holden ... Sgt. J.J. Sefton
Don Taylor ... Lt. James Skylar Dunbar
Otto Preminger ... Col. von Scherbach
Robert Strauss ... Stanislas 'Animal' Kasava
Harvey Lembeck ... Harry 'Sugar Lips' Shapiro
Richard Erdman ... Hoffy (chief, barracks #4)
Peter Graves ... Price (security)
Neville Brand ... Duke
Sig Ruman ... Sgt. Johann Sebastian Schulz
Michael Moore ... Manfredi
Peter Baldwin ... Johnson
Robinson Stone ... Joey (ocarina player)
Robert Shawley ... Blondie Peterson
William Pierson ... Marko the Mailman (At Ease)
Gil Stratton ... Clarence Harvey 'Cookie' Cook (Narrator)
Jay Lawrence ... Bagradian (cohort of Dunbar)
Erwin Kalser ... Geneva man
Edmund Trzcinski ... Triz' Trzcinski ('I believe it!')
James Dabney Jr. ... Bit part
Carl Forcht ... German lieutenant
Ralph Gaston ... Bit part
Jerry Gerber ... Bit part
Ross Gould ... Von Scherbach's orderly
Russell Grower ... Bit part
Ross Bagdasarian ... Singing soldier
Peter Leeds ... Barracks #1 POW getting distillery
Wesley Ling ... POW
Harald Maresch ... German lieutenant
Bill McLean ... POW
John Mitchum ... POW
Robin Morse ... POW
William Mulcahy ... Bit part
Rodric Beckham ... Bit part
Richard P. Beedle ... POW
Joe Ploski ... German guard-volleyball player
Harry Reardon ... POW
Paul Salata ... Prisoner with beard
James R. Scott ... Bit part
Bill Sheehan ... POW
A. Gerald Singer ... Steve (the crutch)
Warren Sortomme ... POW
Herbert Street ... Bit part
Anthony M. Taylor ... Bit part
Bob Templeton ... Prisoner with beard
John Veitch ... POW
Alex Wells ... Prisoner with beard
Max Willenz ... German lieutenant (von Scherbach's aide)
Mike Bush ... Dancer
Don Cameron ... Bit part
Jarvis Caston ... POW
Tommy Cook ... POW
Alla Gursky ... Russian woman prisoner
Svetlana McLe ... Woman POW
Mara Sondakoff ... Russian woman prisoner
Audrey Strauss ... Woman POW
Lyda Vashkulat ... Woman POW
Janice Carroll ... Russian woman prisoner
Yvette Eaton ... Russian woman prisoner

A story set in a German prison camp in WWII. There is a snitch in the barracks: the lowest of the low, who is costing American prisoners their lives, as well as giving away escape plans, short wave radios, and espionage activities. Holden (Sgt. Sefton) is suspected because he is trading with the Germans (and everyone else in sight) to get what comforts are available. But the real traitor is another: a German posing as an American.

This is a fine film. Not, perhaps, on a par with The Great Escape, but it is nevertheless entertaining and worthy of viewing. Not to be confused with the television series of the same name. The actors are all different. I thought Robert Strauss ("Animal") did a great job of providing laughs.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance

and other books

William Holden is the world's most underappreciated actor
I know he won an Oscar for his performance in this role, but has any great Hollywood star been shunted to the background of history as much as William Holden? The list of films in which the man made his character memorable runs the gamut from Sunset Boulevard to Picnic to The Wild Bunch to Network. And while I don't think it's his overall best role, Stalag 17 will be remembered not just as a great film but the one that got Holden his due.

As the opening voiceover says (and I'm paraphrasing), there have been a lot of war movies about submarines, flying leathernecks, tank commandos, etc. but none about the P.O.W. camps. Leave it to the late great Billy Wilder to rectify that. Certainly there's no glory of war here, or at least not the kind we're accustomed to. Wilder creates an insular world of desperate and downtrodden men thrown together in confinement and heaps on the stark reality of war's "other side".

Holden is the barracks' con man/horse trader and, thanks to the already poor relationship with his fellows, the immediate suspect when they determine someone on the inside is spying on them for the Germans. It's a testament to how well the film has held up over the years that even after seeing it long ago (and thus knowing who the spy is) that I was still riveted in anticipation of how he would be found out.

The Germans are a combination of menace and comedy, the former exemplified by Otto Preminger as the camp commander and the latter by the great character actor Sig Rumann as Sgt. Schulz. This film was the inspiration for Hogan's Heroes, but it's best to separate them in your mind if you can and appreciate the complexities of the situations and the characters. ... Read more

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This 1950 Vincente Minnelli classic may show its age here and there, but it's still a far sturdier movie than the 1991 Steve Martin vehicle. Spencer Tracy earned yet another Oscar nomination for his wonderfully well observed portrayal of Stanley Banks, a decent (if occasionally long-winded) fellow who gets caught up and cut up in the rudderless spectacle that is the wedding of his only daughter (Elizabeth Taylor, of course). It's a sage commentary on the class mores of the day--how much does one spend? (Or, more accurately, when does one quit spending?) Does one invite one's work colleagues, even if they don't know the bride? Tracy is simply magnificent, gruffly warm and funny, whether he's getting sloppy drunk and discoursing at length or simply sitting by, silently amazed, as his daughter and her beau make up after a spat. The film inspired a sequel (1951's Father's Little Dividend--try getting that title made nowadays), a remake, and a remake of its sequel, as well as a TV series--all in all, almost as many incarnations as Taylor had weddings. --David Kronke ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Some Things Never Change
I just saw for the first time ever this movie made in 1950; directed by Vincente Minnelli; and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett. Ms. Taylor was only 18 when she made this film and was frightening and eternally beautiful. She is so petite that she almost could adorn her own wedding cake. The movie, however, as the title implies, belongs to Mr. Tracy who plays her father who cannot bear to see his little daughter grow up and get married. There is a lot of most fathers in Mr. Tracy's character. He has some great lines and some funny scenes and endears himself to us with his gentle humor-- the footage where he gets stuck in his kitchen making drinks and doesn't get to make a speech about his beloved daughter, just to point out one delightful instance. He is such a bungler-- can't get to Ms. Taylor at the wedding reception to bid her goodbye either.

I did not find this 54 year-old movie dated at all. Some things never change. Love may be eternal and most families the world over act pretty much the same when it comes to seeing their children leave home.

Takes the Cake--Wait There is No Cake.
There is a reason that Spencer Tracy was one of Hollywood's most acclaimed actors. He could pull off any role and make it believable. He was one of the great everymen of his day. Watch, for instance, FATHER OF THE BRIDE and you will find yourself thinking of your own father, grandfather, uncle, or perhaps even yourself.

In the film, based off the novel by Edward Streetcar, Tracy plays Stanley Banks, an upper middle class lawyer who has his nerves put to wits ends when he learns nonchalantly over dinner one evening that his only daughter, Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) has just become engaged. His life is turned upside down in a few brief moments, as the simple thing he thought of as love turns into a nightmare called a wedding. Yet as much as things change, he learns that nothing really changes at all.

This original film version of Streetcar's novel stays true to the source and (as much as I love the remake) in many ways is far more entertaining than the Steve Martin version. The movie has dated some, yet it remains as enduring as ever. Watch it and laugh, maybe cry, then--if you can--give Dad a call.

The original is still the best
I must say that this is far more charming and sentimental than the remake. The relationships presented here seem more real and less scripted.

Tracy and Taylor have an unmatched chemistry as father and daughter that actually stretched into real life, lasting until his death.

Minelli's direction brings real verve to the story without resorting to cheap physical humor. I love the verbal repartee and the cadre of classic Hollywood actors.

The DVD itself is a good transfer both in video and audio. I enjoyed the extras as well, although I couldn't seem to get audio on the two newsreels included.

A great trip down the aisle and memory lane.

A great family film...Better than the Remake...
Spencer Tracy is perfect in his role as the father of the bride. The love for his daughter played by Elizabeth Taylor rings so true in this film. Spencer Tracey gives one of the best comedic performances I have ever seen.

Joan Bennet is also excellent as the mother of the bride.

This comedy is never over the top and the characters seem very real. There are some good laughs.

The upper middle class home and lifestyle reminds me of the book "The Way We Never Were" and at the same times makes me nostagic for the 1950s.

If Elizabeth Taylor's character's call to her dad at the end of film doesn't choke you up then you are made of wood!

Get this film.

This is a classic!
If you're looking for a comedy classic with good acting and a few nuggets of truth, this would be a good bet. Spencer Tracy is delightful as a befuddled, confused, and out-of-his-depth father, trying to survive the announcement, planning, and actual wedding ceremony of his beloved daugher to a man who has taken his place as #1 in her life. He is a typical 50's father-gruff and at times uncommunicative, but always loving. Elizabeth Taylor is cast as the naive and passionate daughter, but she is overshadowed by both Tracy and Joan Bennett as his understanding and long-suffering wife. This is a real tour de force for Tracy and is a delight after all these years. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Flying Leathernecks!!........cool flying.........go Marines
Flying Leathernecks is one of my favorite war dramas to watch on a boring, rainy, summer day. John Wayne is a Marine avatior who drives his men to the edge during training and in the war, installing hatred in their hearts againist him, especially his second in command, played by Robert Ryan, who clashes with Wayne, but goes easy on the squad. Later in the movie, Wayne teaches Ryan the importance of being hard and rough on the squad. This movies should have got some Oscar nominations for
Best Actor: John Wayne
Best Cinematography
Best Supporting Actor: Robert Ryan and for
Best Special Effects.
If you were in the Marine Corps, and if you want to see some old war planes, like Corsairs, Wildcats, a PBY seaplane, and a real harsh look at what Marine Corps pilots went through in WWII, give this movie a try. I recemend it to anyone who served in the Marines, John Wayne fans, and models buffs. Semper Fi Go Marines.

Sands of Iwo Jima in the air
Flying Leathernecks is an entertaining John Wayne adventure about a squadron of Marine fighters stationed on Guadalcanal during the fierce fighting. The Duke plays Major Daniel Kirby, a new squadron leader who tries to get the men into fighting shape as he tries to prove his theory of ground attacks heavily supported by air support. Kirby and his executive officer, Captain Griffin butt heads as they argue over how to treat the men. The plot might sound familiar to Sands of Iwo Jima which it is, but it is still a quality movie. The aerial shots are taken from actual WWII footage that work pretty well with the shots of the actors in their planes. The story is fairly predictable, but it is still worth a watch if nothing else.

John Wayne is pretty good as tough as nails Major Kirby, a role very similar to his role as Sergeant Stryker that earned him a Best Actor nomination. Robert Ryan gives a decent performance as Captain Griffin, who Kirby believes is not ready to take over command of the squadron. Wayne and Ryan work well together throughout. Don Taylor plays Griffin's brother-in-law and fellow squadron member. Jay C. Flippen has a very funny role as Master Sergeant Clancy, Kirby's line chief who has a talent for taking things that are just lying around. Like all Duke movies, I hope this one gets a DVD release since the VHS is not in the best of shape. For an enjoyable Duke adventure, check out Flying Leathernecks!

The Duke on Command
The Duke himself is in this movie about Marine pilots in the South Pacific during World War II. Since this movie was made in the fifties, there is not a lot of gore and violence. The fight scenes you see are mostly actual footage from aerial combats during WWII.

The movie centers around two things. First, it shows the usage of military planes providing close ground support. Repeatedly, everyone mentions it can't be done, but the Duke and his group continue to show that it is viable. Second, we see the agonies of command.

John Wayne is a major who is not always liked by his subordinates. He is a career military man trying to keep his team, mostly young college men, alive by enforcing discipline. He drives them relentlessly as the executive officer tries to ease up on them. By the end of the movie, the executive officer gets an explanation on why it is necessary for commanders to push their men.

For military film buffs or John Wayne fans, I would highly recommend seeing this movie.

flying leathernecks
This is one of the finest of the DUKES WWII movies which exemplifies the American fighting mans indominatable wills to endure and win above all odds

john wayne gives the marines air support
typical world war two aviation yarn starring the duke as the tough as nails squadron commander. good supporting cast. a plus for the film is the fact that its shot in color, a rarity for this type of film at the time. if you like john wayne and ww2, you'll like flying leathernecks ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Some Things Never Change
I just saw for the first time ever this movie made in 1950; directed by Vincente Minnelli; and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett. Ms. Taylor was only 18 when she made this film and was frightening and eternally beautiful. She is so petite that she almost could adorn her own wedding cake. The movie, however, as the title implies, belongs to Mr. Tracy who plays her father who cannot bear to see his little daughter grow up and get married. There is a lot of most fathers in Mr. Tracy's character. He has some great lines and some funny scenes and endears himself to us with his gentle humor-- the footage where he gets stuck in his kitchen making drinks and doesn't get to make a speech about his beloved daughter, just to point out one delightful instance. He is such a bungler-- can't get to Ms. Taylor at the wedding reception to bid her goodbye either.

I did not find this 54 year-old movie dated at all. Some things never change. Love may be eternal and most families the world over act pretty much the same when it comes to seeing their children leave home.

Takes the Cake--Wait There is No Cake.
There is a reason that Spencer Tracy was one of Hollywood's most acclaimed actors. He could pull off any role and make it believable. He was one of the great everymen of his day. Watch, for instance, FATHER OF THE BRIDE and you will find yourself thinking of your own father, grandfather, uncle, or perhaps even yourself.

In the film, based off the novel by Edward Streetcar, Tracy plays Stanley Banks, an upper middle class lawyer who has his nerves put to wits ends when he learns nonchalantly over dinner one evening that his only daughter, Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) has just become engaged. His life is turned upside down in a few brief moments, as the simple thing he thought of as love turns into a nightmare called a wedding. Yet as much as things change, he learns that nothing really changes at all.

This original film version of Streetcar's novel stays true to the source and (as much as I love the remake) in many ways is far more entertaining than the Steve Martin version. The movie has dated some, yet it remains as enduring as ever. Watch it and laugh, maybe cry, then--if you can--give Dad a call.

The original is still the best
I must say that this is far more charming and sentimental than the remake. The relationships presented here seem more real and less scripted.

Tracy and Taylor have an unmatched chemistry as father and daughter that actually stretched into real life, lasting until his death.

Minelli's direction brings real verve to the story without resorting to cheap physical humor. I love the verbal repartee and the cadre of classic Hollywood actors.

The DVD itself is a good transfer both in video and audio. I enjoyed the extras as well, although I couldn't seem to get audio on the two newsreels included.

A great trip down the aisle and memory lane.

A great family film...Better than the Remake...
Spencer Tracy is perfect in his role as the father of the bride. The love for his daughter played by Elizabeth Taylor rings so true in this film. Spencer Tracey gives one of the best comedic performances I have ever seen.

Joan Bennet is also excellent as the mother of the bride.

This comedy is never over the top and the characters seem very real. There are some good laughs.

The upper middle class home and lifestyle reminds me of the book "The Way We Never Were" and at the same times makes me nostagic for the 1950s.

If Elizabeth Taylor's character's call to her dad at the end of film doesn't choke you up then you are made of wood!

Get this film.

This is a classic!
If you're looking for a comedy classic with good acting and a few nuggets of truth, this would be a good bet. Spencer Tracy is delightful as a befuddled, confused, and out-of-his-depth father, trying to survive the announcement, planning, and actual wedding ceremony of his beloved daugher to a man who has taken his place as #1 in her life. He is a typical 50's father-gruff and at times uncommunicative, but always loving. Elizabeth Taylor is cast as the naive and passionate daughter, but she is overshadowed by both Tracy and Joan Bennett as his understanding and long-suffering wife. This is a real tour de force for Tracy and is a delight after all these years. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Director William Wellman (The Big Heat) offered up this 1949 treatment of the Battle of the Bulge, which won Oscars for best screenplay and best cinematography. The film concentrates on the camaraderie and the divisions between the troops as they ready for the big offensive. Told in a taut narrative, the men of the 101st, led by Van Johnson, wait out the winter in the Ardennes forest to confront the German army in what would be the last major offensive of World War II. The men are demoralized and trapped, with no hope of support from the Allies as they are forced to band together and defend their position. A classically assembled war drama that nevertheless manages to be both engrossing and entertaining, Battleground is a mainstay of the genre. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (33)

Does Justice to the Bastards of Bastogne
Although overly dramatic at times, Battleground warrants attention as a legitimate WWII film centering on the plight of a 101st Airborne platoon during the strategic battle at Bastogne. Nominated for six Oscars and winner of two (Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography), Battleground captures the physical and emotional hardships endured by combat footsoldiers facing extreme adverse conditions. The dialogue exchanges among the grunts draws the viewer into a soldier's world of fear, survival, and death. Van Johnson and John Hodiak are given top billing, but it is James Whitmore as the tobacco spitting platoon leader Kip who steals every scene he is in. Whitmore walks, talks, and looks like a seasoned veteran of numerous tours of duty. Director William Wellman intersperses actual WWII footage, but he could have improved some of the fabricated battle scenery. For instance the snow used in certain sets is unconvincing. To Wellman's credit the carbine shots, grenade explosions, and the mortar volleys are authenticated with gritty realism. Wellman should also be lauded for the emotionalism in which he draws from his characters. The platoon soldiers are not faceless battle weary men; instead each one is given the latitude to express his individuality. The scene where a soldier takes a drag from a cigarette and immediately experiences blurred vision hints at drug use on the front lines. Wellman had the courage to include this frame and surprisingly it slipped past the scrutiny of the Breen Commission. Remember this was 1946, Mr. Breen and the Motion Picture Production Code were extemely conscious of material that might be deemed Un-American to the movie going public. Other scenes where Holly (Van Johnson) desires sex with the French girl are sugar coated and poorly orchestrated. Battleground was definitely a forerunner for films such as Hamburger Hill and Saving Private Ryan which depict the comradeship among soldiers engaged in the horrors of battle.

Still the classic World War II movies about American G.I.s
The first twenty minutes of "Saving Private Ryan" raised the bar on the realism of war film in terms of the portrayal of the violent hell of combat. But in terms of showing us in a movie what it was like to be combat troops in World War II, the standard still remains the 1949 film "Battleground," directed by William Wellman (and I say this having loved "Band of Brothers"). The film won Oscars in 1950 for Robert Pirosh's script and Paul Vogel's black & white cinematography, and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (James Whitmore), and Best Editing (John D. Dunning).

The setting for "Battleground" is the besieged city of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge and focuses on I Company of the 101st Airborne. Pirosh had based the story on his own experiences during the battle, which including the details like Private Kippton (Douglas Fowley) always losing his false teeth and Private Rodriguez (Ricardo Montalban), who came from L.A. and had never seen snow before he got to Belgium. The situation was pretty simple: the Germans have Bastogne surrounded and the 101st is short on food and ammunition. Sgt. Kinnie (Whitmore) and the men of I Company have there sector to control, so they sit in the freezing cold, waiting for the Germans to attack and praying for the cloud cover to lift so they can get air support and supplies.

I am sure I am not the other kid from my generation who learned to do the cadence call of "Sound off," not knowing that it came from older kids who had seen this movie. This is a movie full of memorable scenes: Private Holley (Van Johnson) trying to make eggs, a checkpoint exchange that shows the importance of knowing baseball terminology like "Texas Leaguer," and a befuddled German officer trying to understand if General McAulliffe's infamous reply of "Nuts" to the demand for the 101st's surrender is a negative or an affirmative response.

For me the key moment in the film comes when I Company finally receives supplies dropped from C-47s. These guys have been freezing and pretty much starving for a week, and when they open up crates of SPAM and K-Rations, they are clearly disappointed. It is not until they find ammunition that they finally get excited. The montage of defeating the Germans is superfluous at that point, because the look in the eyes of these guys captures the moment even better.

In terms of realism I do have one slight knock on this film, in that I Company is atypical because they had winter coats (compare with the Bastogne episode of "Bad of Brothers"), but that is rather secondary to the point of this film, which is to celebrate the citizen soldier. As Holley explains to a major, "PFC" means "praying for civilian." Even when the Chaplain (Leon Ames) answers the big question, as to why these guys had to leave their families and jobs to fight in Europe, in has less to do with fascist ideology and more with the idea that the Germans were bullies throwing their weight around and killing a lot of people.

Still, "Battleground" comes down to the guys in I Company, Jarvess (John Hodiak), "Pop" (George Murphy), Layton (Marshall Thompson), Spudler (Jerome Courtland), Standiferd (Don Taylor), Hansan (Herbert Anderson), Bettis (Richard Jaeckel), Doc (Thomas E. Breen), and Sgt. Walowizc (Bruce Cowling). There is a tendency to make fun of the idea of the melting pot nature of these units, but we are talking diversity in terms of ethnicity more than racial lines and is certainly in keeping with everything I have read about the 101st. The humor in the trenches is a lot grimmer than you hear in most of these movies, an advantage of being made several years after the war ended (compare it with Wellman's 1945 film "Story of G.I. Joe").

This film is more about the psychology of war, putting up with the weather, the lack of supplies, the Germans trying to get them to surrender and showing up dressed in American uniforms, and keeping up morale than it is about actual fighting. That makes it rather unique in terms of movies about World War II in general or the Battle of the Bulge in particular. "Battleground" remains one of the classic films about grunts in the army.

Great, now where's the DVD?
It's amazing that this one hasn't seen a DVD release yet because it's a really fine classic war film. Don't be put off by the fact it came out in 1950: yes, there's no blood and gore, so you can easily argue it's unrealistic from that angle. There are hardly even any combat scenes. But like all the best war films, this one concentrates not on combat but on the psychology and morality of the men caught up in war.

Battleground follows a squad through the nightmare of Bastogne, showing the everyday misery they had to put up with and the grim humor and camaraderie that helped them get through it. For a film of its day, this is one is surpisingly even-handed, even a bit dark and cynical. You won't find a bunch of John Wayne heroics here, but rather a bunch of sick, tired, demoralized men doing their best to stay alive. This is a great companion piece to the Bastogne episode of the superb Band of Brothers miniseries. Also consider checking out Wellman's other classic WWII film, The Story of G.I. Joe.

Now, where's the DVD release??

So-So WWII Film
I was really looking forward to watching this movie when I received a VHS copy as a Birthday present.
Unfortunately, there are only a couple of combat scenes in BATTLEGROUND.
Where are the 7 crack German Divisions that surrounded Bastogne during late December of 1944? Where are the German Tanks, vehicles, and equipment?
All we get to see are a handful of Germans, and most of them are disguised as American Soldiers!
The entire movie is centered around a platoon of 101st GIs who wisecrack bad jokes all day.
Van Johnson is a Terrible lead actor.
To me, the only good war films are ones that portray the Enemy as well as the Friendlies.
BATTLEGROUND is simply another post-WWII Hollywood film that celebrates American ego and arrogance.

Top Notch War Flick!
Excellent story of the 101st Airborne at the Siege of Bastone. This was probably the most famous of the battles held by the Americans. The movie shows life in the filth, mud, and snow quite well. You of course, don't get the true story of the whole battle, movies don't do this well except in documentarys.

Filmed in 1949 this movie stars a lot of people who had actually seen the elephant.

Van Johnson didn't serve in the army due to a plate in his head from a motorcycle accident. But James Whitmore was (I believe) a Lt. in the USMC in the South Pacific. Some of the others had been in the war also.

One of the three best war movies of all time, the others are Twelve O'Clock High and Command Decision. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Tracy returns in a quickie sequel to "Father of the Bride"
After the success of "Father of the Bride," M-G-M produced this sequel the following year. This time around Stanley Banks (Spencer Tracy) learns that his daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) and son-in-law Buckley Dunstan (Don Taylor) are going to have a baby. Father is no more thrilled with the idea of being a grandfather than he was about Kay getting married in the first place. Joan Bennett as his wife Elllie and Billie Burke and Moroni Olsen as the other soon-to-be grandparents do their best to help poor Stanley through this latest trauma. A cute film, but certainly not as charming as the original, mainly because it is taking the same approach, albeit with a slightly different topic. It seems Stanely is no more interested in becoming a grandfather than he was in letting his daughter get married. Still, there are nice moments between Tracy and Taylor, who always called the actor "Pops" until the day he died. This 1951 film was also directed by Vincent Minnelli and Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett again did the screenplay using the characters first created in Edward Streeter's novel. "Father's Little Dividend" was remade, in a round about way, in the recent Steve Martin vehicle "Father of the Bride II."

Tracy returns in a quickie sequel to "Father of the Bride"
After the success of "Father of the Bride," M-G-M produced this sequel the following year. This time around Stanley Banks (Spencer Tracy) learns that his daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) and son-in-law Buckley Dunstan (Don Taylor) are going to have a baby. Father is no more thrilled with the idea of being a grandfather than he was about Kay getting married in the first place. Joan Bennett as his wife Elllie and Billie Burke and Moroni Olsen as the other soon-to-be grandparents do their best to help poor Stanley through this latest trauma. A cute film, but certainly not as charming as the original, mainly because it is taking the same approach albeit with a slightly different topic. Still, there are nice moments between Tracy and Taylor, who always called the actor "Pops" until the day he died. This 1951 film was also directed by Vincent Minnelli and Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett again did the screenplay using the characters first created in Edward Streeter's novel. "Father's Little Dividend" was remade, in a round about way, in the recent Steve Martin vehicle "Father of the Bride II."

Decent sequel but ultimately forgettable
I'm sure it seemed a good thing to do -- follow up on the success of "Father of the Bride" with a chapter two. There are a few fun moments here and it is nice to see the entire cast reunited, but the sequel lacks the strength of the original. It's decent but far from memorable.

In this case, the Steve Martin remake, which diverges almost completely from the plot of the original (for good reasons), is more enjoyable. I found the end of this version, with Stanley misplacing the baby, a bit dark and not treated comically enough.

Many reviewers have lamented the poor sound quality of the DVD. Well, with a decent sound system it ends up sounding like most VHS copies. What is more embarrassing, at least on this DVD packaging are errors in the trivia game -- they don't even get Ellie's name right! Did they even watch this movie?

I'd actually like to see this reissued with a decent sound-track someday, but there are more important older movies to be revived first...

Spencer Tracy in a quickie sequel to "Father of the Bride"
After the success of 1950's "Father of the Bride," M-G-M produced this sequel the following year. This time around Stanley Banks (Spencer Tracy) learns that his daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) and son-in-law Buckley Dunstan (Don Taylor) are going to have a baby. Father, of course, is no more thrilled with the idea of being a grandfather than he was about Kay getting married in the first place, and even when the baby arrives and insists on crying every time he is in Stanley's arms, his worst fears seem to be confirmed.

Joan Bennett as his beautiful and encouraging wife Elllie, along with Billie Burke and Moroni Olsen as the other soon-to-be grandparents, all do their best to help poor Stanley through this latest trauma, but Tracy's best moments are when he his daughter comes over to see "Pops" (Taylor called Tracy "Pops" the rest of his life and treated him like a real father figure). "Father's Little Dividend" is a cute film, but certainly not as charming as the original, mainly because it is taking the same approach, albeit with a slightly different topic. Even Tracy's performance really comes across as being a little less of the same as the original.

This 1951 film was also directed by Vincent Minnelli and Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett once again did the screenplay using the characters first created in Edward Streeter's novel. "Father's Little Dividend" was remade, in a round about way, in the recent Steve Martin vehicle "Father of the Bride II," which puts some twists on the story that offer some further complications.

Use your cash as toilet paper.
If you are thinking of getting this dvd, you might as well use your cash as toilet paper, because that is what you will be getting when you buy this, if you get my drift. ... Read more

Reviews (33)

Does Justice to the Bastards of Bastogne
Although overly dramatic at times, Battleground warrants attention as a legitimate WWII film centering on the plight of a 101st Airborne platoon during the strategic battle at Bastogne. Nominated for six Oscars and winner of two (Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography), Battleground captures the physical and emotional hardships endured by combat footsoldiers facing extreme adverse conditions. The dialogue exchanges among the grunts draws the viewer into a soldier's world of fear, survival, and death. Van Johnson and John Hodiak are given top billing, but it is James Whitmore as the tobacco spitting platoon leader Kip who steals every scene he is in. Whitmore walks, talks, and looks like a seasoned veteran of numerous tours of duty. Director William Wellman intersperses actual WWII footage, but he could have improved some of the fabricated battle scenery. For instance the snow used in certain sets is unconvincing. To Wellman's credit the carbine shots, grenade explosions, and the mortar volleys are authenticated with gritty realism. Wellman should also be lauded for the emotionalism in which he draws from his characters. The platoon soldiers are not faceless battle weary men; instead each one is given the latitude to express his individuality. The scene where a soldier takes a drag from a cigarette and immediately experiences blurred vision hints at drug use on the front lines. Wellman had the courage to include this frame and surprisingly it slipped past the scrutiny of the Breen Commission. Remember this was 1946, Mr. Breen and the Motion Picture Production Code were extemely conscious of material that might be deemed Un-American to the movie going public. Other scenes where Holly (Van Johnson) desires sex with the French girl are sugar coated and poorly orchestrated. Battleground was definitely a forerunner for films such as Hamburger Hill and Saving Private Ryan which depict the comradeship among soldiers engaged in the horrors of battle.

Still the classic World War II movies about American G.I.s
The first twenty minutes of "Saving Private Ryan" raised the bar on the realism of war film in terms of the portrayal of the violent hell of combat. But in terms of showing us in a movie what it was like to be combat troops in World War II, the standard still remains the 1949 film "Battleground," directed by William Wellman (and I say this having loved "Band of Brothers"). The film won Oscars in 1950 for Robert Pirosh's script and Paul Vogel's black & white cinematography, and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (James Whitmore), and Best Editing (John D. Dunning).

The setting for "Battleground" is the besieged city of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge and focuses on I Company of the 101st Airborne. Pirosh had based the story on his own experiences during the battle, which including the details like Private Kippton (Douglas Fowley) always losing his false teeth and Private Rodriguez (Ricardo Montalban), who came from L.A. and had never seen snow before he got to Belgium. The situation was pretty simple: the Germans have Bastogne surrounded and the 101st is short on food and ammunition. Sgt. Kinnie (Whitmore) and the men of I Company have there sector to control, so they sit in the freezing cold, waiting for the Germans to attack and praying for the cloud cover to lift so they can get air support and supplies.

I am sure I am not the other kid from my generation who learned to do the cadence call of "Sound off," not knowing that it came from older kids who had seen this movie. This is a movie full of memorable scenes: Private Holley (Van Johnson) trying to make eggs, a checkpoint exchange that shows the importance of knowing baseball terminology like "Texas Leaguer," and a befuddled German officer trying to understand if General McAulliffe's infamous reply of "Nuts" to the demand for the 101st's surrender is a negative or an affirmative response.

For me the key moment in the film comes when I Company finally receives supplies dropped from C-47s. These guys have been freezing and pretty much starving for a week, and when they open up crates of SPAM and K-Rations, they are clearly disappointed. It is not until they find ammunition that they finally get excited. The montage of defeating the Germans is superfluous at that point, because the look in the eyes of these guys captures the moment even better.

In terms of realism I do have one slight knock on this film, in that I Company is atypical because they had winter coats (compare with the Bastogne episode of "Bad of Brothers"), but that is rather secondary to the point of this film, which is to celebrate the citizen soldier. As Holley explains to a major, "PFC" means "praying for civilian." Even when the Chaplain (Leon Ames) answers the big question, as to why these guys had to leave their families and jobs to fight in Europe, in has less to do with fascist ideology and more with the idea that the Germans were bullies throwing their weight around and killing a lot of people.

Still, "Battleground" comes down to the guys in I Company, Jarvess (John Hodiak), "Pop" (George Murphy), Layton (Marshall Thompson), Spudler (Jerome Courtland), Standiferd (Don Taylor), Hansan (Herbert Anderson), Bettis (Richard Jaeckel), Doc (Thomas E. Breen), and Sgt. Walowizc (Bruce Cowling). There is a tendency to make fun of the idea of the melting pot nature of these units, but we are talking diversity in terms of ethnicity more than racial lines and is certainly in keeping with everything I have read about the 101st. The humor in the trenches is a lot grimmer than you hear in most of these movies, an advantage of being made several years after the war ended (compare it with Wellman's 1945 film "Story of G.I. Joe").

This film is more about the psychology of war, putting up with the weather, the lack of supplies, the Germans trying to get them to surrender and showing up dressed in American uniforms, and keeping up morale than it is about actual fighting. That makes it rather unique in terms of movies about World War II in general or the Battle of the Bulge in particular. "Battleground" remains one of the classic films about grunts in the army.

Great, now where's the DVD?
It's amazing that this one hasn't seen a DVD release yet because it's a really fine classic war film. Don't be put off by the fact it came out in 1950: yes, there's no blood and gore, so you can easily argue it's unrealistic from that angle. There are hardly even any combat scenes. But like all the best war films, this one concentrates not on combat but on the psychology and morality of the men caught up in war.

Battleground follows a squad through the nightmare of Bastogne, showing the everyday misery they had to put up with and the grim humor and camaraderie that helped them get through it. For a film of its day, this is one is surpisingly even-handed, even a bit dark and cynical. You won't find a bunch of John Wayne heroics here, but rather a bunch of sick, tired, demoralized men doing their best to stay alive. This is a great companion piece to the Bastogne episode of the superb Band of Brothers miniseries. Also consider checking out Wellman's other classic WWII film, The Story of G.I. Joe.

Now, where's the DVD release??

So-So WWII Film
I was really looking forward to watching this movie when I received a VHS copy as a Birthday present.
Unfortunately, there are only a couple of combat scenes in BATTLEGROUND.
Where are the 7 crack German Divisions that surrounded Bastogne during late December of 1944? Where are the German Tanks, vehicles, and equipment?
All we get to see are a handful of Germans, and most of them are disguised as American Soldiers!
The entire movie is centered around a platoon of 101st GIs who wisecrack bad jokes all day.
Van Johnson is a Terrible lead actor.
To me, the only good war films are ones that portray the Enemy as well as the Friendlies.
BATTLEGROUND is simply another post-WWII Hollywood film that celebrates American ego and arrogance.

Top Notch War Flick!
Excellent story of the 101st Airborne at the Siege of Bastone. This was probably the most famous of the battles held by the Americans. The movie shows life in the filth, mud, and snow quite well. You of course, don't get the true story of the whole battle, movies don't do this well except in documentarys.

Filmed in 1949 this movie stars a lot of people who had actually seen the elephant.

Van Johnson didn't serve in the army due to a plate in his head from a motorcycle accident. But James Whitmore was (I believe) a Lt. in the USMC in the South Pacific. Some of the others had been in the war also.

One of the three best war movies of all time, the others are Twelve O'Clock High and Command Decision. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Tracy returns in a quickie sequel to "Father of the Bride"
After the success of "Father of the Bride," M-G-M produced this sequel the following year. This time around Stanley Banks (Spencer Tracy) learns that his daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) and son-in-law Buckley Dunstan (Don Taylor) are going to have a baby. Father is no more thrilled with the idea of being a grandfather than he was about Kay getting married in the first place. Joan Bennett as his wife Elllie and Billie Burke and Moroni Olsen as the other soon-to-be grandparents do their best to help poor Stanley through this latest trauma. A cute film, but certainly not as charming as the original, mainly because it is taking the same approach, albeit with a slightly different topic. It seems Stanely is no more interested in becoming a grandfather than he was in letting his daughter get married. Still, there are nice moments between Tracy and Taylor, who always called the actor "Pops" until the day he died. This 1951 film was also directed by Vincent Minnelli and Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett again did the screenplay using the characters first created in Edward Streeter's novel. "Father's Little Dividend" was remade, in a round about way, in the recent Steve Martin vehicle "Father of the Bride II."

Tracy returns in a quickie sequel to "Father of the Bride"
After the success of "Father of the Bride," M-G-M produced this sequel the following year. This time around Stanley Banks (Spencer Tracy) learns that his daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) and son-in-law Buckley Dunstan (Don Taylor) are going to have a baby. Father is no more thrilled with the idea of being a grandfather than he was about Kay getting married in the first place. Joan Bennett as his wife Elllie and Billie Burke and Moroni Olsen as the other soon-to-be grandparents do their best to help poor Stanley through this latest trauma. A cute film, but certainly not as charming as the original, mainly because it is taking the same approach albeit with a slightly different topic. Still, there are nice moments between Tracy and Taylor, who always called the actor "Pops" until the day he died. This 1951 film was also directed by Vincent Minnelli and Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett again did the screenplay using the characters first created in Edward Streeter's novel. "Father's Little Dividend" was remade, in a round about way, in the recent Steve Martin vehicle "Father of the Bride II."

Decent sequel but ultimately forgettable
I'm sure it seemed a good thing to do -- follow up on the success of "Father of the Bride" with a chapter two. There are a few fun moments here and it is nice to see the entire cast reunited, but the sequel lacks the strength of the original. It's decent but far from memorable.

In this case, the Steve Martin remake, which diverges almost completely from the plot of the original (for good reasons), is more enjoyable. I found the end of this version, with Stanley misplacing the baby, a bit dark and not treated comically enough.

Many reviewers have lamented the poor sound quality of the DVD. Well, with a decent sound system it ends up sounding like most VHS copies. What is more embarrassing, at least on this DVD packaging are errors in the trivia game -- they don't even get Ellie's name right! Did they even watch this movie?

I'd actually like to see this reissued with a decent sound-track someday, but there are more important older movies to be revived first...

Spencer Tracy in a quickie sequel to "Father of the Bride"
After the success of 1950's "Father of the Bride," M-G-M produced this sequel the following year. This time around Stanley Banks (Spencer Tracy) learns that his daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) and son-in-law Buckley Dunstan (Don Taylor) are going to have a baby. Father, of course, is no more thrilled with the idea of being a grandfather than he was about Kay getting married in the first place, and even when the baby arrives and insists on crying every time he is in Stanley's arms, his worst fears seem to be confirmed.

Joan Bennett as his beautiful and encouraging wife Elllie, along with Billie Burke and Moroni Olsen as the other soon-to-be grandparents, all do their best to help poor Stanley through this latest trauma, but Tracy's best moments are when he his daughter comes over to see "Pops" (Taylor called Tracy "Pops" the rest of his life and treated him like a real father figure). "Father's Little Dividend" is a cute film, but certainly not as charming as the original, mainly because it is taking the same approach, albeit with a slightly different topic. Even Tracy's performance really comes across as being a little less of the same as the original.

This 1951 film was also directed by Vincent Minnelli and Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett once again did the screenplay using the characters first created in Edward Streeter's novel. "Father's Little Dividend" was remade, in a round about way, in the recent Steve Martin vehicle "Father of the Bride II," which puts some twists on the story that offer some further complications.

Use your cash as toilet paper.
If you are thinking of getting this dvd, you might as well use your cash as toilet paper, because that is what you will be getting when you buy this, if you get my drift. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Tracy returns in a quickie sequel to "Father of the Bride"
After the success of "Father of the Bride," M-G-M produced this sequel the following year. This time around Stanley Banks (Spencer Tracy) learns that his daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) and son-in-law Buckley Dunstan (Don Taylor) are going to have a baby. Father is no more thrilled with the idea of being a grandfather than he was about Kay getting married in the first place. Joan Bennett as his wife Elllie and Billie Burke and Moroni Olsen as the other soon-to-be grandparents do their best to help poor Stanley through this latest trauma. A cute film, but certainly not as charming as the original, mainly because it is taking the same approach, albeit with a slightly different topic. It seems Stanely is no more interested in becoming a grandfather than he was in letting his daughter get married. Still, there are nice moments between Tracy and Taylor, who always called the actor "Pops" until the day he died. This 1951 film was also directed by Vincent Minnelli and Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett again did the screenplay using the characters first created in Edward Streeter's novel. "Father's Little Dividend" was remade, in a round about way, in the recent Steve Martin vehicle "Father of the Bride II."

Tracy r