Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 159: More War Stories

It seems that as I wrap up the 1950s I have left all the war films till the last minute which I'm not sure was a subconscious decision or not. The lasest one is Battleground which apparently is the first significant film to be made about World War 2 after the conflict had finished. Just like the previous film in this list, Decision Before Dawn, this is based on a group of soldiers in the latter stages of 1944. We find Jim Layton being bought in as a replacement soldier into a squad in the 101st Airborne Division who at first completely ignore him as they have no time for the new man in their unit. They are sent into the Ardennes to prepare for a surprise attack by the Germans just as Holley, star of the show Van Johnson, returns to the group and is soon given leadership after the original captain is injured. The film tries to portray a pretty realistic version of events as men are routinely injured and some don't survive their deaths being pretty quick including one young soldier who is killed when a house starts to collapse. Even big names such as Ricardo Montalaban, here playing Latin American Roderigues, don't survive in his case he freezes to death after his squad forget about him. Layton is eventually accepted as part of the team and is paired with the popular Holley and just as the squad prepare to give up hope they are replaced and able to go back but even after all their turmoil they still march in line and sing along with their commander as they leave.

For me the best thing about Battleground is the interaction between the actors so much so that I felt that this was one of the most believable war films I'd ever seen. The first thirty minutes or so establishes the relationships between soldiers during the war including the cold shoulder treatment that a lot of rookies are subjected to and the banter that flies around them. It is also interesting that none of these men are presented as heroes and at one point or another most of them think about fleeing rather than carrying out their duties of stopping the German attack. There were some great turns here including from Van Johnson as the sarcastic Holley and Marshall Thompson as the impressionable Layton however there were so many characters here that I couldn't keep up with some of them and I felt that a couple could've been cut or at least given smaller roles so I knew who to concentrate on. Like with Decision Before Dawn everything looks quite realistic from the costume design to the way that the soldiers walk around their snowy surroundings as they discover if there is someone lurking around the corner wanting to kill them. I think that all involved with the script and the making of the film did their research as I really enjoyed Battleground it painted a picture of the camaraderie or war and also the loneliness and how fleeting life can be. Apart from the overabundance of characters there's not much to complain about in a very accomplished film that has been forgotten as the years have gone by.