Battleground (1949)

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Approved
1h 58min
Action, Drama
20 Jan 1950 (USA)
Movie

7.4 (7,861)

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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:

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.
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Reviews:

Photos and Videos

Still of Van Johnson (I) and James Whitmore (I) in Battleground (1949)

Still of Van Johnson (I) in Battleground (1949)

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35 photos | 1 video

Cast verified as complete

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	Van Johnson	...	Holley
	John Hodiak	...	Jarvess
	Ricardo Montalban	...	Roderigues
	George Murphy	...	'Pop' Stazak
	Marshall Thompson	...	Jim Layton
	Jerome Courtland	...	Abner Spudler
	Don Taylor	...	Standiferd
	Bruce Cowling	...	Wolowicz
	James Whitmore	...	Kinnie
	Douglas Fowley	...	'Kipp' Kippton
	Leon Ames	...	The Chaplain
	Herbert Anderson	...	Hansan (as Guy Anderson)
	Thomas E. Breen	...	Doc
	Denise Darcel	...	Denise
	Richard Jaeckel	...	Bettis
	James Arness	...	Garby (as Jim Arness)
	Scotty Beckett	...	William J. Hooper
	Brett King	...	Lt. Teiss
	The Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division	...	Themselves (as the original 'Screaming Eagles' of the 101st Airborne Division)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	Joel Allen	...	Transportation Captain (uncredited)
	Martha Bamattre	...	French Peasant Woman (uncredited)
	Richard Bartlett	...	Casualty (uncredited)
	Nan Boardman	...	Belgian Woman Volunteer (uncredited)
	Tommy Bond	...	Runner (uncredited)
	Robert Boon	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
	Neville Brand	...	Soldier Singing 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town' (uncredited)
	Michael Browne	...	Levenstein (uncredited)
	Norman Budd	...	Crying Casualty (uncredited)
	George Chandler	...	Mess Sergeant (uncredited)
	Tony Christian	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
	Lillian Clayes	...	Old Woman (uncredited)
	Louise Colombet	...	French Peasant Woman (uncredited)
	Gene Coogan	...	G.I. Scout (uncredited)
	Bert Davidson	...	101st Battalion Officer (uncredited)
	George Dee	...	Frenchman (uncredited)
	Jean Del Val	...	French Peasant Man (uncredited)
	Victor Desny	...	Wounded German Soldier (uncredited)
	Christian Drake	...	Medic Private (uncredited)
	Jim Drum	...	Supply Sergeant (uncredited)
	Gretl Dupont	...	French Peasant Woman (uncredited)
	John Dutra	...	G.I. (uncredited)
	Ted Eckelberry	...	G.I. (uncredited)
	Bill Erwin	...	Warrant Officer (uncredited)
	Dan Foster	...	Gunner (uncredited)
	John Gardner	...	G.I. (uncredited)
	Gene Garrick	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
	Edmund Glover	...	G.I. from Maine (uncredited)
	David Holt	...	G.I. Straggler (uncredited)
	James Horne	...	Transportation Captain (uncredited)
	Richard Irving	...	G.I. from New York (uncredited)
	Samuel Jaegers	...	Drill Sergeant (uncredited)
	Samuel Jagers	...	Drill Sergeant (uncredited)
	Dickie Jones	...	Tanker (uncredited)
	Tommy Kelly	...	Casualty (uncredited)
	Billy Lechner	...	Runner (uncredited)
	William F. Leicester	...	Tank Destroyer Man (uncredited)
	Martin Lowell	...	G.I. (uncredited)
	Ian MacDonald	...	Army Colonel (uncredited)
	John Mansfield	...	Casualty (uncredited)
	Dewey Martin	...	G.I. Straggler (uncredited)
	Jimmie Martin	...	G.I. from the South (uncredited)
	Roger McGee	...	Tanker (uncredited)
	Peter Michael	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
	William Murphy	...	Non-Com (uncredited)
	John Mylong	...	German Major (uncredited)
	Tommy Noonan	...	G.I. Straggler (uncredited)
	George Offerman Jr.	...	K Company G.I. (uncredited)
	Jerry Paris	...	German Sergeant (uncredited)
	Victor Paul	...	G.I. (uncredited)
	Steve Pendleton	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
	Janine Perreau	...	Little Girl (uncredited)
	Phillip Pine	...	G.I. Non-Com (uncredited)
	Albert Pollet	...	French Peasant Man (uncredited)
	Bob Porter	...	G.I. (uncredited)
	Otto Reichow	...	German Platoon Leader (uncredited)
	John R. Reilly	...	Tanker Filling Up with Gas (uncredited)
	Sammy Resnick	...	Non-Com (uncredited)
	Jon Riffel	...	'Kipp' Kipton (uncredited)
	Henry Rowland	...	German NCO (uncredited)
	John Royce	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
	Edmon Ryan	...	Major (uncredited)
	Carl Saxe	...	101st Battalion Officer (uncredited)
	Nelson Scott	...	G.I. (uncredited)
	Irene Seidner	...	French Peasant Woman (uncredited)
	William Self	...	K Company G.I. (uncredited)
	Charles Smith	...	Walking Wounded (uncredited)
	Ivan Triesault	...	German Captain (uncredited)
	Max Trujillo	...	GI (uncredited)
	Roland Varno	...	German Lieutenant (uncredited)
	Tommy Walker	...	Mechanic (uncredited)
	Arthur Walsh	...	G.I. (uncredited)
	Ward Wood	...	Replacement (uncredited)
	Fred Zendar	...	German Soldier (uncredited)

Directed by

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William A. Wellman

Written by

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Robert Pirosh

...

(story and screenplay)

Produced by

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Robert Pirosh	...	associate producer
Dore Schary	...	producer

Music by

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Lennie Hayton

...

(musical score)

Cinematography by

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Paul Vogel

...

director of photography (as Paul C. Vogel)

Editing by

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John D. Dunning

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(as John Dunning)

Editorial Department

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Peter Ballbusch

...

montage sequences

Art Direction by

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Cedric Gibbons
Hans Peters

Set Decoration by

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Edwin B. Willis

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(set decorations)

Makeup Department

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Jack Dawn

...

makeup creator

Production Management

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William Kaplan

...

production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Sid Sidman

...

assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department

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Alfred E. Spencer	...	associate set decorator
Matty Azzarone	...	construction (uncredited)
Donald P. Desmond	...	set construction (uncredited)
Frank Wesselhoff	...	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Douglas Shearer	...	recording supervisor
Conrad Kahn	...	sound (uncredited)

Stunts

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Gene Coogan	...	stunts (uncredited)
Victor Paul	...	stunts (uncredited)
Carl Saxe	...	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Zendar	...	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Henry Forrester	...	grip (uncredited)
J. Harper	...	camera operator (uncredited)
Ed Hubbell	...	still photographer (uncredited)
James Manatt	...	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department

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Wally Heglin

...

orchestrator (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

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John Banse

...

script supervisor (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Harry Kinnard

...

technical adviser (as H.W.O. Kinnard Lt.Col. Inf.)

Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1949) (United States) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1949) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
Central Motion Picture Exchange (1949) (Japan) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1950) (Sweden) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1950) (Argentina) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1950) (France) (theatrical)
Express Film (1950) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1950) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1965) (United States) (tv)
MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1990) (United States) (VHS)
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (2017) (United States) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
Warner Home Video (2001) (United States) (VHS)
Warner Home Video (2004) (United States) (DVD)
Warner Home Video (2005) (United States) (DVD)
Warner Home Video (2017) (United States) (Blu-ray) (DVD)

Special Effects

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Other Companies

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The Battered Bastards of Bastogne (this story is about, and dedicated to, those Americans who met General Heinrich von Lüttwitz and his 47 Panzer Corps and won for themselves the honored and immortal name)
U.S. Army (special thanks)

Storyline

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Plot Summary	We follow a band of American soldiers as they engage the Germans in a snowy, foggy winter near Bastogne in World War II. They're low on fuel, rations, and ammunition; the Germans are constantly encouraging their surrender via radio and leaflets, and most importantly, the pervasive thick fog makes movement and identification difficult and prevents their relief by Allied air support. This film focuses much more on the psychology and morale of the soldiers than on action footage and heroics. Written by Michael C. Berch Plot Summary Plot Synopsis
Plot Keywords	siege-of-bastogne bastogne-belgium nazi year-1944 nazi-assault See All (147) »
Taglines	The First Great Picture Of The Second World War ! See more »
Genres	Action Drama History War
Parents Guide	View content advisory »
Certification	Argentina:13 Australia:G Australia:PG (TV rating) Canada:PG (video rating) Finland:K-16 France:Tous publics Italy:T Japan:G Netherlands:14 Norway:12 (recommended rating) Norway:16 (cinema rating) South Korea:12 Sweden:15 United Kingdom:A United Kingdom:PG (tv rating) United Kingdom:PG (video rating) United States:TV-PG United States:Approved West Germany:12 (f)

Additional Details

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Also Known As	Bastogne (France) Kesselschlacht (Germany) Fuego en la nieve (Spain) O Preço da Glória (Brazil) A Grande Batalha (Portugal) See more »
Runtime	118 min
Country	United States
Language	English French German
Color	Black and White
Aspect Ratio	1.37 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix	Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Filming Locations	Fort Lewis, Washington, USA See more »

Box Office

Budget	$1,631,000 (estimated)
Cumulative Worldwide Gross	$13,666,420

Did You Know?

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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. See more »
Goofs	At the beginning of the movie Holley (Van Johnson) enters the tent wearing a class A uniform. Although currently worn above the ribbon rack, at the time the film takes place, the Combat Infantryman Badge was worn on the left breast pocket, below the ribbons. See more »
Movie Connections	Featured in America at the Movies (1976). See more »
Soundtracks	Santa Claus is Comin' to Town See more »
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... See more »

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