08 Jan Anzio
Anzio, WWII Movie starring Robert Mitchum and Peter Falk
(1968) An American war correspondent accompanies a group of US Army Rangers during the 1944 Battle of Anzio. The movie is based on the 1961 book Anzio by acclaimed BBC war correspondent Wynford Vaughan-Thomas.
Anzio was co-produced by the Italians and the Americans. The American director was Edward Dmytryk. The producer was Italian Dino De Laurentiis.
I enjoyed watching the action from the point of view of the journalist played by Robert Mitchum. At the time he was more than 50 years old so it was naturral that he would play the role of someone older and wiser who had seen it all. According to Wikipedia, Mitchum’s character was based on American journalist Ernie Pyle.
Peter Falk had the standout role as the wise-cracking, hell bent Ranger who liked to find a beautiful girl who would share a song with him.
What I liked is that the movie prompted me to read about the Operation Shingle, the landing at Anzio and the related Battle of Cisterna. The film describes the Allied mistake of being too cautious, allowing the surprised Germans to ramp up.
Scenes were filmed in and around Rome with amazing shots of the Roman ruins and the amphitheater, the surrounding areas so much less commercialized than they are today.
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