Battle storm on Monte Cassino

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Movie
German title Battle storm on Monte Cassino
Original title The Story of GI Joe
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1945
length 109 (other sources between 120 + 147)  minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director William A. Wellman
script Leopold Atlas
Guy Endore
Philip Stevenson
(based on the books by
Ernie Pyle )
production Lester Cowan
David Hall for United Artists
music Louis Applebaum
Ann Ronell
camera Russell Metty
cut Albrecht Joseph
occupation

Battle Thunderstorm on Monte Cassino (original title The Story of GI Joe ) is an American film directed by William A. Wellman from 1945, which received four Oscar nominations. Major roles in this war drama are cast with Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum .

The script is largely based on Ernie Pyle's books Here Is Your War and Brave Men .

action

The 42-year-old journalist Ernie Pyle traveled as a US war correspondent together with an infantry company during the Second World War on the battlefields of North Africa and Italy . During the battle of the Kasserin Pass , which took place from February 19 to 22, 1943 as part of the Tunisian campaign , the company, led by Lt. Bill Walker for the first time on German troops, which leads to a military conflict. During this time, however, the first friendships develop between the soldiers in his unit, whose worries and needs are discussed. Walker is also always available for his people and always stands up for them.

The little dog Ayrab serves as the company's mascot and stays with the men until the end of all fighting. When the infantry company was relocated to Italy the following year, the battle of Monte Cassino took place there between January 17 and May 18, 1944 , one of the most difficult and costly battles of the Second World War. Many of the soldiers lose their lives in one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the war, in a fight they neither wanted nor started. Bitterness remains and the realization of the futility of war.

production

Production notes, filming

In mid-March 1944, production of the film began in the army's maneuvering area in the desert near Yuma in Arizona . At the time, Leslie Fenton was still the director of the film and Archie Stout was the cameraman. Other locations would be Fort Carson near Colorado Springs , Colorado , where sets of the bombed-out Monte Cassino monastery were to be built, and Camp Cooke on the Pacific coast in California . It is not certain whether scenes were actually created in these locations. At the beginning of May 1944, production was shut down so that the script could be given a new ending to take account of the changes during the war. That turned out to be more difficult than initially assumed. War Department records showed that producer Cowan was even considering making another film ending in April 1945 that would include the death of Pyle. However, that did not happen.

In mid-August 1944 the Hollywood Reporter read that Fenton was no longer available because of other obligations. It is not known how much of the film material he had shot for six weeks (especially battle and location scenes) actually made its way into the finished film. In mid-September 1944, the Howard Hawks name came into play to replace Cowan, as did the name John Huston , who was serving as a major in the Army at the time. In September 1944, William A. Wellmann, who was known for his sharp aerial shots, was hired as a director. In late September 1944, Cowan submitted the finished script to the military for approval.

When production resumed on November 15, 1944, it had a budget of two million US dollars. For some scenes, Cowan had a bombed-out Italian village rebuilt in great detail. Filming took place in Palmdale and Fort Ord, California.

The working titles of the film were Here Is Your War and Story of GI Joe and Ernie Pyle's Story of GI Joe . The term "GI Joe" was synonymous with American soldiers during World War II and is attributed to cartoonist Dave Breger. Lesley J. McNair , an American officer in World War I who is gratefully mentioned in the opening credits of the film, was designated as a war correspondent , according to the Hollywood Reporter . He died in August 1944 during a battle in France.

Hollywood Reporter lists a running time of 147 minutes for the film, Daily Variety of 120 minutes, other sources from the same period give the film length as 109 minutes.

background

For Robert Mitchum this film was one of his great first successes. Actually, his line-up was a compromise. The studio envisioned a stately appearance for the role of Ernie Pyle. Cowan had Gary Cooper in mind, but he canceled, after which the producer negotiated with Fred MacMurray . Other names that were discussed at the time are Fred Astaire , Walter Brennan , Barry Fitzgerald and a few more. Burgess Meredith was not occupied until late October 1944, and it is said to have been Pyle's first choice. Also director William A. Wellman thought a not too tall actor would be more suitable for portraying middle-aged Ernie Pyle and spoke out in favor of Meredith.

Robert Mitchum was loaned to RKO Pictures to produce . It was his first really notable role; it earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Dorothy Coonan, who plays "Red" in the film, was Wellman's wife. The film marked her first film role after a 12-year hiatus from the big screen. Many real soldiers played in the film, many of whom were transferred to the South Pacific after the filming was completed. None of them are said to have come home again.

As shown in the film, Pyle was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in May 1944 . He also received the Raymond Clapper Memorial Award for excellent war correspondence. On April 18, 1945, Pyle was killed by machine gun fire during a battle on the Japanese island of Ie-jima . He never saw the finished film.

reception

criticism

The film is considered by many critics to be one of the best non-documentary war films ever made. The critic of the New York Times said that this was a harsh, haunting drama by the common soldier and spoke of an eloquent film. The reviewer of Daily-Variety said the film is characterized by unmistakable realism, there are no misleading ceremonies, no flag waving, no synthetic sentimentality, no overloading or high-pitched speeches. Wellman also thought this film was his best work and General Dwight D. Eisenhower said it was the greatest war film he had ever seen. In addition to Mitchum's performance in his role, the reviewers also praised the acting performance of former boxer Freddie Steele in his role as Warnicki.

"No heroic soldiers' adventures, but a skeptical war drama with a humane disposition that gets by without sensational tension."

- Lexicon of international film

Awards

This film earned actor Robert Mitchum an Oscar nomination for "Best Supporting Actor" in 1946 . There were also Oscar nominations in the categories of "Best Song" for Ann Ronell and her song Linda , "Best Film Music" (Ann Ronell, Louis Applebaum ) and "Best Adapted Screenplay" ( Leopold Atlas , Guy Endore , Philip Stevenson ).

In 2009 the film was entered into the National Film Registry .

literature

  • Kai Mihm: Battle thunderstorm on Monte Cassino . In: Thomas Klein, Marcus Stiglegger, Bodo Traber (eds.): Film genres. War movie . Reclam, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-15-018411-0 , pp. 78-81.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j The Story of GI Joe (1945) see Notes at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English)
  2. ↑ Battle storm on Monte Cassino. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used