Two Classics on Netflix

Gene Tierney and John Lund

The Mating Season (1951).  Thelma Ritter, Gene Tierney,John Lund, and Miriam Hopkins. Comedy.

I chose this very under- appreciated comedy mainly because it showcases the talents of the delightful Thelma Ritter, one of my favorite comedic actresses.

Thelma Ritte

She plays Ellen McNulty, the down-to-earth, plain-spoken, middle-aged proprietor of McNulty's hamburger stand in Jersey City, a business she started with her late husband. trouble with the bank due to the overwhelming competition from two drugstores, Ellen, far behind on her mortgage payments, decides to pack it in, let the bank have the hamburger stand, and go to live with "my son, Val, who has a good job in Meridian, Ohio". What Ellen doesn't realize as she heads toward Meridian, is that Val McNulty (John Lund) has just met Maggie Carleton (Gene Tierney), daughter of a U.S. Ambassador, now deceased, and the girl of his dreams, and is making  preparations for their imminent marriage when he learns his mom is coming to see him. When Ellen arrives and learns her son is marrying into a privileged family and appears concerned that she'll embarrass him, her plans change. In a funny plot-twist, Ellen ends up posing as a cook in the couple's home, sleeping in the spare bedroom of their small apartment. Only her son knows the truth, having been sworn to silence by his mom, who wants to help out without burdening their marriage with a  mother-in-law in the house. Things are going along fine, until Maggie learns that her own mother, a snobbish social climber (Miriam Hopkins ), is coming to stay with them. This obvious complication is compounded by Val's lecherous boss, who used to date Maggie, and  a series of entanglements concerning Val's business interests, resulting in the threatening of the marriage's survival, but remedied by the intervention of Ellen and of the lecherous boss's father. A warm and engaging little comedy. Check it out.

Holley grimly awaiting German attack,

Battleground (1949). Van Johnson, John Hodiak, James Whitmore,George Murphy, Ricardo Montalban, Marshall Thompson, Denise Darcel. War.
Thiswas the first Hollywood war film about the so-called "Battle of the Bulge" released after the war, and considered by many as the best war film ever made. In mid- December, 1944, During World War II, German Panzer Divisions broke through the Allied lines in the Ardennes forest on a wide front in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, an offensive which has become popularly known as "The Battle of the Bulge". The 101st Airborne Division, known as "The Screaming Eagles," were dispatched to reinforce the troops defending the front. Some of these were eventually surrounded by German forces near the village of Bastogne, Belgium. They held out for weeks against vastly superior forces and were eventually relieved by General Patton's Third Army, afterwards referring to themselves as "The Battered Bastards of Bastogne."

The sun breaks and American planes are heard overhead.

The film is a fictionalized, but largely accurate account of a typical unit,  the fictional "I" Company of the 327th Glider Infantry Division.  The movie opens at a large Army encampment somewhere in France. Private Jim Layton (Marshall Thompson) a smooth-faced young soldier, fresh from training, is just reporting to his new platoon. He is largely ignored by the old timers, who only speak to him to tell him he is in their way. As the men prepare for an upcoming weekend pass to Paris, they are interrupted by the appearance of  happy-go-lucky Pfc. Holley (Van Johnson), who has just been released from hospital after having been wounded. The following morning, the men are awakened by their Platoon Sergeant, Sgt. Kinnie, played by James Whitmore ((The Shawshank Redemption), who informs them that "Nobody's goin' to Paris. We're movin' up", destination unknown, but "...they tell me it's gonna be cold". He also informs them that they will be traveling by truck , instead of gliders. When the trucks finally come to a halt, they are in the village of Bastogne, Belgium. As they pile out they are confronted by a couple of little girls, begging for "chocolate,..... cigarettes for mama!" An attractive woman named Denise (Denise Darcel)  then comes out of a house and the men react typically with whistles and catcalls.  the woman smiles, and invites them in French to come inside the house and warm up.  The men end up spending the night in the woman's house. Holley has romance on his mind, but is too tired to follow through, and beds down with the rest of the men wherever there's space. In the morning , they move out again, this time on foot.

The events that befall this platoon become a sort of composite of experiences, typical of infantry units across the Bulge area. As they approach the front, they experience their first hostile fire of the campaign. They are told to "dig in" and  they work hard to dig their foxholes, only to be told they are going out on patrol. This process repeats itself several times in the film. Just as the men settle in, they are moved out again. They are soon under  heavy bombardment, they are plagued by English-speaking German infiltrators in American uniforms, wet boots, frozen feet, snow, cold, and crummy rations. Some of their best, dearest friends and leaders are killed or wounded. Through it all,  even though they gripe and complain, they retain that "wise-guy" G.I. sense of humor, and a sort of fatalism that keeps them going. When I see, or think about this film, the one word that comes to mind is "SLOG". They slog through the countryside, slog through the snow, slog through through the constant cold, and generally just slog through the war. Great performances by some great actors make it a treat. Van Johnson sets the mood with his laconic, dry wit. Watch as Marshall Thompson goes from raw replacement to seasoned, if somewhat disillusioned old timer. James Whitmore got an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the grizzled, tobacco-chewing platoon sergeant, who doesn't smile until the very end.

"Now that ya mention it, 
it does sound like the patter of rain on a tin roof."

Watching the movie, it reminded me of  the cartoons of WWII cartoonist and war correspondent Bill Mauldin, that appeared regularly in newspapers of the day, so I had to include one of these along with shots from the film.

The top left photo above shows Van Johnson as Holley, grimly waiting to imminently be overrun by the Germans. Seconds later, in the next photo, Holley smiles and looks up as the sun finally breaks through, and the American planes can be heard, signaling the arrival of reinforcements and the end of the siege of Bastogne. Produced by the legendary Dore Schary, and directed by William Wellman (Westward, the Women), Battleground is an experience not to be missed.