Van Johnson in Battleground.

Battleground tells the story of "the battered bastards of Bastogne." That is to say that it tells the story of the U.S. soldiers who spent a hellish Christmas in the freezing Belgian countryside and in the town of Bastogne fighting the Nazi's in 1944.

Van Johnson leads a cast of actors who portray hard bitten service men who fight the enemy and the elements as they try to survive. Through the eyes of a new man in the platoon, Layton, we see him slowly acclimate himself into the close knit world of these men. At the beginning of the movie he is nervous and unsure of himself. By the end of the movie he is as hardened and weary as everyone else. His most poignant scene is when he discovers that a friend was killed and no one remembered what his name was. Later, Layton is in a foxhole with another soldier as they are being shelled. Through the noise and smoke, Layton yells to the other man "My name is Layton."

Based on true events, Battleground pays tribute to it's subject while never condescending to it. No one is a super-soldier who does any ridiculous stunts. Every man is scared and wants to go home but they all do their duty. A scene near the end of the movie gets a bit political. A Lutheran pastor gives religious service to the men about whether the war was worth it or not. Of course he says it is. It is a scene that will not likely be seen in a new movie.

Battleground has a good pace and plenty of action, but what makes it great is it's level of tension. Many soldiers die. My favorite scene is when three soldiers go out on patrol and run into German soldiers disguised as Americans. It begins playful as one soldier is enjoying the first snow of his life. It then gets tense as they meet some soldiers and realize they are German. This leads to a fight, some running and one soldier being left behind.

Battleground was Oscar nominated for Best Picture, Director and Supporting actor, James Whitmore. It won for best Black and White cinematography and Story and Screenplay.

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