Attack (1956 film)

Attack!

Attack theatrical poster
Directed by Robert Aldrich
Produced by Robert Aldrich
Screenplay by James Poe
Based on Fragile Fox 
by Norman Brooks
Starring Jack Palance
Eddie Albert
Lee Marvin
William Smithers
Robert Strauss
Buddy Ebsen
Music by Frank De Vol
Cinematography Joseph F. Biroc
Edited by Michael Luciano
Production
company
Distributed by United Artists (1955, original) MGM (2003, DVD) Filmedia (under license from MGM) (2013, Blu-Ray DVD)
Release dates
  • October 17, 1956 (1956-10-17)
Running time
 107 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $810,000[1]
Box office $2 million (US)[2]
1,493,421 admissions (France)[3]

Attack, also known as Attack!, is a 1956 American anti-war drama film. It was directed by Robert Aldrich and starred Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, William Smithers, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Buddy Ebsen and Peter van Eyck. The cinematographer was Joseph Biroc.

"A cynical and grim account of war",[4] the film is set in the latter stages of World War II and tells the story of a front line combat unit led by a cowardly captain clearly out of his depth as well as a tougher subordinate and an executive officer who both threaten to do away with him. As the official trailer put it: "Not every gun is pointed at the enemy!"

The film won the 1956 Italian Film Critics Award.

Plot

Europe 1944: Fragile Fox is a company of American G.I.s from the National Guard of the United States based in a Belgian town near the front line. They are led by Captain Erskine Cooney (Eddie Albert), a man from a southwestern town called Riverview, Kentucky who appears to be better at handling red tape than military strategy. On the other hand, Cooney is a natural coward out of depth who freezes under fire and cannot bring himself to send more men into battle to reinforce those already under attack. The increasing and unnecessary loss of life is causing morale problems among the troops and trying the patience of Platoon Leader Lt. Joe Costa (Jack Palance), a bold and brave fighter and a natural leader of men. The Executive Officer, Lt. Harold Woodruff (William Smithers, in his first credited screen role) is the "voice of reason" who tries to keep the peace between Cooney and Costa. Both he and Costa are respected by the enlisted troops. While Woodruff tries to get Cooney reassigned to a desk job behind the lines, Costa hints at a more direct solution to the problem. It's a well-known fact that Cooney owes his position to battalion commander Lt. Col. Clyde Bartlett (Lee Marvin), a man who has known the Cooney family since he was a 14-year-old clerk in the office of Cooney's father, a top judge. The judge and his influence could be very useful to Bartlett's post-war political ambitions and it all depends on his and Cooney's war records. Neither Captain Cooney nor Bartlett are liked by the company: as PFC. Bernstein (Robert Strauss) puts it: "When you salute them two, you have to apologize to your arm."

When the Germans start the counter-attack known as the Battle of the Bulge, Bartlett orders Cooney to seize the town of La Nelle. Since there is no way of knowing if the Germans are there or not, Cooney overrules an all-out attack and decides that Costa should lead a reconnaissance mission. Costa agrees provided that both Cooney and Woodruff promise him to send in reinforcements if necessary. As he is about to leave, Costa warns Cooney of the consequences if he ever plays the "gutless wonder" again: "I'll shove this grenade down your throat and pull the pin!" As they approach La Nelle, the platoon comes under fire by German SS. Most of them are killed or injured. Costa and four of his men (Sergeant Tolliver, Bernstein, PFC. Ricks and Pvt. Snowden) take refuge in a farmhouse but find themselves under siege. When Costa calls for reinforcements, Cooney snaps, ignores the pressure from Woodruff to go in and turns to drink. A little strategy and deception enables Costa and his men to hold up and capture a German SS officer and a soldier, but when Panzers appear he has no choice but to call a retreat. He furiously tells Woodruff over the radio to warn Cooney that he's "coming back!"

Lee Marvin as the manipulative Colonel

In the confusion that follows the retreat, Costa becomes MIA. The rest of the men manage to get back to the main town, though Ricks (James Goodwin) is killed in the escape, in addition to the many casualties during the initial move on La Nelle. The men show their contempt for Cooney: Bernstein spits at his feet and Tolliver rejects his offer of a drink, telling him that where he comes from "We don't drink with another man unless we respect him." Bartlett appears and tells Woodruff and Cooney that they must hold their present position in spite of the German advance. Woodruff warns Bartlett that he is going to lodge a complaint with General Parsons, the Colonel's superior, over the handling of the company. With the pressure building up, Cooney turns to drinking again, but Woodruff smashes the bottle, accuses him of "Got every man in this outfit thinking that the U.S. army is a mockery!". After that Cooney then breaks down, telling Woodruff about having been beaten by his drunken father in order to "make a man" out of him. Bartlett has told him that he is in command "as a favor to the judge. He's always wanted a son, now I'm trying to give him one." Feeling sorry for Cooney, Woodruff tells him to sleep it off and is about to assume command when Costa suddenly reappears, determined to kill Cooney. As they argue, they are told by Cpl. Jackson (Jon Shepodd) that the town is being overrun by Germans. Costa grabs a Bazooka and bravely disables an enemy tank, but is gravely wounded when another tank drives over his arm.

Woodruff, Tolliver, Bernstein, Jackson and Snowden (Richard Jaeckel) take refuge in a basement but Bernstein is injured in the leg and, being a Jew, is unlikely to have his POW rights respected by the attacking SS. They try to get out but their way is blocked, and a drunken and erratic Cooney insists they are "holding for Clyde [Bartlett]". As they argue, Costa suddenly appears. Seriously injured in the arm and with only minutes of life left, he appeals to God to give him enough strength to kill Cooney, but he collapses and dies. Cooney mockingly kicks the gun away from him. With Costa dead, Cooney suggests that the rest of them surrender even though they have not been discovered. At that moment Woodruff warns him that he will shoot him if he does. When Cooney does make a move, Woodruff kills him.

Woodruff insists that Tolliver place him under arrest, but he and the other GIs reject this, claiming that "shooting him was just about the most just thing I ever seen." They then take turns shooting the dead Cooney themselves except Snowden who has left to see if the Germans heard the shots. Allied reinforcements arrive and the Germans retreat. Told by the men that Cooney was killed by the Germans, Bartlett appears to accept this and puts Woodruff in command. When the men ask Woodruff to confirm that he is now the C.O., there is some anxiety and hesitation in the room. Bartlett, an expert poker player who knows all about bluffing, is momentarily suspicious.

Bartlett, who has always hated Cooney, contemptuously kicks him over, remarking "So the old judge wanted a son, huh? Looks like he had to lose one to get one." He gives Woodruff a field promotion to captain and tells him to forget about the threatened complaint to General Parsons; but he then announces that he is going to nominate Cooney for the Distinguished Service Cross. Outraged that a coward should be honoured in this way, Woodruff openly accuses Bartlett of manipulating the whole thing in order to get rid of Cooney, who was a liability, and get favors with his powerful father: "I may have pulled that trigger but you aimed the gun. You set this whole thing up so it would happen!" Bartlett is unconcerned, remarking that Woodruff has too much to lose if he makes the whole affair public. But Woodruff calls his bluff, goes to the radio and calls for General Parsons to complain about the company.

Cast

Production

The film was based on Norman Brooks's stage play, Fragile Fox. Director Aldrich bought the rights when he failed to obtain those for Irwin Shaw's The Young Lions and Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead.[5]

Due to the nature of the film, which cast officers as either cowards or Machiavellian manipulators, the US Defense Department refused to grant production assistance. Critics attacked this attitude, pointing out the heroic and noble behavior of other officers like Costa and Woodruff who were "more representative of the Army than the cowardly captain, who is clearly an exception."[5]

Aldrich is quoted, "The Army saw the script and promptly laid down a policy of no co-operation, which not only meant that I couldn't borrow troops and tanks for my picture — I couldn't even get a look at Signal Corps combat footage. I finally had to buy a tank for $1,000 and rent another from 20th Century-Fox."[6]

Aldrich directed Attack! without the big budget that other war productions were getting at the time. It was shot in thirty-two days on the back lot of RKO Studios with a small cast and budget and a few pieces of military equipment, including the two tanks.[5]

The opening title sequence depicting off-duty soldiers was created by Saul Bass.

Eddie Albert, who played the cowardly Cooney, was in reality a decorated hero in the WWII Pacific Theater. Before World War II commenced he was secretly working for U.S. Army intelligence photographing German U-boats in Mexico. He was awarded the Bronze Star for heroism, rescuing American marines during the Battle of Tarawa while under heavy gunfire in 1943. He also lost a portion of his hearing from the noise of the battle.[7]

DVD

Attack was released to DVD by MGM Home Video on May 20, 2003 as a Region 1 fullscreen DVD and to Blu-ray on May 2, 2013 by the French company Filmedia (under license from MGM) as a Region 2 Blu-ray DVD.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Alain Silver and James Ursini, Whatever Happened to Robert Aldrich?, Limelight, 1995 p 246
  2. ↑ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956', Variety Weekly, January 2, 1957
  3. ↑ French box office results for Robert Aldrich films at Box Office Story
  4. ↑ The Fourth Virgin Film Guide, 1995
  5. 1 2 3 Long Pauses: Attack! (1956)
  6. ↑ Knight, Arthur (1 September 1956). "Aldrich Against the Army". The Saturday Review. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  7. ↑ Profile of Albert's WWII exploits
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