''Screaming Eagles'' is a 1956 black-and-white

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

film directed by Charles F. Haas, released by Allied Artists, and starring

Tom Tryon Thomas Lester Tryon (January 14, 1926 – September 4, 1991) was an American actor and novelist. He is best known for playing the title role in the film ''The Cardinal'' (1963), featured roles in the war films '' The Longest Day'' (1962) and ''I ...

Jan Merlin Jan Merlin (born Jan Wasylewski, April 3, 1925 – September 20, 2019) was an American character actor, television writer, and author. Early years Born Jan Wasylewski and reared in New York City, Merlin was of Polish ancestry. He attended th ...

and, in her film debut, French Miss Universe 1954 runner-up Jacqueline Beer. The story is set during the night of the Normandy invasion where the 101st Airborne Division parachutes into France. The title of the film refers to the nickname of the division based on its shoulder sleeve insignia. The film is notable for its large cast of up-and-coming actors.

Plot

Prior to the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

, new recruits Mason, Corliss and Talbot are assigned to 1st Platoon, D Company, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment. Mason gets off on the wrong foot with certain members of the platoon, mainly Sgt. Forrest and Cpl. Dreef. A few nights later, Mason gets drunk as he reads a

Dear John letter A Dear John letter is a letter written to a man by his wife or romantic partner to inform him that their relationship is over, usually because his partner has found another lover. The man is often a member of the military stationed overseas, alth ...

from his girlfriend back home. Meanwhile the platoon's passes into town are canceled because the men are ordered to standby for the invasion and are restricted to barracks. When the platoon returns to the barracks they find it destroyed by a drunken Mason. Platoon leader Lt. Pauling keeps Mason in the platoon and gives him another chance despite his behavior. Lt. Pauling talks to the platoon about Mason's behavior. The men also decide to take a chance on him, including Grimes, Dubrowski and Foley. On the night of June 5, 1944, the 502nd find themselves boarding troop planes that will be flying over Normandy, marking the beginning of Operation Overlord. Serving as a jumpmaster, Sgt. Forrest instructs the men regarding the jump and their mission when on the ground. The platoon is tasked to set up roadblocks and hold a bridge along the

Douve The Douve () or Ouve is a river, in length, which rises in the commune of Tollevast, near Cherbourg in the department of Manche. ''Ouve'' is considered its old name (''Unva'' in ancient texts): Ouve appears to have been misspelled over the course ...

. Their drop zone is a mile beyond that of 2nd Battalion. Only seconds after the planes fly over the coast, the Germans man anti-aircraft guns and aim them toward the planes. Peterson is killed when

flak Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

hits the plane. The platoon is misdropped but they create a rallying point. Lt. Pauling splits his men up into three groups and they scout the area out small patrols. Mason sees a German sentry aiming his rifle at Cpl. Dreef and kills the sentry, which results in a firefight in which Cpl. Dreef is killed. Not having seen what Mason did, the others blame him for a hotheaded stunt. After the platoon meets back at their rallying point, the platoon is outraged when Dubrowski tells them what happened. After Lt. Pauling diffuses the situation, he is blinded by enemy fire. Sgt. Forrest selects Mason to take care of Lt. Pauling. The platoon attacks a German-occupied farmhouse later that morning, resulting in the deaths of Lambert, Hernandez and Nolan. The platoon raid the farmhouse once after killing a German machine gun team. They find a German soldier Hans Schacht holding a French girl named Marianne hostage. Hans is taken prisoner and Marianne volunteers to aid Lt. Pauling. Hans informs the platoon that there are 300 German soldiers between them and the Douve. The platoon later hijacks a German truck and forces the driver to take them to a tavern that is being used as a German headquarters. They capture a number of German soldiers and send them to a cellar. At gunpoint, Hans telephones false orders to draw German troops away from their positions. Behind the platoon’s back, Hans leaves the telephone line open so that the Germans can hear their chatter. A truckload of Germans raid are dispatched to the tavern, causing the platoon and Marianne to flee. Hans and the Germans who were sent to the cellar are killed by

friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...

. Talbot, Foley, Smith and Torren are killed by enemy fire and Mason is wounded in the arm. The seven surviving members of the party (Mason, Lt. Pauling, Marianne, Corliss, Sgt. Forrest, Grimes and Dubrowski) escape the tavern by truck. By midday, the party links up with the rest of D Company at the bridge that they were supposed to hold. Lt. Pauling bids farewell to Marianne before him and Mason are driven to a field hospital.

Cast

as Pvt. Mason *

as Lt. Pauling * Jacqueline Beer as Marianne * Alvy Moore as Pvt. Grimes *

Martin Milner Martin Sam Milner (December 28, 1931 – September 6, 2015) was an American actor and radio host. He is best known for his performances on two television series: '' Route 66'', which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and ''Adam-12'', which a ...

as Pvt. Corliss * Joe di Reda as Pvt. Dubrowski *

Mark Damon Mark Damon (born April 22, 1933) is an American film actor and producer. He became noted for roles in films like Roger Corman's ''House of Usher'', before moving to Italy and becoming a notable Western star and member of the 1960s Dolce Vita ...

as Pvt. Lambert * Paul Burke as Cpl. Dreef *

Pat Conway Patrick Douglas Conway (January 9, 1931 – April 24, 1981) was an American actor best known for starring as Sheriff Clay Hollister on the Western television series ''Tombstone Territory'' (1957–1960). Early years The son of Metro-Goldwy ...

as Sgt. Forrest *

Edward G. Robinson Jr. Edward G. "Manny" Robinson Jr. (March 19, 1933 – February 26, 1974) was an American actor. He was the son of actor Edward G. Robinson and his wife Gladys Lloyd. Life and career Edward G. Robinson Jr. appeared in 23 films and television seri ...

as Pvt. Smith *

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 196 ...

as Pvt. Hernandez *

Robert Boon Robert Boon (October 26, 1916 – January 13, 2015) was a Dutch-born American film, television, and theater actor. His film credits included '' The Tanks Are Coming'' in 1951 and '' Queen of Blood'' in 1966. Boon's television credits included ' ...

as Hans Schacht *

Ralph Votrian Ralph Votrian (May 16, 1934 – April 13, 2017) was an American film, television and voice actor. Votrian was born in Chicago, Illinois. As a child, Votrian performed on old-time radio programs. He graduated from John Burroughs High School in ...

as Pvt. Talbot * Paul Smith as Pvt. Foley * Robert Roark as Pvt. Torren * Robert Dix as Pvt. Peterson * Wayne Taylor as Pvt. Nolan

Production

Parts of the film were filmed at Fort Benning, Georgia. The technical advisers were Richard Haynes Case, a D-Day veteran of the 101st and

Werner Klingler Karl Adolf Kurt Werner Klingler (23 October 1903 – 23 June 1972) was a German film director and actor. He directed 29 films between 1936 and 1968. He was born in Stuttgart and died in Berlin, Germany. Early life Klingler acquired his fi ...

, a German film director who also had a role in the film. Case had also acted as an adviser to ''

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit ''The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit'' is a 1956 American drama film based on the 1955 novel '' The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit'' by Sloan Wilson. The film focuses on Tom Rath, a young World War II veteran trying to balance his marriage and fami ...

'' the same year. Jan Merlin recalled that he was originally supposed to play Private Mason because of his reputation for playing villains. As his character was to continually carry the blinded lieutenant who was to have been played by the much taller Tom Tryon, the men agreed to switch their roles.

References

External links

* * * * {{Use mdy dates, date=September 2014 1956 films American black-and-white films Operation Overlord films American war drama films Allied Artists films Films directed by Charles F. Haas Films produced by Samuel Bischoff Films scored by Harry Sukman Films set in the 1940s Films set in France Films set in England Skydiving in fiction 1950s English-language films 1950s American films 1950s war drama films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links