This movie had potential as a good wartime drama and romance, with racial overtones. The acting is mostly good but nothing exceptional. Frank Sinatra is 1st Lt. Sam Loggins. Tony Curtis plays Cpl. Britt Harris. They become part of a love triangle with Monique Blair (played by Natalie Wood). Harris is a heel and Loggins is a nice guy whom Blair just doesn't love. Leora Dana plays her mother, Mrs. Blair. Karl Swenson plays the colonel. The movie is in two parts, neither of which is very good. While the acting is okay, the drama script is a little weak and lacks energy. The war aspects are the bad part. In general, they are way out of kilter. Much of the Army stuff lacks pep and seems phony or unbelievable.
For instance, Lt. Loggins and all of the men we see around him are wearing brand new fatigues. We can understand that with Cpl. Harris and the other new replacements. But not the bulk of the troops who were seasoned veterans, with what should have been the worn clothing to match, from fighting in Italy, Sicily and North Africa. It's too bad the studio couldn't find worn combat gear for the actors in this film.
Loggins has just received a battlefield commission, so he should be a 2nd Lt., not a 1st Lt. Then, there are the frequent daily and weekend passes for these guys. Where and when in the war did troops on the front line of combat get such individual passes – and to where? Here they seem to be just a short distance from Nice. And they are stopped by a German force not too far away from Nice for more than two months. But there's no record of anything like that in the Allied invasion of southern France. And, that's enough to detract a great deal from the film.
It's too bad because the movie is based on a 1956 novel by Joe David Brown (1915-1976). Brown was a journalist and novelist who based much of his writing on personal experiences. That included his service in World War II. He was a paratrooper in the 460th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion that jumped near Le Muy, during the invasion of southern France from Aug. 15-28, 1944. He received a battlefield commission as a 2nd Lieutenant and was wounded. So, he probably tailored the Loggins character after himself. But beyond that, too many of the details in this film don't fit the reality of the campaign, time and place. Either Brown fictionalized that as well as the drama-romance, or Hollywood revised it – or both.
The setting for this movie is mostly along the French Riviera. The time is about two weeks after the Allied assault on southern France in Operation Dragoon (initially, Anvil). That began on Aug. 15, 1944. Paris was liberated on Aug. 25 by Allied forces from the June 6 D-Day landings at Normandy. Less than two weeks after the start of Dragoon, the German army had been routed from southern France as far as Grenoble, nearly 200 miles away. The French units had liberated Toulon and Marseilles by Aug 28.
The paratroop forces of Operation Hydra had spearheaded Dragoon with drops in all directions around Le Muy. They now had moved to the Var River valley north of Nice. They were to take on any remaining Germans that may be in the Maritime Alps to the east of there. The only others were a German mountain division at Grenoble and a division at Cannes- Nice – both of which were to withdraw east into Italy to pass over to Field Marshall Kesselring's command. As the airborne units moved east, the Germans fled into Italy. So, Nice and the whole Cote d'Azur is freed of Germans.
That's the real, historical military and war situation when this movie opens. Unfortunately, what follows in the movie doesn't fit this. The wartime drama and romance aspects are a big part of this movie, along with the scenery around Nice, France. But, the highly inaccurate portrayal of the wartime action detracts from an otherwise interesting story. The on-site scenes along the French Riviera gain this film one extra star.
The best scene in this film is in the opening when the American troops are marching through a village in the mountains (some distance north of Nice – who knows where?). Loggins stops in front of an old woman who is offering the G.I.s a drink of wine. He takes a glass of wine from the woman, and their exchange of dialog is memorable. Loggins, "Bonjour, madame!" Woman, "Bonjour, monsieur! Vive l' Amerique!" Loggins, "Vive la France!" Woman, "Vive le President Roosevelt!" Loggins, "Vive le General de Gaul!" Woman, "Vive le Radio City Music Hall!" Loggins, "Vive les Folies Bergere!"
There's an occasional comedy line in the film. Sam is going to drive Mrs. Blair to her home. Sam, "How do you feel about riding in a jeep?" Mrs. Blair, "It's one of the several experiences I promised myself before I die. Another is jumping out of a parachute." Sam, "No, dear. You jump out of a plane. You hold onto the parachute."
For instance, Lt. Loggins and all of the men we see around him are wearing brand new fatigues. We can understand that with Cpl. Harris and the other new replacements. But not the bulk of the troops who were seasoned veterans, with what should have been the worn clothing to match, from fighting in Italy, Sicily and North Africa. It's too bad the studio couldn't find worn combat gear for the actors in this film.
Loggins has just received a battlefield commission, so he should be a 2nd Lt., not a 1st Lt. Then, there are the frequent daily and weekend passes for these guys. Where and when in the war did troops on the front line of combat get such individual passes – and to where? Here they seem to be just a short distance from Nice. And they are stopped by a German force not too far away from Nice for more than two months. But there's no record of anything like that in the Allied invasion of southern France. And, that's enough to detract a great deal from the film.
It's too bad because the movie is based on a 1956 novel by Joe David Brown (1915-1976). Brown was a journalist and novelist who based much of his writing on personal experiences. That included his service in World War II. He was a paratrooper in the 460th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion that jumped near Le Muy, during the invasion of southern France from Aug. 15-28, 1944. He received a battlefield commission as a 2nd Lieutenant and was wounded. So, he probably tailored the Loggins character after himself. But beyond that, too many of the details in this film don't fit the reality of the campaign, time and place. Either Brown fictionalized that as well as the drama-romance, or Hollywood revised it – or both.
The setting for this movie is mostly along the French Riviera. The time is about two weeks after the Allied assault on southern France in Operation Dragoon (initially, Anvil). That began on Aug. 15, 1944. Paris was liberated on Aug. 25 by Allied forces from the June 6 D-Day landings at Normandy. Less than two weeks after the start of Dragoon, the German army had been routed from southern France as far as Grenoble, nearly 200 miles away. The French units had liberated Toulon and Marseilles by Aug 28.
The paratroop forces of Operation Hydra had spearheaded Dragoon with drops in all directions around Le Muy. They now had moved to the Var River valley north of Nice. They were to take on any remaining Germans that may be in the Maritime Alps to the east of there. The only others were a German mountain division at Grenoble and a division at Cannes- Nice – both of which were to withdraw east into Italy to pass over to Field Marshall Kesselring's command. As the airborne units moved east, the Germans fled into Italy. So, Nice and the whole Cote d'Azur is freed of Germans.
That's the real, historical military and war situation when this movie opens. Unfortunately, what follows in the movie doesn't fit this. The wartime drama and romance aspects are a big part of this movie, along with the scenery around Nice, France. But, the highly inaccurate portrayal of the wartime action detracts from an otherwise interesting story. The on-site scenes along the French Riviera gain this film one extra star.
The best scene in this film is in the opening when the American troops are marching through a village in the mountains (some distance north of Nice – who knows where?). Loggins stops in front of an old woman who is offering the G.I.s a drink of wine. He takes a glass of wine from the woman, and their exchange of dialog is memorable. Loggins, "Bonjour, madame!" Woman, "Bonjour, monsieur! Vive l' Amerique!" Loggins, "Vive la France!" Woman, "Vive le President Roosevelt!" Loggins, "Vive le General de Gaul!" Woman, "Vive le Radio City Music Hall!" Loggins, "Vive les Folies Bergere!"
There's an occasional comedy line in the film. Sam is going to drive Mrs. Blair to her home. Sam, "How do you feel about riding in a jeep?" Mrs. Blair, "It's one of the several experiences I promised myself before I die. Another is jumping out of a parachute." Sam, "No, dear. You jump out of a plane. You hold onto the parachute."