Dave's World of War Movies

Richard Jaekel: Baby face to the end.

2011-12-02T21:59:00.001-06:00

Laying on the deck of a US transport ship a blond headed kid no older than 18 encounters a war correspondent and asks to be featured in the work that the journalist is doing. Smiling the journalist asks his name and he responds with Johnny Anderson. "Chicken Anderson" a fellow Marine chortles. and so begins the acting career of one of the greatest supporting actors in Hollywood. Richard Jaeckel.

Jaeckel's career started in 1943 with his first movie, Guadalcanal Diary, and ended after filming the popular TV show Baywatch when he succumbed to cancer. He was 70 years old.

Jaeckel was a US Navy veteran and served in the US Navy from 1944 to 1948. He distinguished himself in many roles but was always the tough guy and in some cases a very nasty villian. Richard returned to the big screen after his Navy stint with Battleground, Sands of Iwo Jima, Jungle Patrol, and City Across the River.

Richard's career would include greats like; The Devils Brigade, Chisum, The Dirty Dozen, and Sometimes a Great Notion which garnered him his only Academy Award Nomination. With over 186 titles to his name Jaekel was one of the most popular supporting actors in the history of the movies. He was also a very able and steady TV actor as well covering many TV series as either a regular or as a character actor. Regular shows include; Banyon, Spenser for Hire, Firehouse, and Baywatch.

Richard Jaeckel, actor: born Long Beach, New York 10 October 1926; married (two sons); died Woodland Hills, California 14 June 1997.

Rick Fitts: Actor, Director, Voice Talent, and Friend!

2011-04-03T15:58:00.008-05:00

Rick Fitts, whether you may or may not know, is one of the best character actors in the business and has appeared in about 108 titles including several main stream movies including “The Hanoi Hilton” as Turner, “Platoon Leader” as Robert Hayes, and the Cold War TV Mini Series “WWIII” as Major George Devery.

To begin with I want to take this time to thank my friend Rick Fitts for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer these questions. Thank you Rick…

Rick Fitts: Actor, Director, Voice Talent, and Friend!

Hi Dave. It’s good to hear from you and I hope all is well. Thank you for your kind words. They are much appreciated. These are great questions! I will answer them in the order given.

Thanks Rick!

So without further delay let us begin!

Rick, your first foray into military drama and the war movie genre was the mini-series “WWIII” as Major Devery. How did you prepare for the role as Devery? Was there an inspiration for you?

When I work on a part I read the script a lot. Through experience, I’ve found that the preparation for a role is already in the words of the script. As I read the script, ideas on how to play a character come to me. There’s an old acting expression that says, “If it’s not on the page it’s not on the stage.” The script and my imagination are my inspiration.

With the Cold War going on in Europe and several events having taken place was there an air of “this could really happen” while making this mini-series?

There was definitely a feeling that the story line in WWIII could happen. All the Actors and the Director grew up during the cold war, including the Cuban Missile Crisis. The feeling of the possibility of scenarios like this was very real to all of us. That reality helped all of us get into our parts.

The cast of talent chosen for this movie was very “Monday Night at the Movies”, what was it like on the set with the cast?

Working on the set was great. Everybody was aware of the importance of the story we were telling. We really wanted the viewers of the film to feel the reality of what it would be like if we allowed our lack of communication as humans to destroy us. If that possibility were to happen we all would truly be the losers.

I have to admit that this is one movie that should be on DVD and one of my favorite “war dramas” that I have had to commit to memory, did you get to see the movie in its final form? What are or were your thoughts of the movie once it hit the small screen?

I did get to see the movie in its final form. We had a screening that everyone attended. One of the moments in the film that really moved me was at the end of the film when we showed ordinary people doing ordinary things not realizing that this was their last day alive. That was very powerful and moving for me.

As a soldier, when I watched the movie, a shiver went down my spine that lasted several days when the last scene with Hudson plays out to a reference of nuclear weapons being released. Your thoughts?

We, as humans, have not changed emotionally since our weapons were spears and stones. The scary thing is, with that same emotional make- up, we now have the weapons to destroy ourselves and our planet.

Tell me about your work on “The Hanoi Hilton”? Did you have access to actual prisoners?

We had at least one of the surviving POW’s on the set everyday. They all took an active role in making sure our portrayals were accurate. Their comments were very helpful. When they thought we, as actors, were being too dramatic they would remind us that they did their best to laugh as much as they could in order to survive this horrendous experience. At the premiere of the film, five hundred surviving POW’s showed up in military whites. It was a pretty impressive sight.

Rick as Turner in Hanoi Hilton

Tell me about your work on Platoon Leader. How did you prepare.

On Platoon Leader not only was the script my guide in preparation for the role, but also my friends who had served there. They were the best prep anyone could get.

Rick as Robert Hayes in Platoon Leader

I’ve noticed that many of your roles have you as a police officer, soldier, or judge. In these roles are they what you look for? Have you worked with officials in these capacities learning the trade?

I don’t necessarily seek out these roles but I do get offered them a lot. I’ve gone through some minimal training with officials for these types of roles just to keep my portrayals accurate.

Rick as Col. Shore in an Episode of Bones

Rick, this was one thing I was impressed with in your portrayals. Though I have never been a judge, as a former police officer both military and civilian I have to say that your adaptation of those types of characters are spot on. It is one reason why I believe your one of the best in your field.

Now a question about personal preference: What is your favorite war movie? What Movie would you like to see reviewed on the blog?

Wow Dave, this is a great question. I love it when I don’t have to talk about me but about films I like. So I’m going to break with the above format and my answer might end up being kind of lengthy.

Rick take your time and be as lengthy as you like.

I don’t have just one favorite war movie. But there are seven that come to mind immediately – spread out over four wars. I’ll list them, not in order of preference, but in order of which war came first.

WWI – “Sergeant York” 1941 hands down. Gary Cooper as Alvin York, the conscientious objector who becomes the most decorated hero of the time – you can’t get better than that.

A more recent WWI film I loved was “Flyboys” 2006 about the Lafayette Escadrille and the American volunteers that came to France to fly and fight in the war. This one especially touched me because the movie documented the son of a slave who became the first Black wartime aviator in history. (The movie character’s name was Skinner but he was based on the real flyboy – Eugene Bullard)***

WWII – so many to choose from, but “The Longest Day” 1962 is probably the movie I have seen at least 30 times. The all-star cast, the historic D-Day, all around it has something for everybody.

“The Tuskegee Airmen” 1995 with Laurence Fishburn is another great WWII film. I enjoyed it because it continues on with the theme of the history of African American pilots from the movie “Flyboys”. Plus Laurence is someone I know and I thought he gave a sterling performance.

Korean War – “All the Young Men” 1960 starring Sidney Poitier and Alan Ladd. While this is more of a character study it is on my list because Sidney Poitier was always such an inspiration to me. Plus it was one of the last movies Alan Ladd made.

Another Korean War film is “Pork Chop Hill” 1959 with Gregory Peck, George Peppard, Rip Torn, Robert Blake and a bunch of others. This is a rather dark and sad piece and is such a foreshadowing of what’s to come in Viet Nam and how it’s all going to end.

Viet Nam – the forgotten war. Mel Gibson’s “We Were Soldiers” 2002 I thought that was the most honest portrayal of the Viet Nam war and the men who fought in it that I have ever seen. It takes place in 1965 and it documents one of the greatest military encounters of the war – the Battle of La Drang - as well as the beginnings of the 7th Air Cav.

And it gave us one of the greatest quotes of that war by Lt. Col Hal Moore: “I can't promise you that I will bring you all home alive. But this I swear, before you and before Almighty God, that when we go into battle, I will be the first to set foot on the field, and I will be the last to step off, and I will leave no one behind. Dead or alive, we will all come home together. So help me, God.”

Rick, thanks for your time it is greatly appreciated and we look forward to talking with you again!

*** Eugene Bullard left America to see the world. He wanted to be free of racial discrimination and had heard that Europe was far more freer than Columbus, Georgia his birthplace and home. He stowed away on a steamer heading for the UK. He eventually joined the French Foriegn Legion then after receiving several medals including the Croix de Guerre he decided to become a flyer. Lt. Bullard flew over 25 missions downing 3 enemy aircraft. He help to defend Paris during the German Occupation where he was severly wounded and was moved back to the US. Sadly, Eugene would live in the US as an unsung hero until he passed away from cancer in 1961. A book, The Black Swallow of Death, was printed in 1972 about his exploits as a WWI fighter pilot. In 1994 Eugene Bullard was posthumously commissioned into the USAF and promoted to 2nd Lt.

Have a Solemn and Thoughtful Veteran's Day

2010-11-10T14:15:00.000-06:00

To our men and women who have served and continue to serve daily to protect the US and allied countries abroad I say to you "Thank You! From the deepest pit within me I say this, and from the deepest part of my heart I say it again. THANK YOU!

A prayer:
May God bless those soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen and women who have fallen in defense of our great nation. May he take them and allow them to walk the Elysian Fields with Michael, Archangel, and may he allow them to defend Heaven and Earth from the evil that lurks. For only God knows that there is no fighting man or woman on this Earth or in his Heaven that is capable of protecting him. Other than Michael...Amen.

Do NOT judge this blog by the content!

2010-11-08T13:02:00.000-06:00

I received an email the other day and it was from someone who had to hide their name and pretend to be invisible. Before I post an excerpt from that email it should be clearly understood that this blog is not pro or anti war. I developed this blog to highlight the actors that are veterans of our military who after serving continued to service their country by acting and providing us with great entertainment whether it be in making war movies, westerns, or police dramas or whatever. This is for them.

"The quote"
"I decided to click the blog link at the top of my blog and low and behold you were the first blog to appear. Though I admit that there are some great war movies your blog is nothing more than an advert supporting war and promoting military action. This sucks and you in-turn you suck as well. You have taken great actors and culled their military experience and ignored everything else making these great people nothing more than fodder for your silliness and making them look like warmongers."

So, I suck and the actors are warmongers. The fact is that war is part of our lives as Americans. We went to war to free us of the oppressive Kings of England during the Revolution and the War of 1812. We went to war with our own states over States Rights. We went to war with Spain over Cuba. We went to war with Germany in 1917 during WWI and then again in 1941 with Germany and Japan. We committed to a Police Action in 1950 and then again in 1961 which led to the Vietnam conflict in 1964. We went to Grenada in 1983 and Panama in 1989. In 1991 we went to war to remove Iraq from Kuwait and a portion of Saudi Arabia. In October of 2001 we went into Afghanistan and then proceeded to Iraq (good or bad). If you look at what we have done war wise you can see pattern. The pattern I see is the US removing the scum of the earth or attempting to, while others see it differently.

Again, the goal of this blog is to highlight the actors and actresses that served our country and to showcase those movies and shows that they made to entertain us.

Dave Matteson

2010-11-08T11:22:00.000-06:00

Head Shots

Ty Hardin

Best known as Bronco Layne, in the long running TV Series Bronco, Ty Hardin started his acting career after walking into a western clothing store looking for a costume for a Halloween party and that as they say was history. Ty starred in several creature feature type movies until moving on to the American Western. Starring as an alternating walk on cast member Bronco :) starred in Maverick, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, and his own show Bronco which lasted 4 seasons and was one of the top TV shows in the country. Ty also starred abroad in several Spaghetti Westerns and in Australia he had his own TV show Riptide.

While making westerns he filmed the epic war movie Merrill's Marauders as Lt. Stockton in 1962, in PT-109 as Ens. Lenny Thom in 1963, in The Battle of the Bulge as Schumacher in 1965, and in Custer of the West as Maj. Marcus Reno in 1967. I asked him about these movies and he told me that he enjoyed making them and he enjoys acting. Ty has been selective about what he does but when he does it he is all professional. Ty has continued his service to his country outside by being a proud patriot and America is proud to have him as one.

Ty served in the US Army for 5 years of which he was overseas during the Korean War for 3. We thank Bronco for his time and his service to our country!

Incoming!

2010-10-14T13:56:00.002-05:00

(While we have brought you some of the older movies we are going to try to get info on new releases or movies in the works.)

In the works -
John Woo - The Flying Tigers
Red Dawn Redux
The makers of the "Call of Duty" games have filed for copyright protection for the "Callof Duty" title to include movie and video rights to the name. ( The commo line says a movie is in the works)
Dale Dye - No Better Place to Die - Rumored nothing has been seen yet
Tom Hanks - They Marched Into Sunlight

We Were Soldiers!

2010-09-30T11:49:00.000-05:00

From left to right clockwise; Jason Robards joined the US Navy in 1939 and was honorably discharged in 1947. His ship was at sea with the carrier task force when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Robards starred in Tora, Tora, Tora and was a doctor in the WWIII drama The Day After. James Arness was drafted into the the US Army from college in 1943. He served with the 3rd ID in Anzio where he was severely wounded. Arness starred in Battleground and the period historical drama Alamo: 13 Days to Glory. Neville Brand enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard in 1939. In March of 1942 he was accepted into federal service where he did various service related work as an infantryman until just after D-Day. In December he was part of the reenforcements that pushed forward during the Battle of the Bulge. He served in Europe for just under 10 months. He starred Stalag 17 and The Halls of Montezuma. Sterling Hayden joined the US Marines just prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. While at Parris Island he was recommended for and became an officer. After his training he accepted into the CIO under the leadership of Wlliam Donovan. Later this office would become known as the OSS inwhich hayden served until December of 1945. He served in Europe and receive numerous awards including several from Marshall Tito. Hayden starred in the movies Battle Taxi and Fighter Attack.

Brief. Polite. Review. The Pacific.

2010-09-30T10:28:00.000-05:00

Some of you reading this may or may not agree but I have to say that Tom Hanks "killed" The Pacific for me when he said the war in the pacific was one of racism. Asked to clear his thoughts and define what he stated he said exactly what everyone was thinking but my question is how can the Japanese taking of Manchuria and the US stopping oil shipments to Japan and Japan's attack on Hawaii a Racist war?

Up until the attacks on China, Japan had been a great ally of the US. Many states and many cities in those states were sisters to many states and cities in Japan.

My review is based on the books that I have read that were the basis of this series. First I want to say that Hanks and Speilberg screwed the pooch with this series. They could have shot the moon with it and used the characters and their war stories to further the Island Hopping Campaign. The fact is Hanks focuses more on their personal lives than the tragedy that befalls each one during the war. He focuses on their hospital stays, their R&R, and their sexual romps (I've seen more boobs in this series than I did in the R rated "Life of Linda Lovelace").

During the campaigns we get flash backs and cut overs. We got stuck in Peleilu for three segmenst of the series so we can watch each character turn into thieves and crapping machines. The only real action in the whole 10 episodes is the 2nd Guadalcanal segment where Basilone receives his CMOH.

Don't get me wrong. This was a miniseries that depicted war. But It could have been a whole lot better. They had access to tanks, amtracks, planes, ships, and other gear that made this a one of a kind movie. Sadly this was NOT Band of Brothers. No, we did not want this to be an exact copy, what we wanted to see was the taking of the Islands, the bitter fighting, the reason why these guys got CMOH and other high ranking awards.

Basilone returns to the fleet for the invasion of Iwo Jima and was a machine-gun section Sgt on Red Beach during the battle. Japanese had blockhouses every 100 yards and in one section a maze of them had his unit pinned down. Basilone worked his way around behind the Japanese positions until he was directly on top of the blockhouses. He attacked with grenades and his .45 destroying the entire strongpoint and its garrison.
He then worked toward Airfield Number 1 helping a Sherman tank that was pinned down in an enemy mine field taking mortar and artillery fire. Guiding the tank to safety, despite heavy weapons fire from the Japanese he pushed forward on the edge of the airfield. Unfortunately a Japanese mortar round landed several yards from him and he was mortally hit by shrapnel.

Sadly, Hanks left this out along with a lot of the action from Sledge amd Leckie's books.

The Pacific is good. Unfortunately for me, the reviewer, my opinion of it is rather low. I give this 3.5 of 5 American Stars.

War Movie - The Definition

2010-09-30T09:49:00.000-05:00

Over the years I have enjoyed everything that was classified as a war movie. Good or bad they entertained me becayse they either had some form of REAL military equipment in them or I wanted to see how they handled the topic of war movie.

Well, the definition of war is; the waging of armed conflict against an enemy.

Now, the definition of a movie is; a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement.

In most cases the war movie is a movie based on an actual event from the past. Most war movies from the American point of view are based on World War II. The same goes for the UK and in some cases France. In Russia many war movies were based on the Great Revolution while in China war movies are based on the Japanese incursion in the early 30's. But I digress.

My goal is to point out the qualifiactions of a war movie as opposed to a military action movie or a drama. As much as we want the Caine Mutiny to be a war movie it is not. It is actually a military drama. On the other hand we have a movie like Tears of The Sun. It has all the classic pieces to be a war movie but in short it's a team of Seals sent to rescue a doctor from an evil man trying to kill her. The fact is, this is a Military Action Movie.

Classic War Movies:
Battleground
Go For Broke
To Hell and Back!
The Story of GI JOE
Sand of Iwo Jima
The Longest Day
The Fighting Seabees
The Big Red One
Odd Angry Shot
We Were Soldiers
Wake Island
Bataan!
The Siege of Firebase Gloria

Military Action Movies:
The Raid on Entebbee
Tears of the Sun
Hart's War
Top Gun
Ice Station Zebra

Military Dramas:
The Caine Mutiny
Father Goose
A Soldiers Story

Above are a selection from each catagory so that you can decide on your own. Like I said, in most cases a War Movie is a solid movie that depicts a war or a specific action during a war.

We are always accepting of constructive criticism.

We Were Soldiers!

2010-05-07T13:44:00.000-05:00

Top Left: John Russell-Well known westerns actor Russell was a decorated Marine who faught at Guadalcanal. His last movie was Pale Rider were he played the Chief Regulator hunting the pale Rider. Top Right: Glenn Ford-Well known actor played in many movies including war and westerns, Ford was a motion picture production specialist in the Marines and later transfered to the Navy where he became a Captain in the Public Affairs team. He served in Vietnam for over a month. Bottom Right: Henry Fonda-With roles in Mr. Roberts, Battle of the Bulge, Midway, and many more Fonda served in the US Navy in WWII as an Air Combat Intel Officer. Bottom Left: Nancy Kulp-best known as her role as Ms. Jane Hathaway on the Beverly Hillbillies Hathaway was a Navy Electronics Specialist during WWII.

News

2010-05-07T13:06:00.001-05:00

For those of you checking out the blog regularly I will be doing some updates and some movie reviews in the coming weeks.

One of my favorite actors is Bo Svenson who has appeared in such movies as Walking Tall, Inglorious Bastards, Inglorious Basterds, Heartbreak Ridge, The Great Waldo Pepper, and was a character actor on TV in the 60's doing westerns. But my favorite roll was his portayal of Ivan on Magnum P.I. Anyway, we wrote Mr. Svenson and asked for an interview but he politely declined. We want to take this time to thank him for taking the time to respond. We have asked several actors to comment but Bo was the only one to respond. Thanks Bo we understand and respect your decision.

If you haven't seen it yet, The Pacific has been released and is currently in series run on HBO. It is very much worth getting HBO just for the series. Well acted and to the book, it tells the story of Eugene Sledge, Robert Leckie, John Basilone and several other Marines and their exploits in the Pacific. This is not a saop opera. This is the true story of these Marines.

I have been reading Brothers in Arms: The true story of the 761st Tank Battalion. If you are reading this note you should be reading this book. Last year it was announced that Actor Morgan Freeman and Pro Athlete Kareem abdul-Jabbar were working a script for the movie. Nothing has come of this yet.

Thats the news..... :D

My Movie and Character

2009-12-20T17:38:00.000-06:00

In this movie my dad
owned a scrap yard and
I was a Marine Division
Boxer. What movie was
this and what was my
nick name?

2009-11-27T17:41:00.000-06:00

We were soldiers!

Top Left: Rod Serling, US Army Airborne Demolitions Expert

Top Right: Charles Durning, US Army Infantry 1st Infantry Division

Bottom left: Eddie Albert, US Navy, LCM commander

Bottom Right: James Whitmore, US Marine Lt. Ground campaign Pacific Islands

2009-11-27T11:27:00.000-06:00

Head Shots

Clint Eastwood

Best known as Dirty Harry Callahan and the "Man with no name", Clint has appeared in over 70 movies and has countless walk ons, behind the scenes work, guest shots, and so on. Clint is a tue action star with his cowboy, police, and average citizen movies. He has only 4 war movies to his credit but they are true actioners; Away All Boats (1956), Where Eagles Dare (1968), Kelly's Heroes (1970), and Heartbreak Ridge (1986). In 2008, during an interview, Eastwood was asked if he would reprise the role of Harry Callahan smiling, Eastwood said that Harry is retired and a local Angelina Jollie piped up that Harry has a daughter and she is a cop. Jollie finished by say she would love to resume where Clint left off.

Eastwood is an accomplished musician, director, actor, and somewhat politician.

2009-11-27T10:43:00.000-06:00

About the Movie:
Filmed in and around San Antonio, Texas Rough Riders is the somewhat paraphrased and true retelling of the first modern war the US waged against Spain’s taking of Cuba. Rough Riders uses talented actors that also look similar in appearance to the people they portray to tell this gripping story. Tom Berenger’ uncanny resemblance to Teddy Roosevelt makes the movie. Several other portrayals like Bucky O’Neill (Sam Elliot) Stephen Crane (Adam Storke) William Randolph Hearst (George Hamilton) add to the truth of the telling.

Military advisers abound! Several well-known military advisers were used in the making of this film. Dale Dye (Leonard Wood), R. Lee Ermey (John Hay), and Pablo Espinosa (Frederick Funston) lent their military talents to the making of the film while Milius donated his weapons collection and those of his friends as props for the filming.

From Bucky O’Neill’s assembly of the Arizona regiment to the training camps in the south the film follows their exploits as a fledgling military unit all the way to Tampa their jump off point. Items are left intact such as Teddy’s commandeering of an infantry troop train to move his men to the embarkation point or the fact that they had to leave most of their horses behind because of lack of transport ships. Once the battle sequences begin some items are either bunched up or in the case of some of the characters they are compilations of people or their demise is more heroic or out of sequence.

Fortunately, it is not distracting and makes for a better movie. When I first heard that Turner was making this movie, I was skeptical. I had seen some of his movies and frankly was not enthusiastic. However, as press packs became more available I started to have second thoughts. From the attack on Las Guasimas to the frontal assaults on Kettle Hill and San Juan Heights the movie pulls along nicely.

An interesting note; William Tiffany is killed in action in the movie. He is shot while setting up machine guns on the opposing hill to San Juan heights. The fact is he died as a result Yellow Fever on the return trip home. In addition, Edward Marshall is shot in the spine at the battle of Las Guasimas and does not get to see the assault on the hills. Though one fact is somewhat clear, he asked Crane to get the story, or Crane offered to get the story for him.

Stars:
Tom Berenger, Sam Elliot, Gary Busey, Brad Johnson, Chris Noth, Brian Keith, George Hamilton

Attention to Detail:
With John Milius helming the picture, I am going to assume he decided to do this because he wanted to show off his own personal arsenal. Krag Jorgenson bolt action rifles, Springfield repeaters, Colt potato diggers, Mausers, Cavalry uniforms, and other period weapons were used to film this movie. Dale Dye and R. Lee Ermey taught cavalry and infantry tactics of the day. The detail of the hills (Kettle and San Juan Heights) is close to accurate including the boiler and packing houses for the sugar.

Famous Lines:
Stephen Crane: You're wounded, sir.
Craig Wadsworth: A red badge of courage... it's not like your book, old man.
Teddy Roosevelt to Henry Nash: Don't touch him, I need the Hun!

Kane to Indian Bob (after teddy is done with the Hun): Indian Bob...KILL THE HUN!

Henry Bardshar (to 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldier): You boys of the 10th sure can fight. You can drink out of my canteen anytime.

Also watch:

Gettysburg

Gods and Generals

I Give This:

SitRep

2009-11-25T13:07:00.000-06:00

Sitrep in military terminology is Situation Report. I will be updating this forum over the holiday weekend and it will include the new SitRep section to let you know news and other goings on in the world of war movies. So, when I give a sitrep the header will be "SITREP-Title". Thanks for watching and if you have a movie you would like reviewed let me know and I will do my best to watch it...if I haven't already!

Dave

2009-01-03T03:36:00.000-06:00

Head Shots

Hans Christian Blech

Obtained the famous scars on his face from wounds received while serving as a German Soldier on the Russian Front during WW2.

Most Notable Films:
The Longest Day (1962)
Battle of the Bulge (1965)

2009-01-03T02:30:00.000-06:00

Head Shots

Karl-Otto Alberty

Berlin born Alberty is the great bad guy. He has made 41 films and his first English language film was The Great Escape in 1963.

Most Notable Films:
Raid on Rommel (1971)
Kelly's Heroes (1970)
Battle of Britain (1969)
The Battle of the Bulge (1965)
The Great Escape (1963)

2008-12-31T22:36:00.000-06:00

Filmed at Bavaria Film studios outside of Munich Germany, The Great Escape is the true retelling of the greatest prisoner escape of WWII from Stalag Luft III. Filmed on a forested 400 acre lot to the almost exact specs as the original camp, The Great Escape pulls together the most talented actors of the time to make this a very exciting, sometimes funny, and very tense story.

With the use of German, British, and US actors, John Sturges, using the Paul Brickhill book by the same name, began filming without a script. Using the exact means of escape that the real men did Sturges made composite characters to represent the real men and stayed as true to the real escape as he possibly could while filming. He also hired Wally Floody, the real tunnel king, who was portrayed by Charles Bronson as the technical adviser.

The Great Escape follows the men of Stalag Luft III who find ways to tunnel under the camp and to the surrounding pine forest of Zagan, Poland. Big X, played by Richard Attenborough, plans to move 200 prisoners out of the camp and into the surrounding country side to disrupt the German war machine. Thrilling, funny, and suspense filled it is a great movie from start to finish. It is truly and epic war movie and should be part of every DVD library.

Stars
Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, and David McCallum.

Attention to Detail
Donald Pleasence noted that the camp built for the movie was the exact replica of Stalag Luft I which he was a resident of during the war.

Uniforms were made to the exact specifications as the originals. Vehicles were period vehicles scrounged up from around the area, the studio, or collectors.

Sturges incorporated details from the book, personal accounts from the veterans on set including accounts from the actors, set dressers, and other people associated with the movie for realism.

Famous Lines
Von Luger: Are all American officers so ill-mannered?
Hilts: Yeah, about 99 percent.
Von Luger: Then perhaps while you are with us you will have a chance to learn some. Ten days isolation, Hilts.
Hilts: CAPTAIN Hilts.
Von Luger: Twenty days.
Hilts: Right. Oh, uh, you'll still be here when I get out?
Von Luger: [visibly annoyed] Cooler!

Also Watch
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of Britain

I Give This....

2008-12-29T20:47:00.000-06:00

One of the first war movies I had seen as a young boy To Hell and Back was the story of Texan Audie Murphy who at the age of 17 and standing only 5' 5" tall joined the US Army during WWII. Murphy was sent to N. Africa where he joined the 3rd Infantry Division and trained for the invasion of Sicily.

The movie is an abridged version of his book of the same title and outlines his major campaigns and battles. Based on his book Murphy had to "Hollywood" some parts of the movie due to the fact that some of his operations were still considered secret or confidential.

Starting from when he was a boy on his Texas farm to the day he got his Congressional Medal of Honor, To Hell and Back is a WWII action roller coaster from the 50's in the tradition of Battleground, Go for Broke, and other biographical movies of its type To Hell and back is a good war movie to share with friends and family.

Audie Murphy, 19, Life Magazine

Attention to Detail
Audie Murphy worked his magic in getting tanks, infantry equipment, uniforms, and actual footage from the Army war footage archives of the Italian campaign, and Fort Lewis Washington for its European looks.

Interesting feature was in fact the M4A3 Sherman tanks used in the movie. Made in 1954-55 the A3 Shermans was all but fazed out our turned into A3E8s. These particular Shermans were probably National Guard equipment. This reasoning comes from the fact that Audie was a National Guard Officer until his death in 71.

Stars
Audie Murphy, Marshall Thompson, Jack Kelly, Charles Drake, Bruce Cowling, David Janssen

Famous lines
Johnson - Where does he think he's going?
Brandon - I'm supposed to take care of him?
Murphy pulls grenades from his gear and crawls forward
Brandon - Hey, you think you got a private war?
Murphy - No...I think there's enough to go around

Also watch...
Tobruk
They Were Expendable

I give this….

Go For Broke!! (1951)

2008-12-23T17:25:00.000-06:00

Written and directed by Battleground's Robert Pirosh, Go For Broke is the "based on" account of the US Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team and its fight in Army training camps in the US south and the fight against Germany in Italy and France in 1943 and 1944. Many of the Japanese actors in the movie are actual veterans of the 442nd and played a fictional character in the movie. Van Johnson plays Lt. Grayson, a Texan, who is not fond of his new found command and still has serious issues with Japanese Americans being soldiers. Eventually Grayson warms up to and emmerses himself in the Nisei.

Lane Nakano - Sam (1925 - 2005)

Van Johnson & Henry Nakamura

Attention to Detail
One of the greatest details in this movie is that they took guys that fought in Italy and France, asked them to portray other men in the 442nd and set them lose on a backlot battlefield.

One of the other details I was looking at was the field gear. To me it looked like these guys still had all their gear and uniforms from when they served.

Stars
Van Johnson, Pat Morita, Lane Nakano, Don Haggerty, Dan Riss, Henry Nakamura

Famous Line
Lt. Michael Grayson: I'll be seeing you.
Tommy: Aloha, partner.

Also Watch
Hell is for Heroes
To Hell and Back

I give this...

Battleground! (1949)

2008-12-22T18:47:00.000-06:00

Arguably one of the best war movies to come out of Hollywood. It is the story of the 101st Airborne's 327th Glider Infantry Regiment fighting in Belgium during the German push at the Battle of the Bulge. Item Co. is in France waiting on their ride to Paris when Kinney enters and tells them they are on their way to the front. They are unknowingly sent to Bastogne or as Abner Spudler calls it Bas-stog-nee. Many people think this is William Wellman's war story but the fact is it belongs to writer Robert Pirosh and is the partial history of the 320th Infantry Regiment of the 35th Infantry Division and the 101st Airborne Division units he supported when he went into Bastogne.

Ian MacDonald - The Colonel

Leon Ames (L) - Chaplain & Brett King (R) - Lt. Teiss

Attention to Detail
One thing about this movie is that it was filmed in Hollywood and at Fort Lewis Washington. Many of the character actors were trained by the paratroopers from the 101st and other army units. An interesting note is that the M4A3E8 Shermans used in the ending sequence were late model heavy Shermans with the upgraded armor package.

In the early 40's star Van Johnson was in a car accident that almost took his life. One of his surgeories required a steel plate be placed in his forehead. In almost all of his movies the scar is covered by makeup BUT in making harsher more violent films his scar is not covered and in several sequences in Battleground his scar is very prominent.

Stars
Van Johnson, James Whitmore, Marshall Thompson, John Hodiak, Richard Jaeckel, Herbert Anderson, Ricardo Montalban, and Denise Darcel

Famous Line
Holley: Yeah, they really shoulda sent out a bigger patrol.
PFC. Johnny Rodriguez: Do you want to goof off?
Holley: Who said anything about goofing off?
PFC. Johnny Rodriguez: Nobody. I'm just saying, the best way is to tell them you heard voices talking in German.
PFC. Donald Jarvess: Let's say we heard voices talking in Japanese and let G-2 figure that out.

Also Watch
The Longest Day
Band of Brothers - Rated R for extreme war violence

I give this movie....

PVT Holley! Fall In!!

2008-12-12T15:05:00.000-06:00

The incredible Van Johnson passed away today. At 92, he was living in an assisted living center in Nyack, NY. At 24 he starred in his first movie, Too Many Girls, as a choir boy and at 76 he starred in Clowning Around his last film. His noted film appearences are 30 Seconds Over Tokyo, Battleground, Go For Broke, The Caine Mutiny, and Brigadoon and his noted TV appearences in Quincy, The Love Boat, and McMillian and Wife to name a few.

Turner Classic Movies

Johnson's air of sympathetic concern, still boyish energy and sometimes larger-than-life acting style marked him as a welcome reminder of old Hollywood on TV, too, from his guest villain spot as the Minstrel on the campy 60s "Batman" to his Emmy-nominated supporting role on "Rich Man, Poor Man" (1976). Other TV work included "Superdome" (1978), "Glitter" (1984) and "Clowning Around" (1992), and he also made regular appearances as a most genial interview subject on his lengthy showbiz career and the Hollywood of yore.

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At 45 many of the actors I watch in movies that I like have long since parted the earth. Men like Bogey, Widmark, Albert, Fonda, Wayne, Murphy, Thompson and others instilled in me the pride of a country. Many of these men are one of the reasons why I joined the military though the men in my family are the main reason.

But, still, there was something about Van Johnson that makes me sit and watch any of his movies. I'm not sure if its the Pvt. Holly, Jeff Douglas, or The Minstrel in him but there is something that just drags me to the TV to watch him.

Funny, Van is one of a handful of Rhode Islanders I DON'T know ;)

He will be missed....God Speed Van!