Battleground is a war film written by Robert Pirosh and directed by William A. Wellman. It was released on January 20, 1950. The movie sets in World War II and follows the Army's 101st Airborne Division. It stars Ian MacDonald as General McAuliffe and James Whitmore as Sergeant Kinnie. Battleground won an Oscar Award and a Golden Globe Award in 1950.
Plot Synopsis
Battleground tells the story of the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. Ian MacDonald stars as General McAuliffe and James Whitmore stars as Sergeant Kinnie. After a surprise German attack that keeps the airborne division from going on leave, Sergeant Kinnie leads the troops in and sends three men to search the woods, but they get hit by German artillery. Many men end up wounded in the attack; this prompts General McAuliffe to call a suggestion from the Germans to surrender "nuts." In the end, Sergeant Kinnie and his men prevail, despite dwindling ammunition.
Cast
John Hodiak as Jarvess
Van Johnson as Holley
James Whitmore as Kinnie
Ian MacDonald as General McAuliffe
Ricardo Montalban as Roderigues
Denise Darcel as Denise
Marshall Thompson as Jim Layton
Reviews
"Though shot on the back lot, William Wellman Oscar-nominated recreation of Battle of the Bulge is one of the better WWII movies, serving as blueprint for later Vietnam War films like Oliver Stone's Platoon."—Emmanuel Levy, EmmanuelLevy.comhttp://www.emanuellevy.com/search/details.cfm?id=8805M
"One of the best films to depict World War II to be made by people who experienced it."—Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies http://goatdog.com/moviePage.php?movieID=846
