''Armored Command'' is a 1961 American

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Byron Haskin Byron Conrad Haskin (April 22, 1899 – April 16, 1984) was an American film and television director, special effects creator and cinematographer. He is best known for directing '' The War of the Worlds'' (1953), one of many films where he ...

and starring

Howard Keel Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer, known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s and in the CBS te ...

and

Tina Louise Tina Louise ( Blacker; born February 11, 1934) is an American actress widely known for her role as movie star Ginger Grant in the CBS television situation comedy ''Gilligan's Island''. With the death of Dawn Wells in 2020, Louise became the las ...

. It was filmed in

Hohenfels, Bavaria Hohenfels (literally ''High Cliffs'') is a municipality in the district of Neumarkt in the region of Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz) in Bavaria, Germany. The town is host to the United States Army Garrison Hohenfels, which operates the Join ...

, but takes place in the

Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

during the Southern France campaign. "It was the one picture that Howard Keel didn't sing on", reminisced Burt Reynolds later. "That was a terrible mistake."

Plot

The Germans use a female spy to infiltrate an American position to get information on the movement of troops at the height of the

Ardennes offensive The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

Cast

as Colonel Devlin *

as Alexandra Bastegar *

Warner Anderson Warner Anderson (March 10, 1911 – August 26, 1976) was an American actor. Early years Anderson was born to "a theatrical family" in Brooklyn, New York, March 10, 1911.Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. ...

as Lieutenant Colonel Wilson *

Earl Holliman Henry Earl Holliman (born September 11, 1928) is an American actor, animal-rights activist, and singer known for his many character roles in films, mostly Westerns and dramas, in the 1950s and 1960s. He won a Golden Globe Award for the film ' ...

as Mike *

Carleton Young Captain Carleton Scott Young (October 21, 1905 – November 7, 1994) was an American character actor who was known for his deep voice. Early years Born in Fulton, Oswego, New York, Young was the second and only surviving child of Sta ...

as Captain Bart Macklin * Burt Reynolds as "Skee" *

James Dobson James Clayton Dobson Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family (FOTF), which he led from 1977 until 2010. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influentia ...

as Arab *

Marty Ingels Marty may refer to: Names * Marty (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters, also includes stage names * Marty (surname), a list of people Places in the United States * Marty, California, a former settlement * Marty, Min ...

as "Pinhead" *

Clem Harvey Harold Jerry Swarts known as “Clem Harvey” (born 1919) was a 20th-century film actor. He played one of the Eleven in the original version of ''Ocean's 11 ''Ocean's 11'' is a 1960 American heist film directed and produced by Lewis Milestone f ...

as "Tex" *

Maurice Marsac Maurice Marsac (23 March 1915 – 6 May 2007) was a French actor who had a long career, with over 150 appearances in American films and television. He was also a nationally ranked croquet player. Born in La Croix-Valmer, France, he was a mem ...

as Jean Robert * Lieutenant Colonel Thomas A. Ryan as Major *

Peter Capell Peter Capell (3 September 1912 – 3 March 1986) was a German actor who was active on screen from 1945 until 1985. Apart from a lengthy film career, he appeared in many television series and mini-series. He appeared in many old time radio pr ...

as Little General *

Charles Nolte Charles Nolte (November 3, 1923 – January 14, 2010) was an American stage and film actor, director, playwright, and educator. Career Nolte was born in Duluth, Minnesota and moved to Wayzata, Minnesota with his family in the early 1930s. ...

as Captain Swan * Brandon Maggart

Production

Ron Alcorn produced and directed the film and raised finance via Allied Artists. Filming started 21 November 1960. Lt. Col. Thomas A. Ryan, who appeared in the film as the Major, also acted as the film's

technical advisor In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a ...

Reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' called the film "fairly good but it could have been better. A kind of poor man's '' Battleground''." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' called it an "improbable little melodrama".

Lawsuit

Major General Daniel H. Hudelson (retired), who commanded the 40th California National Guard in Korea and fought in the Battle of the Bulge, sued Allied Artists and Ronald Alcorn for $350,000 alleging unauthorised use of his story ideas. He claimed in 1955 he sent a tape recording of his experiences in the Vosges Mountains in France to a film company, and said they used his ideas in the film. He claimed the film had earned profits of $1.5 million.

References

External links

* * 1961 films 1960s war drama films Allied Artists films American black-and-white films Films directed by Byron Haskin Western Front of World War II films Films set in France Films shot in Bavaria American World War II films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films {{WWII-film-stub