Director William Wellman and producer Dore Schary worked well together during the filming of Battleground, but Wellman later said their working relationship on future projects didn't end well because, he said, "[Schary] let politics screw him up." Apparently Wellman found Schary's penchant for projects in which he had a personal and intellectual investment ridiculous. "You make pictures to amuse the public, not yourself," Wellman said.

Schary's 30-year career in film included stints as a writer (Academy Award shared with Eleanore Griffin for the original story of Boys Town, 1938), producer, and studio production chief. When he was finally ousted as head of MGM in the mid-1950s, he found a new career as a successful theater producer, director, and playwright, winning Tony Awards for writing and producing the play Sunrise at Campobello about FDR. Schary was one of the few Hollywood executives who attempted to stand up to the House Un-American Activities Committee during the anti-communist witch hunts of the late 1940s.

Wellman, whose career stretched from 1920 to 1958, was known for "men's" pictures, particularly ones that dealt with a subject with which he was personally familiar, aviation. He directed the first-ever Academy Award-winning Best Picture, Wings (1927), and won his only directing Oscar® for the original version of A Star Is Born (1937).

James Whitmore gained his first fame in the Broadway cast of the war drama Command Decision. When the play was made into a film in 1948, Whitmore's role was given to the more bankable actor Van Johnson, his co-star in Battleground. Whitmore instead made his film debut in the crime drama The Undercover Man (1949). He has had a long and respected career, garnering awards and nominations, including Oscar® and Golden Globe nods for Best Actor for the film version of his successful one-man stage show performance as President Truman in Give 'Em Hell, Harry!" (1975).

Early press reports list James Mitchell in the cast, but he does not appear in the film. Some say he was replaced by James Whitmore because Mitchell, a dancer, did not act or move properly for the drill sergeant role. Mitchell's most famous screen appearance was as Curly in the Dream Ballet sequence of Oklahoma! (1955).

Douglas Fowley, who plays Pvt. Kippton, the soldier constantly complaining about (and clacking) his ill-fitting, Army-issue false teeth, actually lost all his teeth in an explosion aboard his aircraft carrier during a battle in the South Pacific in World War II.

Some of the Battleground supporting cast went on to work in television. The most successful of these was James Arness, a bit player here but the star of the TV Western Gunsmoke for many years. Herbert Anderson (billed as "Guy Anderson" here for his role as Hansan) later played the title character's father on the long-running comedy Dennis the Menace. Marshall Thompson (as young recruit Jim Layton) never quite broke through to major film stardom but did have a hit as veterinarian Dr. Marsh Tracy in Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965). He reprised the part on the small screen for 43 episodes of the spin-off series Daktari in the late 1960s. Although he continued to act until 1964, Don Taylor (Standiferd) began directing for television in the late 1950s and helmed episodes of numerous series, including Dennis the Menace. He also directed the occasional feature film, such as Damien: Omen II (1978) and the WWII fantasy The Final Countdown (1980).

Writer Robert Pirosh later developed the long-running World War II TV series Combat, which followed a single infantry squad through the front lines of Europe. The show featured guest appearances by Battleground cast members Ricardo Montalban, Denise Darcel, Richard Jaeckel, and James Whitmore.

Actor-dancer George Murphy's film career was nearing its end when he made Battleground. He later went into politics and became the Republican Senator from California (1965-1971).

Doomed new recruit Hooper was played by Scotty Beckett, a much sought-after child star since his success at the age of 5 in the Our Gang comedies of the early 1930s. Like many other child stars, Beckett had a troubled adult life, in frequent problems with the law and dying of an overdose of barbiturates in 1968 at the age of 37.

Dore Schary wanted to be sure Battleground was released no later than the end of the year to take advantage of the holiday movie season and to qualify it for the Academy Awards for that year. It premiered in Washington, DC, on November 9, 1949. This first screening was attended by military and political dignitaries, including General Anthony McAuliffe, commander of the 101st Division during the events depicted in the movie.

President Harry Truman requested of producer Dore Schary, and was granted, of course, a private screening while he was on vacation in Key West.

Premieres of Battleground were also held in New York (November 11, 1949) and Los Angeles (December 1), a requirement of Oscar rules. The movie went into general release in January 1950.

According to a Daily Variety news item from the period, Battleground took in $3,750,000 (other sources make it more than $4.5 million) at the box office and was MGM's largest-grossing film in five years (although some claim that status for the Tracy-Hepburn comedy Adam's Rib, 1949). It has also been credited as the second-highest grossing film of 1950, behind Samson and Delilah (1949).

Regardless of what actual rank it achieved at the box office, the runaway success of Battleground was a blow to Louis B. Mayer's plans to retain control of the studio. At a time when all the other major studios were experiencing financial decline, Metro's success under Schary positioned him as a savior at the studio. Increasing tension between the two executives soon came to a head, and when Mayer delivered a "him-or-me" ultimatum to the studio money men in 1951, he was ousted as head of MGM after 27 years.

An MGM publicity man commented that he believed the success of Battleground was due to an ad showing the big-breasted Denise Darcel in a tight black sweater.

"A lot of people think Battleground is better than G.I. Joe, but I don't....I don't know why. I guess because there was a lot of humor. A dirty kind of humor." – director William Wellman

Memorable Quotes from BATTLEGROUND

WRITTEN PROLOGUE: This story is about, and dedicated to, those Americans who met General Heinrich von Luttwitz and his 47th Panzer Corps and won for themselves the honored and immortal name – "The Battered Bastards of Bastogne."

MAJOR: (Edmon Ryan): Thank you Sergeant.
HOLLEY (Van Johnson): That's PFC to you, Major, as in "praying for civilian."

HOLLEY: Let's not try to reach China this time, hey Bettis?
BETTIS (Richard Jaeckel): Well there's no sense digging if you don't go deep.
HOLLEY: The last time we dug one together, you went so deep that when I climbed out in the morning I got the bends.

GERMAN LIEUTENANT (Roland Varno): The major thinks General McAuliffe must have misunderstood. We have appealed to the well-known American humanity to save the people of Bastogne from further suffering. We have given you two hours to consider before raining destruction upon you. We do not understand General McAuliffe's answer.
AMERICAN COLONEL (Ian McDonald): I'd be glad to repeat it. The answer is "nuts."
GERMAN LIEUTENANT: Is that a negative or an affirmative reply?
AMERICAN COLONEL: Nuts is strictly negative.
GERMAN LIEUTENANT: We will kill many Americans.
AMERICAN COLONEL: On your way, bud.

CHAPLAIN (Leon Ames): Was this trip necessary? ... My answer to the sixty-four dollar question is yes, this trip was necessary. As the years go by, a lot of people are going to forget. But you won't. And don't ever let anybody tell you you were a sucker to fight in the war against fascism.

Complied by Rob Nixon