During WWII, a platoon of American soldiers trudge through the Italian countryside in search of a bridge they have been ordered to blow up, encountering danger and destruction along the way.
It was Burgess Meredith who persuaded Samuel Bronston to produce a film based on Harry Brown's novel.
Sgt. Ward:
Apples.
Windy:
What'd you say, Sergeant?
Sgt. Ward:
Guess I said 'apples.'
Windy:
Why?
Sgt. Ward:
Just thinkin' of 'em.
Windy:
Oh.
Riddle:
What kind of apples, sergeant?
Sgt. Ward:
All kinds. Baldwnis, McIntosh, Reds, Pippins, Russets... I was thinkin' I'd like to be cuttin' one open, right now. And lickin' ...
Other than rank insignia, none of the soldiers' uniforms bear any markings, whatsoever. It was standard practice to mark soldiers' helmets with chalk numbers so that they would know which landing craft they were assigned to board for the invasion. It was also standard practice to wear insignia to denote the soldiers' units for identification purposes, although sometimes the shoulder sleeve insignia were removed to impede enemy intelligence gathering. Also, the soldiers' helmets are shown buckled at all times. It was common for soldiers to leave their helmets unbuckled, as there was a belief that, in the event of a nearby explosion, the helmet would break the soldier's neck when it reacted to the concussion.
The beginning shows an unseen male narrator grabbing a book from a shelf and the cast and crew are set out in the pages of a book.
English, Italian
$800,000 (estimated)