30 Apr Attack
Attack, WWII Movie starring Jack Palance and Eddie Alberts
(1956) Europe 1944. The Battle of the Bulge. A cowardly incompetent Captain Cooney (Eddie Albert) directly causes the death of many of the men under his command in Fox Company. No one has any respect for him. Problem is, he and his commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Bartlett, played by Lee Marvin, are from the same hometown. Cooney’s father is a judge who can have a lot of influence on Bartlett’s postwar political career.
The men all want Cooney to be “promoted upstairs,” especially the Lieutenant played by Jack Palance. Bartlett knows he’s miserable but says he has nowhere to put him.
As I watched this movie and marveled at what a jerk Eddie Albert’s character was I wondered about the screenwriter. Was he in the army and had to serve under similar circumstances? Actually, the movie was based on a 5 act stage play, Fragile Fox, by Norman A Brooks. I couldn’t find much about him but the director/producer of Attack, Robert Aldrich, is responsible for many other memorable movies: The Flight of the Phoenix, The Dirty Dozen, The Story of G.I. Joe.
Don’t be surprised that I marked this as a Favorite. The acting was terrific. I’ve always been a fan of Jack Palance. He often played a scary character … in this film he is the hero who doesn’t hesitate to pray out loud when it seemed necessary.
1956 might have been a little too soon for such an anti-military establishment movie. According to the TCM notes, the Army and Department of Defense (DOD) refused cooperation during the film’s production.
Randy Littlefield
Posted at 14:12h, 16 MayI am a teacher, about to lead a group of students to London, Normandy, Paris and Berlin, for the first time at my current school, the fourth time overall. Just in time for the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Interesting site, and will want to spend more time here. Wanted to make a small correction – the great William Wellman was the director of The Story of G.I. Joe – not Robert Aldrich.
Pat DiGeorge
Posted at 07:19h, 20 MayThank you so much for checking in. I will make the correction immediately! I am so impressed that your students are making this trip. I would love to be doing the same thing!