Force of Arms
| Force of Arms | |
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| Directed by | Michael Curtiz |
| Produced by | Anthony Veiller |
| Written by | Orin Jannings Richard Tregaskis (story) |
| Starring |
William Holden Nancy Olson |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
| Cinematography | Ted D. McCord |
| Edited by | Owen Marks |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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98-105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.2 million (US rentals) |
Force of Arms (reissued under the title A Girl for Joe) is a 1951 romantic drama film set in the Italian theater of World War II. It reteamed William Holden and Nancy Olson in the third of their four movies together (Sunset Boulevard, Union Station, and Submarine Command being the others), all released in 1950 or 1951. An American infantryman on leave and a Women's Army Corps (WAC) officer fall in love.
After hard fighting in the Battle of San Pietro, the infantrymen of the American 36th Division are given five days of much needed rest. Sergeant Joe "Pete" Peterson (William Holden) meets WAC Lieutenant Eleanor "Ellie" MacKay (Nancy Olson) in a cemetery. However, his attempts to become better acquainted are brushed off. Later, Pete's friend and commanding officer, Major Blackford (Frank Lovejoy), tells him he has been given a battlefield commission and is now a second lieutenant.
When Sergeant McFee (Gene Evans) becomes upset because he has not received a letter from his wife in a long time, Pete takes him to the post office to investigate, and finds Ellie working there. This time, Ellie offers to buy Pete a drink in celebration of his promotion. Although he agrees, she still tries to keep things from becoming serious, revealing that she almost married another soldier, except he was killed, and does not want to risk falling in love again. However, when the division's leave is cut short, she cannot stay away. Pete gets her to agree to marry him on his next leave.
Blackford assigns Pete and his platoon to take out a German roadblock. Pete spots two deadly German 88 guns commanding the road on which American tanks are advancing. However, when one of his men urges him to attack the guns, Pete rejects the idea; with Ellie on his mind, he has become overcautious. The 88s knock out the lead American tank, from which Blackford is directing the attack. The major is killed. Pete himself is wounded by an artillery barrage and wakes up in a hospital.
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Wikipedia