''Force of Arms'' (reissued under the title ''A Girl for Joe'') is a 1951 romantic

war drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

film set in the Italian campaign of World War II, starring

William Holden William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Pri ...

Nancy Olson Nancy Ann Olson (born July 14, 1928) is an American retired actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Sunset Boulevard (film), Sunset Boulevard'' (1950). She co-starred with William Holden in ...

, and

Frank Lovejoy Frank Andrew Lovejoy Jr. (March 28, 1912 – October 2, 1962) was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He is perhaps best remembered for appearing in the film noir ''The Hitch-Hiker'' and for starring in the radio drama ''Night Beat ...

. Directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz (; born Manó Kaminer; from 1905 Mihály Kertész; ; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed classic films from the silen ...

, it was the third teaming Holden and Olson together as leads in four films released in 1950 or 1951 (with the others being ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

'', ''

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

'', and '' Submarine Command''). Between battles an American infantryman on leave and a

Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC; ) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), on 15 May 1942, and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United S ...

(WAC) officer fall in love.

Plot

The American 36th Infantry Division is fighting bitterly for every hill in the Allied advance on Rome during the Italian campaign of World War II. After hard combat in the Battle of San Pietro in mid-December 1943, the infantrymen of are given five days of much needed rest. Spurning reverie in town, battle-fatigued Sergeant Joe "Pete" Peterson wanders in the night in a cemetery filled with fresh crosses. He runs into attractive WAC Lieutenant Eleanor "Ellie" MacKay, but his attempts to break the ice are brushed off. Later, Pete's friend and commanding officer, Major Blackford, tells him he has been given a battlefield commission and promoted to second lieutenant. When Sergeant McFee becomes upset because he has not received a letter from his wife in weeks, Pete takes him to the post office to investigate and finds Ellie working there. This time Ellie offers to buy Pete a drink to celebrate his promotion. Although he agrees, she again fends his advances, revealing that she almost married another soldier, now buried in that cemetery, and does not want to risk falling in love again. However, when the division's leave is cut short, her resistance fails. Pete gets her to agree to marry him on his next leave. Blackford assigns Pete and his platoon to take out a German roadblock. Pete does, radios back it has been cleared, then spots two deadly German 88 antitank guns commanding the road on which American Shermans are advancing. When one of his men urges him to attack the guns, he becomes overcautious, thinking of Ellie. He calls in an artillery strike. Before it can zero in he realizes Blackford is directing the tank column from its lead. Helpless, he watches the 88s turn Blackford's tank into flaming scrap metal. Pete is wounded by an artillery barrage and passes out. He wakes up morose, knowing that it wasn't that his attack could not have reached the guns in time that kept him from trying. Blaming himself for his friend's death, and guilty about thinking of his own survival instead, Pete sinks into a depression, unwilling to see anyone. A visit from Ellie brings him out of it. Pete tells her that he has been given a three-day leave before being sent back to a replacement depot, safely out of combat. They go to the countryside and get married. However, Pete's guilt compels him to rejoin his unit. Ellie knows she cannot stop him, but she will be there when he comes back. Months pass and she discovers she is pregnant, which means a discharge from the army and

repatriation Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...

stateside. She resists. Pete is trapped while reconnoitering ahead of his men in some tough house-to-house action, unaware they have been ordered to retreat. He is listed as missing and presumed dead. Unwilling to accept that uncertainty, Ellie scourers everywhere for him without success. When the Allies occupy Rome, she finally finds him there; he had been taken prisoner, but was freed when the Germans abandoned the city intact. His leg injury has flared up, but being reunited again, with safety and a family ahead, trumps all.

Cast

as Sergeant/Lieutenant Joe "Pete" Peterson *

as Lieutenant Eleanor MacKay *

as Major Blackford * Gene Evans as Sergeant Smiley "Mac" McFee * Dick Wesson as Kleiner, one of Pete's men * Paul Picerni as Sheridan * Katherine Warren as Major Waldron, Eleanor's commander * Ron Hagerthy as Minto * Rose Ford as Hooker

References

External links

*
''Force of Arms'' at AllMovie
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Force Of Arms 1950s war drama films American romantic drama films American war drama films 1950s English-language films American black-and-white films Films directed by Michael Curtiz Films scored by Max Steiner Italian Campaign of World War II films Warner Bros. films 1951 romantic drama films 1951 films Films set in 1943 Films set in 1944 1950s American films 1950s war romance films English-language romantic drama films English-language war drama films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links