Considering the fact that this movie was made so closely to end of WW2, it is a little surprising that it wasn't more of a patriotic effort. In some ways you could consider it ahead of it's time. The characters have flaws, there is a reference to battle fatigue, and heroes die.
To be sure, the clichés abound, but they lay them out early in the introduction. A couple of wise guys from Brooklyn (and Jersey City), the yokel, the farmer, the poet, etc. But to their credit, they cast believable actors in the relevant parts. Interestingly, they cast Richard Conte as a wisecracking gunner, and Norman Lloyd as a scout. Both were Jersey City natives and added an air of authenticity to the production. I lived in Jersey City for a while and I can tell you that I could have met these guys at any gin mill in Journal Square and wouldn't have been surprised. Most of the rest of the cast was just as authentic.
To be sure, there are problems with the script, but most of them had to do with the constrictions of the times. "Hoist tail". Get it? "The loving army, the loving food, the loving etc". What do you want for 1945? Maybe it was even a little provocative for the times.
This movie was part of a transition from the standard WW2 propaganda efforts like Sands of Iwo Jima, Bataan, etc, to a more rational presentation of the horror of war. We hadn't yet progressed to the anti-war era of Platoon or Apocalypse Now, but we were getting there. Realism was creeping into the script.
I recommend this movie for it's originality, but be prepared for the routine - just don't let it ruin the movie for you.
To be sure, the clichés abound, but they lay them out early in the introduction. A couple of wise guys from Brooklyn (and Jersey City), the yokel, the farmer, the poet, etc. But to their credit, they cast believable actors in the relevant parts. Interestingly, they cast Richard Conte as a wisecracking gunner, and Norman Lloyd as a scout. Both were Jersey City natives and added an air of authenticity to the production. I lived in Jersey City for a while and I can tell you that I could have met these guys at any gin mill in Journal Square and wouldn't have been surprised. Most of the rest of the cast was just as authentic.
To be sure, there are problems with the script, but most of them had to do with the constrictions of the times. "Hoist tail". Get it? "The loving army, the loving food, the loving etc". What do you want for 1945? Maybe it was even a little provocative for the times.
This movie was part of a transition from the standard WW2 propaganda efforts like Sands of Iwo Jima, Bataan, etc, to a more rational presentation of the horror of war. We hadn't yet progressed to the anti-war era of Platoon or Apocalypse Now, but we were getting there. Realism was creeping into the script.
I recommend this movie for it's originality, but be prepared for the routine - just don't let it ruin the movie for you.