“Attack!” (1956) / Z-View

Attack! (1956)

Director:  Robert Aldrich

Screenplay:  James Poe, based on the 1954 play Fragile Fox by Norman Brooks

Starring:  Jack Palance, Lee Marvin, Eddie Albert, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Buddy Ebsen  and Strother Martin

Tagline: TRAPPED BEHIND ENEMY LINES…THEY PASSED THE WORD ALONG TO — ATTACK!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

World War II is rumored to be coming to an end, but the fighting on the front lines is still fierce.  When Lt. Costa (Palance) and a few of his men discover a German machine gun post, they radio Captain Cooney (Albert) and advise him of the situation.  Lt. Costa believes with covering fire, his men can take out the pill box.  Captain Cooney agrees his men will provide the cover needed.

As Lt. Costa’s men approach and begin firing on the Germans, he radios for the protective cover.  Captain Cooney seeing Costa’s men being shot down, freezes and never gives the order for the protective cover fire.  Lt. Costa loses several good men.

When the soldiers return to camp, Lt. Costa reports the incident to Lieutenant Colonel Bartlett (Marvin).  Bartlett is aware of Captain Cooney’s shortcomings as a soldier.  He is also very much aware that Cooney’s dad is a judge with a lot of political sway back home.  Colonel Bartlett has political ambitions after the war. Bartlett flat out tells Costa that he won’t do anything to upset the judge.   Lt. Costa is livid.  He says if Cooney freezes again and any of his men die, he will kill Captain Cooney.  Colonel Bartlett says that their unit is unlikely to see any more action.

Then an order comes down to take back a city fortified by German soldiers with tanks!  Captain Cooney, Lt. Costa and their men head back into battle.  Will Captain Cooney “freeze up” again?  If so will more good soldiers die as a result?  And if that does happen, will Lt. Costa keep his word and kill the Captain?

Directed by Robert (The Dirty Dozen; The Longest Yard; Emperor of the North) Aldrich, Attack doesn’t feel like a 1950s war film. Part of that is due to the great cast they assembled:

  • Eddie Albert plays the cowardly Captain Cooney perfectly.  He’s the disappointing son to a powerful judge.  A wanna be tough guy, who should have never risen to the rank where he leads men into battle.  What makes Albert’s portrayal even more impressive is that he was an actual Bronze Star medal winner in World War II.
  • Jack Palance is the hero of the film and my guess is he enjoyed the change of pace since he was usually cast as a villain.
  • Lee Marvin plays the smug Lt. Colonel who will put his ambitions ahead of his men’s lives.
  • Robert Strauss and Buddy Ebsen provide just the right amount of comedy relief.

Norman Brooks (wrote the play) and James Poe adapted it to create the screenplay.  Attack! has a surprisingly modern take on war.  The screenplay was so controversial that the Defense Dept. refused to provide ANY support for the film!

Attack! is an under-rated film with a great cast, talented directed and surprising story.  It earns a 4 of 5 star rating from me.