26 Dec Battleground
Battleground, WWII movie starring Van Johnson
(1949) This movie was nominated for an Oscar in 1950. For some reason, the beginning didn’t grab me but halfway through it did. It grabbed me hard.
Right before Christmas 1944, the 101st Airborne Division was trying desperately to defend the town of Bastogne in Belgium, an important transportation crossroads. The Germans had surrounded them and sent some of their men to the commanding officer, General A. C. McAuliffe, advising the Americans to surrender. The General’s now famous reply was “Nuts.”
The movie was as much about the individual men as it was about the battle.
And the snow, the cold, the fierce weather they had to endure. Memorable moment: James Whitemore (my favorite actor in this movie) leading the men as they march “Cadence Count: One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four!” Watch it ’til the end.
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