Attack (1956 film) Totally Explained

Everything about Attack 1956 Film totally explained

Attack, also known as Attack!, is a 1956 American war film. It was directed by Robert Aldrich and starred Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, William Smithers, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Buddy Ebsen and Peter van Eyck. The cinematographer was Joseph Biroc.
"A cynical and grim account of war", the film is set in the latter stages of World War Two and tells of a front line combat unit led by a cowardly captain out of his depths and a tougher subordinate who threatens to do away with him. As the official trailer put it: "not every gun is pointed at the enemy!"
The film won the 1956 Italian Film Critics Award.

Plot

Europe 1944: Fragile Fox is a company of American G.I.s based in a Belgian town near the front line. They are led by Captain Erskine Cooney (Eddie Albert), a man who appears to be better at handling red tape than military strategy. The plain fact is that Cooney is a coward who freezes under fire and can't bring himself to send more men into battle to reinforce those already under attack. The increasing and unnecessary loss of life is causing morale problems among the troops and trying the patience of Lt. Joe Costa (Jack Palance), a bold and brave fighter and a natural leader of men.
   Lt. Harold Woodruff (William Smithers) is the "voice of reason" who tries to keep the peace between Cooney and Costa. Both he and Costa are respected by the regular troops. While Woodruff tries to get Cooney re-assigned to a desk job behind the lines, Costa hints at a more direct solution to the problem.
   It's a well-known fact that Cooney owes his position to Lt. Col. Clyde Bartlett (Lee Marvin), a man who has known the Cooney family since he was a 14-year-old clerk in the office of Cooney's father, a top judge. The judge and his influence could be very useful to Bartlett's post-war political ambitions and it all depends on his and Erskine's war records. Neither Captain Erskine Cooney nor Bartlett are liked by the company: as Pfc. Bernstein (Robert Strauss) puts it: "When you salute them two, you've to apologize to your arm."
   When the Germans start the counter-attack known as the Battle of the Bulge, Bartlett orders Cooney to seize the town of La Nelle. Since there's no way of knowing if the Germans are there or not, Cooney overrules an all-out attack and decides that Costa should lead a reconnaissance mission. Costa agrees provided that both Cooney and Woodruff promise him to send in reinforcements if necessary. As he's about to leave, Costa warns Cooney in no uncertain terms of the consequences if he ever plays the "gutless wonder" again: "I'll shove this grenade down your throat and pull the pin!"
   As they approach La Nelle, the platoon comes under fire by German SS. Most of them are killed or injured. Costa and a handful of men manage to take refuge in a farmhouse but find themselves under siege. When Costa calls for reinforcements, Cooney snaps, ignores the pressure from Woodruff to go in and turns to drink. A little strategy and deception enables Costa and his men to hold up but when Panzers appear he's no choice but to call a retreat. He furiously tells Woodruff over the radio to warn Cooney that he's "coming back!"
   The men manage to get back to the main town, though one of them is killed and Costa goes MIA. There are also plenty of other casualties mowed down by the Germans during the initial move onto La Nelle. The men openly show their contempt for Cooney: Bernstein spits at his feet and Sergeant Tolliver (Buddy Ebsen) rejects his offer of a drink, telling him that were he comes from "We don't drink with another man unless we respect him."
   Bartlett appears and tells Woodruff and Cooney that they must hold their present position in spite of the German advance. Woodruff warns Bartlett that he's going to lodge a complaint with the Colonel's superior General Parsons over the handling of the company.
   With the pressure building up on him, Cooney breaks down, telling Woodruff about the times he was beaten by his father in order to "make a man" out of him. Bartlett has told him that he's only in command "as a favour to the judge. He's always wanted a son, now I'm trying to give him one."
   Feeling sorry for Cooney, Woodruff tells him to sleep it off and is about to assume command when Costa suddenly reappears determined to kill Cooney once and for all. As they argue the matter out they're told that the town is now being overrun by Germans. Costa grabs a Bazooka and does wonders fighting back and disabling a tank, only to be trapped by it.
   A handful of men, including Woodruff and Sergeant Tolliver, take refuge in a basement. Their main concern now is Private Bernstein who is injured and, being a Jew, is unlikely to have his POW rights respected by the attacking SS. They try to get out only to find their way blocked by a drunken and erratic Cooney who insists that they're "holding for Clyde [Bartlett]".
   As they argue between each other, Costa suddenly appears. Seriously injured and with only minutes of life left, he appeals to God to give him enough to kill Cooney, but he himself collapses and dies while Cooney mockingly kicks the gun away from him.
   With Costa dead, Cooney suggests that the rest of them surrender even though they've not been discovered. At that moment Woodruff warns him that he'll shoot him if he does. When Cooney does makes a move, Woodruff kills him.
   Woodruff insists that Tolliver place him under arrest, but he and the other GIs reject this view claiming that "shooting him was just about the most just thing I ever seen" and even take turns shooting the dead Cooney themselves. At that moment the Allied reinforcements arrive and the Germans retreat.
   Told by the men that Cooney was killed by the Germans, Bartlett appears to accept this and puts Woodruff in command. When the men ask Woodruff to confirm that he's now the C.O., there's some anxiety and hesitation in the room. Bartlett, an expert poker player who knows all about bluffing, seems to suddenly have suspicions as to what really happened and, once the regulars have left, subtly starts to raise them.
   Bartlett, who has always hated Cooney even if he appeared to be a friend, contemptuously kicks him over, remarking "So the old judge wanted a son, huh? Looks like he'd to loose one to get one." He gives Woodruff a field promotion to Captain and suggests that he forget about the complaint he threatened to make to General Parsons; but he then announces that he's going to nominate Cooney for the Distinguished Service Cross.
   Outraged that a coward should be honoured in this way, Woodruff openly accuses Bartlett of manipulating the whole thing in order to get rid of Cooney, who was a liability, and get favours with his powerful father: "I may have pulled that trigger but you aimed the gun. You set this whole thing up so it would happen!"
   Bartlett is unconcerned, remarking that Woodruff has too much to lose if he makes the whole affair public. But Woodruff calls his bluff, goes to the radio and calls for General Parsons.

Production

The film was based on Norman Brooks's stage play, Fragile Fox. Director Aldrich bought the rights when he failed to obtain those for Irwin Shaw's The Young Lions and Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead.
Due to the nature of the film, which cast officers as either cowards or Machiavellian manipulators, the US Defense Department refused to grant production assistance. Critics attacked this attitude, pointing out the heroic and noble behaviour of other officers like Costa and Woodruff who were "more representative of the Army than the cowardly captain, who is clearly an exception."
Aldrich is quoted as saying that "The Army saw the script and promptly laid down a policy of no co-operation, which not only meant that I couldn't borrow troops and tanks for my picture — I couldn't even get a look at Signal Corps combat footage." Attack! was shot in thirty-two days on the back lot of RKO Studios with a small cast and budget and a few pieces of military equipment, including two tanks, that Aldrich had bought or rented.

Points of Interest

Eddie Albert, who played the cowardly Cooney, was actually a genuine war hero who was awarded the Bronze Star for his actions during the Battle of Tarawa in 1943, when, as a landing ship pilot, he rescued several hundred wounded Marines while under heavy enemy machine-gun fire.
As Costa and his men set off for La Nelle a signpost also points the way to Malmedy, the scene of an infamous massacre when American POWs were executed by German soldiers.
Jack Palance had worked with Aldrich before in The Big Knife, an attack on Hollywood's profits-before-art attitude. Aldrich directed Attack! without the big budget that other war productions were getting at the time. Lee Marvin was to appear as a far more heroic officer in Aldrich's The Dirty Dozen. Buddy Ebsen as Sergeant Tolliver is probably best known as Jed Clampett, the patriarch of The Beverly Hillbillies.

Cast

Jack Palance as Lt. Joe Costa
Eddie Albert as Capt. Erskine Cooney
Lee Marvin as Lt. Col. Clyde Bartlett
William Smithers as Lt. Harold "Harry" Woodruff
Robert Strauss as Pfc. Bernstein
Richard Jaeckel as Pvt. Snowden
Buddy Ebsen as Sfc. Tolliver
Jon Shepodd as Cpl. John Jackson
Peter van Eyck as SS Captain
James Goodwin as Pfc. Ricks
Steven Geray as Otto, German NCO

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