Patton (1970)

Patton (1970)

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Trivia about Patton:

Patton received his first taste of combat in 1916 as a cavalry officer under General John J. Pershing on a punitive raid to Mexico. During the First World War he was placed in command of the U.S. Tank Corps and was shot in the leg leading a tank charge on foot. When the Second World War neared, Patton was placed in charge of training tank commanders. At this post Patton developed tactics that he used in North Africa. Patton practiced the motto “When in doubt: ATTACK!” He was called “Old Blood & Guts” by his soldiers.
The Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, Dwight D. Eisenhower (later President of the United States) considered Patton his friend despite their many differences of opinion. Eisenhower saw Patton as a volatile character with a trait of exhibitionism who was not as good as other U.S. generals at the heavy fighting necessary to break through enemy concentrations. For this reason Eisenhower did not use Patton in the slugging match with the Germans necessary for the Allies to break out of the beachhead at Normandy. But Eisenhower properly regarded Patton as a headstrong and fearless master of the fast and over-whelming pursuit. For that reason, once the Allies had broken through in Normandy, Eisenhower put Patton's Third Army in the forefront.
Eisenhower advanced General Omar Bradley over Patton because Eisenhower considered Bradley to be outstanding in every aspect of command and a master of every military maneuver. Bradley did not seek to dramatize himself.
This film was intended to be, and in large part is, a serious study of Patton's record and character. A bit of trivia demonstrates this. George C. Scott, who made an in-depth study of Patton in order to play the role, believed that the scene in which Patton gives General Lucien K. Truscott, Jr. an ultimatum that if Truscott's conscience would not let him conduct a particularly risky operation, “I will relieve you and let someone else do it.” Scott believed the scene was too harsh and that it suggested that Patton was indifferent to his men's welfare. He protested the scene but the studio owners wouldn't change it. Because General Patton had never been seen lying down in a combat situation, mentally or physically, Scott purposefully played the scene with Patton reclining on a couch, hoping that people would notice its falsity.
Patton did, in fact, slap two soldiers, not just one.
Anachronisms: 1948 Packard car in front of headquarters.
Anachronisms: The tanks used in the major battle scene in North Africa are post-war tanks. On the American side the M48 tank (1953) was used and on the German side the M47 (1952). Ironically, the latter was also called the “Patton 1.”
Anachronisms: The opening speech was the one delivered by Patton on June 4th, 1944, and hence he shouldn't have been wearing the uniform of a four-star general (he was still a lieutenant general), nor would he be festooned with orders and decorations that were awarded him by various European countries after the war.
Factual errors: The prayer for good weather was actually put on the back of a small Christmas card that was printed for the troops on December 11th, five days before the Battle of the Bulge began. The actual prayer contained the words “these immoderate rains” while the movie version said “this immoderate weather.”
Continuity: As Patton prepares to award the Purple Heart a two-panel curtain is placed at the foot of the bed. As he moves away from the bed, the two-panel curtain becomes a single-panel curtain.

Quotes from Patton:

Patton: Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

Visiting an ancient battlefield.

Patton: The Carthaginians defending the city were attacked by three Roman legions. The Carthaginians were proud and brave but they couldn't hold. They were massacred. Arab women stripped them of their tunics and their swords and lances. The soldiers lay naked in the sun. Two thousand years ago. I was here.

Outmaneuvering Rommel.

Patton: Rommel, you magnificent bastard! I read your book!

Patton: Now, there's another thing I want you to remember. I don't want to get any messages saying that we are holding our position. We're not holding anything. Let the hun do that. We are advancing constantly and we're not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy! We're going to hold on to him by the nose, and we're gonna kick 'em in the ass!

Patton: Thirty years from now, when you're sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks you, “What did you do in the great World War II,” you won't have to say, “Well... I shoveled shit in Louisiana.”

General Alfred Jodl: This is the end... the end.

Patton: The Nazis are the enemy! Wade into them! Spill *their* blood! Shoot *them* in the belly!

Capt. Oskar Steiger: The pure warrior... a magnificent anachronism.

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel: You can afford to be an optimist. I can't.

Patton: This is a barracks; it's not a bordello.

About his pistol grips.

Patton: They're ivory. Only a pimp from a cheap New Orleans whorehouse would carry a pearl-handled pistol.

Patton: If we are not victorious, let no one come back alive.

Patton: When you put your hand into a bunch of goo that a moment before was your best friend's face, you'll know what to do.

Cast overview, first billed only:

George C. Scott .... Gen. George S. Patton Jr.

Karl Malden .... General Omar N. Bradley

Michael Bates .... Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery

Stephen Young .... Captain Chester B. Hansen

Ed Binns .... Major General Walter Bedell Smith

Lawrence Dobkin .... Colonel Gaston Bell

John Doucette .... Major General Lucian K. Truscott

James Edwards .... Sergeant William G. Meeks

Frank Latimore .... Lieutenant Colonel Henry Davenport

Richard Münch .... Colonel General Alfred Jodl

Morgan Paull .... Captain Richard N. Jenson

Siegfried Rauch .... Captain Oskar Steiger

Paul Stevens .... Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Codman

Michael Strong .... Brigadier General Hobart Carver

Karl Michael Vogler .... Field Marshal Erwin Rommel