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Battleground

  • 1949
  • Approved
  • 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
8.4K
YOUR RATING
Battleground (1949)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer1:57
1 Video
40 Photos
ActionDramaHistoryWar

True tale about a squad of the 101st Airborne Division coping with being trapped by the Germans in the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.True tale about a squad of the 101st Airborne Division coping with being trapped by the Germans in the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.True tale about a squad of the 101st Airborne Division coping with being trapped by the Germans in the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.

  • Director
    • William A. Wellman
  • Writer
    • Robert Pirosh
  • Stars
    • Van Johnson
    • John Hodiak
    • Ricardo Montalban
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • IMDb RATING
    7.4/10
    8.4K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • William A. Wellman
    • Writer
      • Robert Pirosh
    • Stars
      • Van Johnson
      • John Hodiak
      • Ricardo Montalban
    • 107User reviews
    • 38Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Oscars
      • 8 wins & 5 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:57
    Official Trailer

    Photos40

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    + 34
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    Top Cast93

    Edit
    Van Johnson
    Van Johnson
    • Holley
    John Hodiak
    John Hodiak
    • Jarvess
    Ricardo Montalban
    Ricardo Montalban
    • Roderigues
    George Murphy
    George Murphy
    • 'Pop' Stazak
    Marshall Thompson
    Marshall Thompson
    • Jim Layton
    Jerome Courtland
    Jerome Courtland
    • Abner Spudler
    Don Taylor
    Don Taylor
    • Standiferd
    Bruce Cowling
    Bruce Cowling
    • Wolowicz
    James Whitmore
    James Whitmore
    • Kinnie
    Douglas Fowley
    Douglas Fowley
    • 'Kipp' Kippton
    Leon Ames
    Leon Ames
    • The Chaplain
    Herbert Anderson
    Herbert Anderson
    • Hansan
    • (as Guy Anderson)
    Thomas E. Breen
    Thomas E. Breen
    • Doc
    Denise Darcel
    Denise Darcel
    • Denise
    Richard Jaeckel
    Richard Jaeckel
    • Bettis
    James Arness
    James Arness
    • Garby
    • (as Jim Arness)
    Scotty Beckett
    Scotty Beckett
    • William J. Hooper
    Brett King
    Brett King
    • Lt. Teiss
    • Director
      • William A. Wellman
    • Writer
      • Robert Pirosh
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews107

    7.48.3K
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    Featured reviews

    10NativeTexan

    An accurate and fantastic film without too much gore.

    This is my favorite film about the Battle of the Bulge. The characters are absolutely real, and the story and screenplay are the actual experience of Robert Pirosh who was a member of the 101st Airborne and also the author and screenwriter of the film. Without getting lost in blood and gore, you nonetheless understand the death and carnage going on all around, and you feel you actually know these men. Robert Pirosh and Director William Wellman manage to bring the celebrated American sense of ironic humor to the film. That sense of humor, graveyard though it be, is one of the things that helps us, as Americans, get through times like those, and like these.

    Most touching scene: The utter sadness when Pvt. Layton learns that his buddy, Pvt. Hooper, was killed by a mortar shell. William Wellman filmed Marshall Thompson from the back. The fall of his shoulders and head when they said "We didn't even find his dogtags" is an eloquence beyond words.

    Most memorable repeated phrase: Pvt. Holley's "Oh, no!"
    8brownsfan337

    Terrific Classic About WWII

    I watched this movie all the time with my Grandpa growing up. He was a vet of the US Army in the Pacific and he told me that this was the only movie where a M-1 rifle and artillery actually sounded real. That is because both were the real sounds they made. The artillery was actually recorded during the war and used in the film.

    The characters you can connect with. The circumstances were anything but ideal to fight a war in. You see Layton grow into a vet before your eyes. You see men scared, terrified, and there for each other. Until "Band of Brothers" came out this was my favorite flick about WWII, and it's definitely the best of the "old school" war movies.
    Cthulhu-7

    The best movie about World War II

    This is the best movie ever made about a democratic society going to war against fascism. The movie perfectly captures the fear and courage of American soldiers in war, fighting not to conquer like the Germans or destroy civilization like the terrorists, but to defend their fellow man. There's no sunshine patriotism in this movie. No flag waving or false heroics. But the lofty ideas behind the nation that made men such as these is there hidden like the sun behind fog and clouds. And at the end, the glory embodied in the men blazes true and shines as brightly as the sun when the weather lifts.
    didi-5

    impressive war movie from MGM

    MGM made one of their large studios into a freezing, war-torn hell, and let many of their young stars loose within it for this staggeringly realistic dramatisation on the Battle of the Bulge. As war movies go, this one does everything but pile on the glamour; these boys really did have to do some serious acting!

    The cast is headed by a surprisingly good Van Johnson, proving he can do more than just romances, musicals, and various takes on 'the boy next door'. With him are some impressive co-stars: Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, and John Hodiak the most memorable; also James Whitmore, Don Taylor, and Leon Ames.

    This movie is more than just boy's own stuff; there is a genuine story here and you do care about the characters and what happens to them. It all seems so hopeless and yet you want to keep on watching. This production caused a lot of friction at MGM as Mayer really didn't approve of the starkness of it all in the midst of his family pictures. He was wrong, 'Battleground' is one of the studio's best.
    pappythesailor

    A Gem

    There's not much I can add to all the comments I've already seen. Clearly, no one disliked the movie who bothered to comment. The cast, the direction, the battles--all top notch.

    I think the only thing I can add to the praise is how this movie gets better the more war movies you see. As a kid, I didn't think too much about this this one. In fact, I'd easily have voted the "Battle of The Bulge" as a favorite and this one much further down. Now, using what (I hope) is a more critical eye. "Battle of the Bulge" is a stinker I hope never to sit through again and "Battleground" sits at or near the top.

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    Related interests

    Bruce Willis and Taniel in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
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    Drama
    Liam Neeson in Schindler's List (1993)
    History
    Band of Brothers (2001)
    War

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      James Arness (Garby) served in World War II and is the most decorated of the actors in the film. He received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze campaign stars, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge for his service.
    • Goofs
      The 327th Glider Infantry Regiment used the Club symbol; only the 506th Parachute Infantry, made famous by Band of Brothers (2001) used the Spade, but viewers mistakenly assume that the entire 101st Airborne Division used the spade. The four regiments of the 101st Airborne Division used the four different playing card suits as helmet insignia, and the main characters of the movie repeatedly mention being Glider Infantry.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Holley: [as they begin marching from the battlefield, passing their replacements as they enter] Hey, Kinnie - what ever happened to Jody?

      Sgt. Kinnie: All right, come on! Come on! What do you want these guys to think, you're a bunch of WACs? Alright, alright pick it up now. Hut, two, three. Hut, two, three, four. Hut, two, three, four. You had a good home but you left...

      I Company: You're right!

      Sgt. Kinnie: You had a good home but you left...

      I Company: You're right!

      Sgt. Kinnie: Jody was there when you left...

      I Company: You're right!

      Sgt. Kinnie: Your Baby was there when you left...

      I Company: You're right!

      Sgt. Kinnie: Sound off!

      I Company: One, two

      Sgt. Kinnie: Sound off!

      I Company: Three, four.

      Sgt. Kinnie: Cadence Count

      I Company: One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four!

      Sgt. Kinnie: Your baby was lonely - as lonely as could be...

      I Company: 'Til Jody provided company!

      Sgt. Kinnie: Ain't it great to have a pal...

      I Company: Who works so hard to keep up morale!

      Sgt. Kinnie: Sound off!

      I Company: One, two

      Sgt. Kinnie: Sound off!

      I Company: Three, four.

      Sgt. Kinnie: Cadence Count

      I Company: One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four!

      Sgt. Kinnie: You ain't got nothing to worry about...

      I Company: He'll keep her happy till I get out!

      Sgt. Kinnie: But you won't get home 'til the end of the war...

      I Company: In nineteen hundred and seventy-four!

      Sgt. Kinnie: Sound off!

      I Company: One, two.

      Sgt. Kinnie: Sound off!

      I Company: Three, four...

    • Alternate versions
      Also available in a computer colorized version.
    • Connections
      Featured in America at the Movies (1976)
    • Soundtracks
      Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
      (uncredited)
      Written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie
      Sung by the soldiers

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    FAQ18

    • How long is Battleground?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 20, 1950 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Sangre en la nieve
    • Filming locations
      • Fort Lewis, Washington, USA(tank sequence)
    • Production company
      • Loew's
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,631,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 58m(118 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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