D-Day Duty 2022 (#2 of 4) – Up From the Beach (1965)

Today is the 78th anniversary of the Allied forces landing in Normandy on D-Day, so I decided to watch 4 movies about that historic day that were each made in different decades which give a slightly different perspective on the events of that fateful day.

Here is the review of the 2nd film that I watched.

Enjoy!

“I don’t want you people to think I’m being ungrateful, but you’re all gonna have to get out of here.” – Artillery Colonel

Number of Times Seen – 1 (6 Jun 2022)

Brief Synopsis – After liberating a small French village from German occupation following the events of D-Day, a squad of soldiers must take the villagers to a safe place along the beach despite the various army bureaucracy.

My Take on it – This is a film that I knew nothing about besides the fact that it was connected to D-Day when I chose it.

Cliff Robertson is great in the lead role of an officer who is torn between his duty to follow orders and the welfare of French villagers that they wish to keep safe.

The film does a nice job of showing how even in war there can be gray areas that one might never expect even when assuming that it all is simple to understand in a black or white fashion.

As great as Robertson is in this role, he is out-shined by Red Buttons throughout as a soldier who must take charge of a captive German soldier along their journey.

The story brings up some great dilemmas that soldiers can face and they do their best to try and film solutions for the varying types of issues as things unfold.

The dialogue is superbly written and helps emphasize the various problems that soldiers faced during the war.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Darryl F Zanuck originally announced that this would be directed by James Bond helmer Guy Hamilton, and that James Garner and Oskar Werner would be heading the cast. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)