An American tank crew fights its way into Germany in World War II.An American tank crew fights its way into Germany in World War II.An American tank crew fights its way into Germany in World War II.
Eugene Baxter
- Pvt. Jerry Marconi Whitehouse
- (uncredited)
Robert Boon
- Heinrich 'Heinie' Weinburger
- (uncredited)
Tony Christian
- Gen. Oberon von Kolber
- (uncredited)
Jeanne Crandell
- Belgian Girl
- (uncredited)
Art Gilmore
- Narrator
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Lisa Golm
- Heinie's Grandmother
- (uncredited)
Robert Horton
- Capt. Bob Horner
- (uncredited)
Gary Kettler
- German Non-Com
- (uncredited)
Fay Lively
- Belgian Girl
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn all of his films, Samuel Fuller--who wrote the story for this film, but not the screenplay--has a character named "Lemcheck". In this film it's a sergeant, played by Harry Bellaver.
- GoofsThe main characters are assigned to crew an M26 Pershing tank armed with a 90 millimeter gun, with which they breach the Siegfried Line in Germany sometime in the Fall of 1944. In actuality, the M26 Pershing did not become operational until February 1945. Furthermore, the actual tank used in the movie was an M46 Patton, a post-World War II upgrade of the M26 which did not enter service until 1949.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Family Viewing (1987)
Featured review
A Necessary Film About US Tanks in WWII
Hollywood has produced hundreds, perhaps thousands, of films about the US Infantry in World War II and other conflicts. Partially this may be cultural, with the lowly dogface rifleman as the everyman hero. Partially it might be logistics, since it is fairly easy to dress and rehearse an infantry squad, even on a sound-stage. (Although this limitation did not seem to prevent large numbers of aviation and naval films using planes and ships.) Off the top of my head, only Battle of the Bulge, Sahara, and Fury have focused at all on tanks and their crews. In all other movies they appear just as nameless support for the infantry.
The drama focuses on Staff Sgt. Sullivan, who replaces a popular platoon sergeant and his conflict with the crew. Sullivan is a hard-driving glory seeker, which causes conflict with subordinates and superiors. There are also several side-plots, the most notable involving a German-born crewman with a special purpose in returning home.
But the real point and beauty of the film is the armored combat. With clear (and somewhat anachronistic) support from the US Army, there is finally a film showing widescale tank maneuvers, using a mixture of combat footage and contemporary scenes courtesy of the Army. This is a desperately needed niche in WWII films.
A few quibbles. I don't complain about the anachronistic supporting vehicles, since very few 1944 standard ones would be available in 1951. But there are a few things that don't quite work. Although Sullivan is almost suicidally brave, some of the maneuvers are too aggressive and would likely get him relieved, and demoted, even when he succeeds. I can't imagine any tank commander deliberately getting hung up on dragon's teeth. Also, Sullivan is assigned as the platoon sergeant, but we never see him doing any leadership beyond his own crew. Finally, there is a short interlude between Sullivan and a female war correspondent that seems to indicate some history is there, but this is never followed up. It is unusual to have a female character in a combat movie that does not develop into someone's romantic interest.
The drama focuses on Staff Sgt. Sullivan, who replaces a popular platoon sergeant and his conflict with the crew. Sullivan is a hard-driving glory seeker, which causes conflict with subordinates and superiors. There are also several side-plots, the most notable involving a German-born crewman with a special purpose in returning home.
But the real point and beauty of the film is the armored combat. With clear (and somewhat anachronistic) support from the US Army, there is finally a film showing widescale tank maneuvers, using a mixture of combat footage and contemporary scenes courtesy of the Army. This is a desperately needed niche in WWII films.
A few quibbles. I don't complain about the anachronistic supporting vehicles, since very few 1944 standard ones would be available in 1951. But there are a few things that don't quite work. Although Sullivan is almost suicidally brave, some of the maneuvers are too aggressive and would likely get him relieved, and demoted, even when he succeeds. I can't imagine any tank commander deliberately getting hung up on dragon's teeth. Also, Sullivan is assigned as the platoon sergeant, but we never see him doing any leadership beyond his own crew. Finally, there is a short interlude between Sullivan and a female war correspondent that seems to indicate some history is there, but this is never followed up. It is unusual to have a female character in a combat movie that does not develop into someone's romantic interest.
helpful•11
- historian63
- Jun 11, 2022
Details
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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