Parachute Battalion

RKO gave the movie going public of the fall of 1941 Parachute Batallion about this new creation of the US Army the paratrooper. This film follows the training and rivalry of three paratrooper trainees Robert Preston, Edmond O'Brien and Buddy Ebsen.

Buddy Ebsen plays a hillbilly type around for comic relief. But O'Brien and Preston are in serious heat over Nancy Kelly, daughter of Harry Carey a legend in the ranks of those who were pioneering the art of jumping out an airplane. Preston is a former All American with notches on his belt over the various women he's conquered. O'Brien unbeknownst to all is the son of the base commander Robert Barrat and on a drunken dare enlists to see if he has the right stuff.

If you think you've seen this before you have. Strip away the musical numbers of the Andrews Sisters and the comedy of Abbott&Costello you've got Buck Privates. Parachute Batallion comes down to pretty much the same thing, the only question is who will get Nancy Kelly.

Richard Cromwell has an interesting part, something not in Buck Privates, a wise guy who looses his nerve. He and Edmond O'Brien have a great scene when he calms down Cromwell in an airplane.

Nicely done, but dated wartime flag waver.

"Parachute Battalion" was filmed with members of the 501st Parachute Battalion performing the actual jump scenes, etc. A member of my family was in the 501st and was killed on D-day after jumping into Normandy.

On the very off-chance that he might be seen in the movie backdrop, I would like to be able to view a video of it but cannot locate a copy. Can anyone help me in this regard?

I just watched PB on TCM. It was made at Fort Benning a few months before Pearl Harbor and seems designed to publicize the new 501st Parachute Battalion, the first airborne unit of the American military. The storyline focuses on new recruits training to become paratroopers.

The main trainer is MSGT Thunderhead Richards (Harry Carey), a pioneer army parachutist. The two main trainees in the film are football hero and ladies man Don Morse (Robert Preston), and Bill Burke (Edmond O'Brien). Bill's father, Colonel Burke, happens to be the commander of the new Parachute battalion. Don and Bill compete for the attentions of Thunderhead's daughter, Kit (Nancy Kelly). Other characters are Tex (Paul Kelly), hillbilly Jeff Hollis (Buddy Ebsen), and Spence (Richard Cromwell).

The 75 minutes goes by quickly, with a lot of attention to detail in the training, including how to pack a parachute, and how to use a reserve chute. The actual jump scenes were performed by real members of the 501st, and the founder of the American airborne and commander of the 501st, General William C. Lee, served as Robert Preston's double in several scenes.

The ending of PB is one that could only be dreamed up by Hollywood writers, but it's still a fun way to spend 75 minutes. The full movie is available on YouTube so check it out if you can.

It's another standard story of raw recruits undergoing training, falling in love with the same girl, etc.etc. This time Robert Preston gets first billing, but there's also Edmond O' Buddy Ebsen, and Richard Cromwell, and Nancy Kelly for them to compete over as they undergo training as paratroopers under Harry Carey and Paul Kelly. You've seen it before, you'll see it again, even if Ebsen gets to do some eccentric dancing near the end. The real 501 Parachute Battalion takes part in the big drop sequence towards the end.

The very fact that President Roosevelt had instituted the military draft about three years before this movie was released suggests that America was anticipating becoming involved in World War Two, probably sooner than later. The film lacks the characteristic jingoistic propaganda that one finds in similar movies which tell of training civilians to be part of a modern industrial army. This is most likely due to the fact that there was no official enemy during the filming. The movie was released just nineteen days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, much too early to include enemies even though there had been a recent declaration of war against Japan. The dialogue, the characters and the plot are standard issue. One finds the tough instructor, the frightened recruit, the benevolent commander, the misguided football hero, and the one attractive female that everyone wants to marry. Still the movie is worth seeing, even with its shallow dramatic moments. The most entertaining scene in the movie is the dancing of Buddy Ebsen, who plays hillbilly recruit Jeff Hollis. One wishes there were fewer practice paratroop drops and more dancing by Ebsen.