The Italians got short shrift out of World War 2–they picked the losing side, they had an indifferent to depressing war record, and their homeland became a battlefield.  But that is far from the full story.  Many Italians fought bravely and with some flashes of brilliancy.  The intelligence services in some instances out did all others.  Finally many Italians had the moral compassion to protect Jews from the Nazi grip,

Anyway El Alamein is a recent movie of an Italian unit in the Western Desert with parallels to the movie Platoon.  These Italians know they are cannon fodder for the more prestigious Afrika Corp, yet dutifully go about their business despite heat, flies, poor food, lousy equipment and so on.  The story follows the path of history fairly well.  The most poignant scene comes at the end where an unnamed person walks through a mausoleum listing the war dead.  This movie is highly recommended as an anti-war war movie–showing the human cost of war.

Anti-war war movie of box office big variety–that is Captain Newman.  This Gregory Peck piece came out in December 1963 so I missed it (being 60 days old on its release).  But what a nice reflection on the cost of war, the challenges that were faced behind the lines, and the mysteries of the mind.  This movie is somewhere between M*A*S*H and Catch 22.

Set in 1944 safely stateside in the Arizona desert, a multifunctional military hospital operates (chuckle) next to an army training center.  Dr. Newman runs the psych ward which runs amuk with a smorgasbord of “shell shocked” cases.

The movie is from here on a series of ups and downs, hi-jinx and low jinks with some Pentagon meddling and even stock footage you would not expect.  The dialogue is very well written, intense, personal, and touching. Beyond Peck, there is a host of other greats and soon to be greats. Eddie Albert, Tony Curtis, Bobby Darin…just a start.  Then there is  a young Robert Duvall and an always crusty James Gregory.  Dick Sargent (Bewitched), Larry Storch (F-Troop), and Ted Bessell (That Girl) spice up the ensemble.  There is a unique Apache-Isreali song and dance number done by some Italian POWS. Comedy? Drama?  A well mixed movie tasty on many levels.