Fighting On Film: Battleground (1949) – Van Johnson – William A. Wellman – Ricardo Montalban

In this episode of the Fighting On Film war movie podcast we discuss the Oscar-winning 1949 classic ‘Battleground’. It follows a platoon of the 101st Airborne besieged within Bastogne. Directed by William A. Wellman and staring Van Johnson, Ricardo Montalban, James Whitmore and George Murphy. It cleverly captures the cold confines of the Ardennes and the hardships the men at Bastogne faced.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter [https://twitter.com/FightingOnFilm] and let us know what you thought of the episode and if you’ve watched the film.

Also available on other platforms and apps – find them here: https://linktr.ee/fightingonfilm

Thanks for listening!

Contents:
Introduction – 0:00
Cast & Crew – 3:30
It Feels Cold! – 5:30
Character Pastiches? – 11:25
Cinematography – 14:20
Matt’s Favourite Scene – 16:30
Garand Ping? – 19:05
The Ally Tally – 20:00
Robbie’s Favourite Scenes – 22:40
Final Thoughts – 31:30

The Armourers Bench

The Armourer’s Bench is a collaborative effort from Vic Tuff and Matthew Moss. We will be bringing you detailed examinations of historic small arms from around the world. We will delve into the history, use and operation of the weapons using videos, blog posts and high resolution images to tell their story.

Items you may have missed...

Fighting On Film: Battle of the Bulge (1965) – Henry Fonda – Robert Shaw – Charles Bronson Fighting On Film: Death Trench (2017) – Halloween Special Fighting On Film: Theirs Is The Glory (1946) Browse Creators PIAT Scene Analysis: ‘The Unbroken Line’ (1985) 10 Small Arms of the Great War: Firing segments 021 – 030 from our Primer history series