Tank Battalion

My little old 12 year old self and my two younger brothers*, Jim Ryan (7 years old) and Bob Ryan (6 years old)saw this TANK BATTALION at the old Ogden Theatre, near 63rd & Ashland in Chicago. It was on a Double Bill along with another American-International Pictures' Classic, HELL SQUAD (also 1958).**

During that period, we were gobbling up any thing involving The Armed Forces, World War II and Korea.We all built model airplanes, model tanks & half-tracks, any thing Army. We also put together numbers like the U.S.S. Missouri and the Nautilas (the Navy's, not Walt Disney's!).

We would frequently stop in to our local Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force and Marine Recruiting offices and mooch any hand out recruiting literature that they had. They always obliged and were very friendly and courteous.

On Television during that period, we had several programs on the Networks and in Syndication that had military themes. We can recall: The Silent Service, Citizen Soldier, Steve Canyon, Navy Log and even Phil Silvers as SGT. BILKO. Others followed in the years to come.

What all the preceding reminiscing was about was to set up the following evaluation of TANK BATALLION.

We knew that TANK BATTALION was a cheapie. It was an Independent Production, released by American-International. It was intended, you can be sure, to be part of those multi picture programs not watched at the local "Passion Pits",aka Drive-In Movies.

It did, however, provide an afternoon's fun for the kids in the neighborhood. And, though probably completely overlooked is that a movie, any movie can have a good effect on young minds, as long as it isn't too "adult". What gives it value is a certain relation to Real Historical Events. Even if it is only a passing reference or the mentioning of some actual Battle, it has a certain value.

But what we remembered most was one of the Actors featured as a member of the Tank's Crew. (sure was a small Battalion!) He had the nickname of "Skids", and he was always amusing the crew with Movie Star Impersonations. We really liked his James Cagney! It was all 'Thumbs Up" from us that day.

Well, this was the first time for our seeing this "Skids" guy, but he surely had a real talent and was so gifted as to rise far above this schlock film. His name was Frank Gorshin.

We were privileged a number of years later to meet Mr. Gorshin. The first time was at a special Batman TV Show Convention, commemorating the Series' 30th Anniversary.(it was in Summer of 1995, a little early but...).

The Second time, we saw him at a Bud Courts' Hollywood Collectibles Show also here in Chicago. It was at this time we got to talk much more with him. We found him to be warm, friendly and very courteous and personable to his many fans. He had just finished a one man show engagement as George Burns, a production that we regrettably did not see. But it got really good reviews.

It was probably one of his last public performances, this George Burns thing. Sadly, he passed away not too long afterwords, and not that long ago. We will long remember him as a 'regular' guy as much for his filmed and record work. The sight of him on that Saturday, dressed ever so casually, wearing his Pittsburgh Pirates cap. He confessed to still being that Pittsburgh kid,his moods rising and falling with the fortune of the 'Bucs'.

* No, not those Younger Brothers, contemporaries of Jesse James! I meant my younger brothers.

** It wasn't long that pictures like this would be shown on television. Now, I swear! My right hand to God! HELL SQUAD was on one of our local TV Stations within 6 months of our seeing it at the show! Honest Injun! Cross My Heart and hope to die! It's the truth.

This must be one of the worst "war" movies ever made. There are only about a dozen cast members. Most of the war scenes are stock footage. They did spring for the rental of a tank, though. There isn't much of a story, and what there is of it makes little sense. The depiction of the Koreans, both the good guys and the bad guys, is insulting. The special effects don't come close to recreating what it's like inside a tank. However, it's only 80 minutes long, and there are a couple of famous names in the cast (Frank Gorshin and Edward G. Robinson, Jr.). It's a hoot to watch.

This movie is just plain stupid. Really not worth the time.

This movie begins with a single American tank participating in combat and suffering from gear problems. As a result the crew of four is ordered to return to base for repairs. When they get back the story evolves into a romantic drama with two of the soldiers involved with two nurses while a third soldier falls in love with a local bar girl. It's at this point that the movie proceeds at an extremely slow pace and doesn't really pick up until the last 15 or 20 minutes. However, rather than reveal any more and risk spoiling the film for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a relatively cheap and poorly made Korean War movie which doesn't really offer much in entertainment value. It does, however, have Edward G. Robinson Jr. (as "Corporal Corbet"), Frank Gorshin ("PFC Skids Madigan"), Leslie Parrish ("Lieutenant Alice Brent") and Barbara Luna ("Nikko") for those who might be interested in any of these particular actors. But other than that there honestly isn't much to recommend and I rate this film as below average.

I don't know why I was so generous with my vote, except that anything lower would have had to be a home movie. This "movie" was produced by Viscount Pictures and distributed by those Masters of Movie Magic at AIP. It supposedly takes place during the Korean War, but there is no story to speak of other than some vague plan to launch "Phase Two" of some other vague plan. There are a few names you might recognize, like Frank Gorshin, Barbara Luna, and Leslie Parrish, but it mostly stars a collection of less than stellar performers. The headliner, believe it or not, is Edward G Robinson Jr. I'm sure they included the G to make sure the audience would make the connection. The set consists of a sort of an arc of shacks and tents all connected together by fences or shrubs. Kind of like the backdrop for a high school play. The compound in the center is about the size of a large play room - just big enough for a couple of jeeps. If you added up all the principal players and the extras, you couldn't put together a game of touch football. There seemed to be no reason to make this movie. As far as I could tell, it was mostly a lot of snappy dialog interspersed with stock combat footage. They did find time to create a little romance with a couple of handy nurses and Korean comfort woman. They even managed to squeeze in a little skinny dipping. Thank goodness we were saved from that wiggle and jiggle with a sneak attack by the North Koreans. There is this unforgettable scene inside the tank. You don't have to be a tanker to know that the inside of a tank is tangle of mechanical stuff. Cables, vents, dials, controls, guns, optical devices, ammo racks, etc. Aside from a view finder and gun stock, this one was practically empty. I swear it had cardboard walls. More than anything else, it reminded me of the cockpit scene in Plan 9 From Outer Space. The only thing missing was the shower curtain. I'd like to say see it for the laughs, but it wasn't funny.