Thisisnotalargescalemulti-milliondollarepicofWorldWarTwo.Nothousandsofextras,nowidepanoramicsweepofbattlescenes.ThissaysmoreaboutTheBattleoftheBulgethanthemovieofthesamename.ItsjustanordinaryblackandwhiteM.G.M.production.Whatitlacksinsizeandscopeitmakesupforinimpact.Asimplestoryverywelltold,ofasquadofGIsofthe101stAirborneDivision,thrownintothemaelstromthatwastheGermanoffensiveintheArdennesinDecemberof1944againsttheAlliedgroundforces.Itshardtobelievethatthisfilmwasnotshotonlocation;butonaMetrosoundstage.AndMetrosCulverCitywasturnedintotheonlyoutdoorlocationforthesnow-covered,rubble-strewntownofBastogneundersiege,whichwastenaciouslyheldbythe101st,underthecommandofBrig.GeneralAnthonyMcAuliffe.WiththeexceptionofVanJohnsonasPvt.HollywhowashighprofileontheMetrolotinhistime,andGeorgeMurphyasPvt.Stazak,therestofthecastwerecharacter-typeactorswhofilledtheirrolesperfectly.JamesWhitmoreasSgt.Kinnieisdrillingthesquadintheopeningscenes.ThesquadmemberstalkofanenjoyablefurloughinPariswhichissuddenlycutshortbytheGermanbreakthroughintheArdenne.Ptv.Stazakhopesofgoinghomearedashedbecausehisauthoriseddocumentshavenotcomethroughbeforethesquadmovesupfront.DouglasFowleyasPvt.Kipptonseemstobethebestinthesquadatbellyaching.Maybeitshisdenturesthatmakehimasourpuss.ButFowleysdenturesturnintoaclassact;clickingawaytotheoldsong,ISurrenderDear,throughthecourtesyofaGermanpropagandabroadcastheardovertheradioinaShermantank.DeniseDarcelcomesasawelcomereliefoffemininepleasure;notoutofplaceinthetownofBastogneitself.Inanindoorscene,Pvt.Hollyseyeballsgointoleft-to-rightoverdriveashestaresatDenisesbuxomrearenddescendingaflightofstairs.ThentheresHollyagain,nursingstolennewly-laideggs,asvaluableasgoldnuggets.Hesabouttoscramblethemoverafirewhenthesquadistoldtosaddleupandmoveout.NotforthefirsttimedoesJohnson(Pvt.Holly)yell,ohno!Aexpressionhesusedinpastmoviesalso.Thebrokeneggsinhisupturnedhelmetarenowaproblem.Intheenditsdisaster.TheGermanartilleryscrambletheeggsforHolly.Problemsolved!Onathreemanpatrol,Holly,HodiakasJanness,MontalbanasRodriguez,interceptandforceajeepcarryingaMajorandtwosergeantstostopandidentifythemselves.TheknowledgethatGermansareinfiltratinginGIuniformshasmadethepatrolsuspicioussotheMajorisaskedhowtheDodgersmadeoutin1944.TheMajorhesitates,buttheSergeantintherearseatasksHollywhoBettyGrableismarriedto.Montalbanshoutsback,CesarRomero.TheMajorsaysRomeroisout.BettyGrableismarriedtoHarryJames.Thetenseatmosphererelaxes.Thepatrolisconvincedtheyrefriendly.Whatisdisplayedauthenticallyonthisstudiosoundstageistheicy,bone-chillingatmosphereofthebattlefield.Themenhunkereddown;thedeeperthebetter,intheirfoxholes.Throughoutnearlyallthismoviethereistheconstantriseandfallinthebackgroundofcontinuousartilleryfire,likearollingthunder.Itneverseemstocease.Sometimesitsclose,sometimesdistant.That,alongwiththefreezingfoghanginglikeathickwhitish-greyblanketintheair,envelopingeverything,givesoffanatmosphereofcrisis;afeelingoffearfultension.Themenendeavourtodispelthefearwithhumour.Waitingandwonderingwhentheenemywillappearghost-likeoutofthemist-shroudedforest.Neartheendofthemovie,LeonAmesgivesagoodperformanceasaArmyChaplain.TryingtoexplainthereasonforthisnecessarytriptoEurope,tokilloffamurderouspoliticalsystemthathasalreadykilledoffmillions.Beforetheend,thetablesturnintheAlliesfavour.SergeantKinnienoticeshisshadowagainstthesnow.Thesunisbreakingthroughandthemistrises.Alliedtacticalairpowerisbackinbusinessagainwithavengeance.VeterandirectorWilliamWellmanwasnotfoundwantingwhenhedirectedthismovie.Hehadalreadyprovedhimselfwith,TheStoryofGIJoe,in1945.Antiwarfilm?Anywarfilmwellmadeandconvincingcanbeantiwar,andyoudonotneedbloodalloverthesilverscreentoproveit.Antiwarornot,WorldWarTwowasapopularwar.Thereasonsstuckoutamile.TheArmyChaplainsaidsoinsomanywords.TheArdennesoffensivecaughttheAlliesunawares.Bylate1944,batteredtheGermanforcesmayhavebeen.ButtheystillhadafewnastyshotsintheirlockertoscarethelivingdaylightsoutoftheAlliedCommand.WethoughttheGermanshadrunoutoffightingsteam,butoldFieldMarshalGerdVonRundstedtthoughtdifferent.原上司回(🐨)归，乔夕辰(📬)被调离核心(xīn )岗位，她不(😐)急不躁，做(🎒)好本职工作，还(hái )找到新的事业方(🔕)向(🏎)(xiàng )。张(🔴)秀娥觉得这(🔴)样也免(🚗)得孟郎中奔波，只是(🤹)要(🏙)麻(má )烦一下赵秀(✒)才了。宋嘉兮噎(💅)(yē )了噎(👏)(yē )，无奈说(shuō )：刚吃(chī(🚉) )完(wán )早餐，就想吃午(👦)饭了吗？不知(zhī )道是孟郎中收拾的太好，还是很少(🍖)开(🛄)灶做饭(fàn )。没错，他就是(💬)刚才被扔出去的那(🤰)个(gè(🤵) )。霍靳西看(📣)着她(📞)这(🦌)(zhè )个样子(🕌)，一时竟(jì(🥠)ng )有些无言以(yǐ )对(🏮)，静静注(🕞)视了她片刻(kè )之后，他伸出手来(lái )将她揽入了怀中。他才(cái )对着麦克(😅)风，轻声吐字：比赛开始(shǐ )。传说(🈵)的(🙄)预言之书，可以确定或者改变未来，成为(🕰)魔鬼的目标