The Last Blitzkrieg

Hard to understand how Van Johnson got railroaded into this B-movie trash, except he was on the downhill grade by then and his agent had bills to pay.

As it happens he was involved with Clover Productions again.

Clover's enviable slate of schlock - some now total classics:

It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) The Giant Claw (1957) Zombies of Mora Tau (1957) Don't Knock the Rock (1956) The Houston Story (1956) Rock Around the Clock (1956) New Orleans Uncensored (1955) The Enemy General (1960) The Werewolf (1956) Creature with the Atom Brain (1955)

Director Arthur Dreifuss, German by birth had an enviable B-movie list behind him, and certainly the background touched home with him. But obvious budget restrictions lead to basically intolerable errors: German officers with British Sten guns. Or German troops using Browning machineguns. Plus Arthur isn't a natural adept of the 'action genre'.

If they had a combat 'technical advisor' he was drunk on the job. NOBODY would last 10 seconds with this kind of 'action'.

On the other hand there would still be a large number of combat veterans from WW2 & Korea in 60's audiences, so anything more 'realistic' and brutal might cause traumatic memories to return they preferred to try to forget. (But if so, why go to a war movie???)

There's a message but like most of the swathe of 'Battle of The Bulge' outings from the 50's and later like the pitiful 'Ardennes Fury' (2014) why waste time even looking for them?

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.

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

I just saw this picture screened in an old 35mm release print. I thought this would be a companion piece to that other WWII Van Johnson bore-fest, THE ENEMY GENERAL. However, this one was hysterical! Right from the get-go the acting, as well as the tone of the production was broad and inept (verging on HOGAN'S HEROES territory) all the while parading as a serious WWII yarn. Watch for Dick York and a scenery chewing Larry Storch (pre-"Bewitched" and "F-Troop" respectively.) And BTW, the stark black and white photography was excellent (when not resorting to stock footage of the actual war.) Definitely a "so bad it's good

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.