Paratroop Command
Paratroop Command is a 1959 war film directed by William Witney, starring Richard Bakalyan, Ken Lynch and Jack Hogan. Quentin Tarantino, an admirer of Witney's work, considers this film to be among his four best.[1]
| Paratroop Command | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | William Witney |
| Produced by | Samuel Z. Arkoff James H. Nicholson Stanley Shpetner |
| Written by | Stanley Shpetner |
| Starring | Richard Bakalyan Ken Lynch |
| Music by | Ronald Stein |
| Cinematography | Gilbert Warrenton |
| Edited by | Robert S. Eisen |
| Distributed by | Santa Rosa Productions American International Pictures |
Release date | February, 1959 (USA) |
Running time | 71 min. |
| Language | English |
Tarantino called it "the best of American-International’s WW2 potboilers. But I think it’s even better than that. It contains a realism that sets it apart from most other WW2 movies done in that same era. So much so that it makes a lot of good and similar movies from that same time, Robert Aldrich’s Attack and Don Siegel’s Hell is for Heroes, look theatrical and stagey by comparison." [2]
American International Pictures originally released the film as a double feature with Submarine Seahawk.
Plot
Charlie is a soldier who suffers the scorn of his paratroop unit because he accidentally kills one of their own men. The film is set in World War II in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy.
Cast
As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):[3]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Richard Bakalyan | Charlie |
| Ken Lynch | Lieutenant |
| Jack Hogan | 'Ace' Mason |
| Jimmy Murphy | Sergeant |
| Jeff Morris | Pigpen (as Jeffrey Morris) |
| James Beck | Cowboy (as Jim Beck) |
| Carolyn Hughes | Gina |
| Patricia Huston | Amy, a WAC |
| Paul Busch | German Captain |
| Sydney Lassick | Interpreter (as Sid Lassick) |
| Brad Trumbull (credits as Trumball) | C-47 Pilot |
A full cast and production crew list is too lengthy to include, see: IMDb profile.[3]
References
- Lyman, Rick (September 15, 2000). "Whoa, Trigger! Auteur Alert!". The Los Angeles Times.
- Tarantino, Quentin (6 April 2020). "I Escaped from Devil's Island". The New Beverly Cinema.
- The Story on Page One credits