Fra due trincee

The 23rd Infantry, U.S. Army, 1944 - Ardennes, Holland. Something is not quite right with this band of soldiers...

Directed by Arthur Dreifuss, written by Lou Morheim, The Last Blitzkrieg stars Van Johnson, Dick York and Kerwin Matthews. Filmed on location in Holland, music is by Hugo de Groot and cinematography by Ted Scaife.

Poor. The story is actually a good one, coming at things from a German undercover perspective, it's nice to see the other side of the coin. Unfortunately, with the exception of York, the acting is borderline farcical. The makers pad out the picture with newsreel footage, while asking us to wait till the last quarter of film before we get some acting action worthy of the title (competently staged). But just when you think you could possible forgive it its sins, it pulls a dead rabbit out of the hat and delivers a turn of events that quite frankly stinks. Nice to see proper use of radio protocol for a change though! 4/10

During the 40s and 50s at MGM the all American GI whether it was Battleground, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, A Guy Named Joe, or Command Decision the role inevitably went to Van Johnson. And he's all American here in The Last Blitzkrieg as well, as all American as Peter Graves was in Stalag 17.

Not only was Van Johnson cast against type, but so was Kerwin Matthews as they play a pair of English speaking Germans who are masquerading as regular GIs during the Battle Of The Bulge. The idea being to disrupt American battle plans and cause havoc behind the lines. It was a last gasp maneuver of the Third Reich, much as The whole Battle Of The Bulge was just that.

Johnson was doing this work already as a spy among American POWs just as Peter Graves was in Stalag 17. But he gets called to this assignment and he and Matthews and two others are sent together.

For a bit he gets some good luck as he keeps the name and ID he had at the prison camp because he runs into Dick York and Larry Storch who were in the same camp, but who were two that managed to escape. They vouch for Johnson, but then some rotten luck descends on the platoon where York is the sergeant.

Johnson is a torn man, he's really not a National Socialist and thinks this is all for nothing. Matthews however is a true believer and he as well as Johnson is cast against type. And Kerwin Matthews delivers a pretty good performance in the part.

If it were not for being the first Darrin Stevens on Bewitched, this might be Dick York's career role as well, though some would opt for what he did in Inherit The Wind. Of all in the cast I was most impressed with what he did. Especially since on Bewitched he's always the butt of the comedy there. York happens to be a soldier of German background who speaks that fluently which comes in very handy.

The Last Blitzkrieg was shot in the Netherlands where a lot of this action really happened. Nice use of newsreel battle films was used and the players are fine. For a Sam Katzman production this one was all right.

This story of a German commando team operating behind American lines during the Battle of the Bulge has a fair amount of potential, but it never quite comes together, partially due to some less-than-stellar performances (Larry Storch, I'm looking in your direction) and a silly Hollywood ending.

Skip it – This B-quality WWII movie stars Van Johnson as a German soldier recruited to spy on the Americans because of his fluent English. He begins the movie by infiltrating a POW camp and foiling an escape attempt. He is then dropped behind enemy lines during the Battle of the Bulge to disrupt the Allies and prepare the way for the German advance. The message of this film seemed to be that there were millions of Germans who were good and decent people who didn't want war either. Which is true, but this movie is mediocre at best. The acting is horrible and there is no combat until the last 30 minutes. And the ending is just plain unreasonable.

Those with a keen interest in WWII and overall movie history can appreciate this effort. Although there are the "never would happen" situations, such as the officer's rank insignia's on their battlefield helmets being displayed in a nice bright white, the main storyline of German infiltrators into American lines is based in historical fact.

Something that the movie touches on is the fact that many Americans who fought in the war were of German decent and did so while having many relatives who still lived in Germany. It is my guess that this was mentioned in the film due to the fact that the director, Arthur Dreifuss, was born in Germany and moved to the U.S. before the war in 1928. First he worked in the entertainment industry as a dance instructor and then, beginning in 1939, in Hollywood where he made numerous B-level films including the "Boston Blackie" series.

Entertainment historians will appreciate seeing Dick York, who played the original Darren Stevens in the "Bewitched" television series, and Larry Storch, who played Corporal Agarne in the T.V. series "F Troop", in fairly prominent roles playing foot soldiers. Storch's southern accent is especially amusing and those familiar with Storch's Agarne character in F-Troop will see a tinge of it when, upon learning of the prospect of German infiltrators, he exclaims "Don't talk that way - it's disheartening!".

Perfect for a rainy weekend afternoon.