The Sergeant Steiner character from Cross Of Iron is carried over to this rather indifferently shot film Breakthrough. Steiner is played here by Richard Burton and is a professional soldier who's really getting disgusted by the useless slaughter ordered by his leader who never rose beyond corporal in the last war.
In fact Burton finds a kindred spirit in his commanding general Curt Jurgens who is part of the Stauffenberg plan to assassinate Hitler. He sends Burton out on a most secret mission to find some high ranking officers to tell the American high command that the war could cease abruptly. Burton finds Colonel Robert Mitchum for that job.
Of course Mitchum's message is received with a natural amount of skepticism from General Rod Steiger. But two days later when the Stauffenberg plot is a royal bust, the Americans don't know what to expect, especially in Steiger's part of the western front in France. Jurgens shoots himself and fanatical Nazi Helmut Griem is in command.
Burton, Mitchum, Steiger, and Jurgens look like they've just cashed their paychecks and are just saying the lines to get the film over with. Andrew McLaglen was far better doing westerns for John Wayne back in the day as a director. Griem who was good at playing Nazis, he was great in Voyage Of The Damned is the only one giving a little life to his performance.
This story about a separate peace in a part of the French front in World War II is sloppy and indifferent and one the stars did for the money.
In fact Burton finds a kindred spirit in his commanding general Curt Jurgens who is part of the Stauffenberg plan to assassinate Hitler. He sends Burton out on a most secret mission to find some high ranking officers to tell the American high command that the war could cease abruptly. Burton finds Colonel Robert Mitchum for that job.
Of course Mitchum's message is received with a natural amount of skepticism from General Rod Steiger. But two days later when the Stauffenberg plot is a royal bust, the Americans don't know what to expect, especially in Steiger's part of the western front in France. Jurgens shoots himself and fanatical Nazi Helmut Griem is in command.
Burton, Mitchum, Steiger, and Jurgens look like they've just cashed their paychecks and are just saying the lines to get the film over with. Andrew McLaglen was far better doing westerns for John Wayne back in the day as a director. Griem who was good at playing Nazis, he was great in Voyage Of The Damned is the only one giving a little life to his performance.
This story about a separate peace in a part of the French front in World War II is sloppy and indifferent and one the stars did for the money.