In the UK we’ve gone into another COVID-19 induced lockdown, so why not put out another episode of the Fighting On Film! In this first episode of a new additional format ‘Show & Tell’ we talk about a couple of war movies we watched recently and see if you guys think we should cover them in a full episode. We discuss a new Latvian film ‘The Rifleman’ and a British 50’s movie featuring a young Richard Attenborough – ‘Sea of Sand/Desert Patrol’.
In this special New Year episode of the Fighting On Film war movie podcast we are joined by historian Peter Caddick-Adams to discuss the cult-classic ‘Kelly’s Heroes’. The film follows a platoon of US soldiers who penetrate deep behind enemy lines to steel enemy gold! Directed by Brian G. Hutton and staring Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas and Donald Sutherland.
In this special episode of the Fighting On Film war movie podcast we are joined by Paul Woodadge of @WW2TV to discuss the cult-classic ‘The Wild Geese’. A film which follows a group of double-crossed mercenaries trying to escape after their mission is compromised. Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, it has a stellar cast including Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Hardy Kruger, Roger Moore and Stewart Granger. As well as Jack Watson, Winston Ntshona, Kenneth Griffith and John Kani.
In this episode of the Fighting On Film war movie podcast we discuss the Oscar-winning 1949 classic ‘Battleground’. It follows a platoon of the 101st Airborne besieged within Bastogne. Directed by William A. Wellman and staring Van Johnson, Ricardo Montalban, James Whitmore and George Murphy. It cleverly captures the cold confines of the Ardennes and the hardships the men at Bastogne faced.
In this episode of the Fighting On Film war movie podcast we discuss that questionable classic from 1965 – ‘The Battle of the Bulge’. We unpack why this epic 3-hour war movie fails to do the story of the actual battle justice despite a decent cast that includes Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Telly Savalas, Charles Bronson & Robert Ryan.
In this episode we examine the Sidney Lumet classic ‘The Hill’ which sees standout performances from a brilliant cast of character actors and the late, great Sean Connery. The film follows a group of British Army prisoners who are pushed to their breaking point in a military prison under the baking desert sun.
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Here’s some stills from the film:
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Join us as we discuss the 1940 Ministry of Information film, Miss Grant Goes To The Door. Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst (of Theirs Is The Glory fame) it follows the plucky Grant sisters as they foil a Nazi fifth columnist as German paratroops invade England!
Here’s some stills from the film:
You can watch the film (for free) on the Imperial War Museum‘s site, here.
Be sure to follow us on Twitter, @FightingOnFilm, and let us know what you thought of the episode and if you’ve watched the film.
The podcast is also available on other platforms and apps – find them here.
Hi guys, here’s a special Halloween episode of our new podcast, Fighting On Film, that looks at classic and obscure war films. If you missed our first episode discussing the unique 1946 classic Theirs Is The Glory, you can catch up here.
In this episode we discuss Death Trench (also known as Trench 11), a 2017 First World War horror movie set in the final months of the war. A rag tag band of soldiers investigate a German biological weapons bunker with predictable results!
You can listen in the video below. Or find the podcast on other platforms and apps – here
Some scenes from the film:
Be sure to follow us on Twitter@FightingOnFilm and let us know what you thought of the episode and if you’ve seen Death Trench.
Fighting On Film is a brand new podcast about classic and obscure war movies. Hosted by Matt and Robbie McGuire (of RM Military History). In this first episode we discus an absolutely fascinating war film – Theirs Is The Glory, a 1946 telling of the story of the Battle of ArnFighting On Film: Theirs Is The Glory (1946)hem. What makes the film unique is that it was filmed entirely on location and with a cast made up of soldiers who had fought at the battle!
Robbie and I discuss the unique production of the film, the weapons, kit and equipment seen on screen and some of our favourite scenes. We hope you enjoy our ramblings and we definitely encourage you to check Theirs Is The Gloryout.
A Bridge Too Far (1977) is undoubtedly a classic of the war film genre, massively ambitious it attempts to tell the story of Operation Market Garden. One of the key stories told is that of 2 PARA besieged in Arnhem awaiting relief from XXX Corps.
A PIAT waits for the ‘Panther’)
Perhaps one of the most enduring scenes sees Anthony Hopkins, portraying 2 PARA’s commanding officer Johnny Frost, spot an enemy tank approaching and bark the order: “Bring Up The PIAT!”
Set photo from A Bridge Too Far (Airborne Assault – PARA Museum)
The scene itself is actually quite authentic. The PIAT gunner misses, and that isn’t too surprising as despite being a platoon weapon not everyone had a lot of training on them. While the PIAT misses twice – this is because the gunner was firing from an elevated position. This makes judging the range and lead which should be given to an advancing tank all the more difficult. It is something we see in contemporary accounts, including in Arnhem Lift: Diary of a Glider Pilot, by Louis Hagen. Hagen describes firing a PIAT at a self-propelled gun (likely a StuG) from an attic during the fighting in Arnhem: “The direction was perfect, but it fell about twenty yards short.” Similarly, there are accounts from Home Army members fighting in Warsaw during the Uprising which describe exactly the same thing.
The second PIAT shot in A Bridge Too Far
While the flash we see in the scene might be excessive the recoil is quite authentic. While writing my book on the PIAT, I did a lot of research into the cultural impact of the PIAT and the numerous films it appeared in since World War Two. I recently wrote an article about the numerous films it has appeared in, you can read that here.
Perhaps the most important and realistic appearance was its first, in the fascinating 1946 film ‘Theirs Is The Glory‘. It’s a unique film that was filmed entirely on location with from veterans of the battle making up most of the cast and help from the British Army’s Army Film and Photographic Unit.
The PIAT appears twice in the film, scene some PARAs are trying to fight through to Arnhem but have been pinned down by what appears to be a French Char B. As a sidenote captured Char B1’s in German service were present in Arnhem).
‘Theirs Is The Glory’ Film Poster (Airborne Assault – PARA Museum)
The PIAT team are seen to move to the flank to get a good shot at Char B. The short scene gives a good indication of how the No.2 would load the PIAT as well as showing the rate of fire possible – a good team could get off five rounds a minute. Theirs Is the Glory also features another brilliant PIAT scene with Corporal Dixon seen knocking out a Panther
PIAT Team in action in ‘Theirs Is The Glory’
I would highly recommend both films as they are both interesting depictions of the battle and both good representations of the PIAT in action.
The Armourers Bench 