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Battleground was originally an RKO property, which was called “Prelude to Love” to hide its subject matter,[3] but was shelved when production head Dore Schary resigned, despite $100,000 having been put into the property to that point. When Schary went to MGM, he purchased the rights to the script from RKO, over the objections of Louis B. Mayer, who believed that the public was tired of war films. At MGM, Robert Taylor and Keenan Wynn were reported to be penciled in for the film, along with Van Johnson and John Hodiak, and the project was budgeted at $2 million.[4]
Robert Pirosh had based the script on his own experiences during the Battle of the Bulge, although he did not serve with the 101st Airborne. Many of the incidents in the film were based on actual events. Twenty veterans of the 101st were hired to train the actors and were used in the film as extras.[5]
The film was in production from 5 April to 3 June1949,[6] with location shooting in northern California, Oregon and Washington state. Fort Lewis, Washington was used for the tank sequence showing the relief of the 101st Airborne by Patton’s Third Army. Shooting took 20 days less than was scheduled, due in part to innovations instituted by Schary such as processing film as itwas shot, and dubbing and cutting it so that scenes could be previewed with two days of being shot.[4] The film came in almost $100,000 under budget.[3]
Battleground received a number of premieres before its general release. A private showing for President Harry S. Truman was arranged[3] even before the premiere in Washington D.C. on 9 November 1949, which was attended[4] by Brigadier General Anthony Clement McAuliffe, who commanded the 101st during the siege of Bastogne.[7] Two days later, on 11 November, the film premiered in New York City, and then on 1 December in Los Angeles. The film’s general American release was on 20 January1950.[8]
If SPR is about duty meant to instill pride about the “greatest generation” (not my favorite term) Battleground is about irony and dissatisfaction in the soldier’s life. So there is complaining, comradeship, and a “let’s take of business but have a little fun along the way” attitude. BG just made my Top 5. Sure it’s a little cheesy in parts, but the “NUTS!” scene near the end is worth the price of admission.
There are 12 parts associated with this vid (the whole thing, I believe). Enjoy.
So I turn on the tube this morning, and I see Lee Marvin on some island with another guy who happens to speak Japanese (that would be Toshirō Mifune–he can act a little). ”Hmmm,” I thought. ”What the hell is this?”
More knowledgeable readers no doubt guessed Hell in the Pacific, a Cast Away-like flick that involves lots of beach combing, some bamboo boat building, and some time on the open sea.
My 6 YO daughter happened to come downstairs for breakfast and sat down next to me on the floor. She asked, “why are they shouting at each other?” Good question. There is much to understand in this movie, and as one web page suggests, that’s how it should be if there were two languages and vast cultural differences separating the speakers.
So I kept watching, endured the shouting, and ended up a little surprised the two ended up…working together for a common cause: their survival. And so we came to the end, with the two men on another island in matching new clothes, getting drunk, and then shouting again. Just as their argument reaches that fever pitch, they…they…
THEY ARE BLOWN UP!!!!
WTF? So I watched all that and they get killed by some random shell? What a let down. My daughter left the room with an exclamation blast of her own: “good. Now fix me some breakfast.”
So tonite, I turn on tube and see The Good German listed via On Demand. So I give it a go and I lasted about 15 minutes only because the remote ended up on the other side of the couch. You know the feeling, right? You’re too tired to move a muscle to get the darn thing. So needless to say, I didn’t like the first 15 and I ended up watching some reruns on the History Channel.
MGM, Robert Taylor and Keenan Wynn were reported to be penciled in for the film, along with Van Johnson and John Hodiak, and the project was budgeted at $2 million.[4]
