BATTLE OF THE BULGE

REVIEWED BY SHANNON H.

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: sensuality, thematic elements

Rated:

When some people think about the Battle of the Bulge, they might think about their promises to lose 40 lbs. by the end of the year or keeping up with that New Year's resolution by laying off the cookies and ice cream. However, most people know that the Battle of the Bulge was an important component in the defeat of Germany in World War II. This battle took place in the Ardennes Forest and it was Germany's last chance to save themselves by putting a "bulge" in the Allied line. Their attempt to win this battle was unsuccessful.

And in the mid-1960s, a movie was made about it featuring big name stars like Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, and Dana Andrews. The film takes place in the Ardennes Forest, a wooded area primarily in Belgium but also extends into France and Luxemborg. Intelligence officer Lt. Col. Daniel Kiley (Fonda) has reason to believe that the Germans are planning a major offensive strike despite the fact that his superiors, including Col. Pritchard (Andrews). At the moment, the Germans don't appear to be a huge threat.  In fact, when Kiley captures a small group of German "soldiers" they turn out to be young teen-age boys dressed in uniforms. Col. Pritchard questions Kiley's ability to distinguish between safety and immediate threat and wishes to send him to a desk position in Washington D.C.

Meanwhile, German tank commander Col. Martin Hessler (Shaw) has plans to get Germany one step ahead of the Allied forces. All he needs to do is gather confidence and loyalty of his troops and keep in step with the weather (bad weather means that Allied anti-tank aircraft can't fly and at this time, sub-zero winter temperatures are setting in) in order to accumulate as much ground as possible and control both Allied and German fuel lines. All while Lt. Col. Kiley is gathering bits of information on them. Kiley finally manages to target the Germans' weakness: poor fuel supply. He must cut off their fuel supply to their panzer tanks before they take the town of Bastogne. With Col. Hessler hot on their heels, Kiley and his men manage to secure a base full of gasoline barrels. By setting fire to the gas barrels and destroying the incoming panzer tanks, the Allies manage to secure a German defeat.

This film is not without its questionable content. There isn't too much language, just a couple of scattered mild profanities. There's a painting in the office of a German commander where a woman's breasts are shown briefly. A woman is sent to Col. Hessler's office to seduce him but he refuses and makes her leave. Sgt. Guffy (Telly Savalas from the TV show Kojack) works with a woman peddling food and clothing items and later she tells him that she had been selling herself to support their "business" by bringing in at least $1,000 (still, nothing happens except for a brief kiss between Guffy and the woman). The violence is moderate but not extreme. There are scenes of men getting shot, buildings being blown up, and tank warfare involving several explosions. A group of American POWs are mowed down with a machine gun by a German soldier (only one manages to escape). There are shots of American and German tanks being blown to pieces. Lt. Col. Kiley is shot down while flying in a non-combatant airplane.

I enjoyed the film, however, the dialogue between Kiley and his superiors is the product of bad script-writing. There are some continuity shots and other errors such as the American fuel dump seen in the film (according to imdb.com, they were located far to the North and the Germans wouldn't have known anything about them) and the German MP spies featured in the film never caused a major turnaround in the Battle of the Bulge. It only raised slight alarm.  There are more errors but I won't go any further to spoil the plot. Christian content is minor. We only see a group of nuns from a local convent asking Col. Hessler if he has any first aid supplies (so they can help injured soldiers). The film isn't anti-Christian. From paying attention in history class, we would know that the Allied forces won the Battle of the Bulge against Nazi Germany, the enemy of freedom, justice, religion, and other things we Americans take for granted. World War II wasn't necessarily a holy war but it did help to stop the spread of satanic Nazism in Europe and abroad. I recommend this to history buffs who enjoy learning about World War II. It isn't rated but it would probably earn a PG-13 according to modern standards.

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