Hollywood War Movie Conventions

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Just finished watching "Sahara" starring Humphrey Bogart. Pretty good war flick of that era.

 

One of the things that struck me is that all of the characters who showed a photo of their wife/girl/kids died. Lloyd Bridges (playing an English infantryman) was the first to go. We've seen this in other movies. Lesson learned: don't share pictures with your comrades in arms.

 

The other is that everyone who died was buried with a rifle stuck muzzle down with a hat or helmet dangling on the butt to mark the grave.

 

Straight up question: in reality, was this done? It seems that a rifle was still useful to those still alive and might not be left behind. Or maybe that would too be too cumbersome to drag along and survivors just kept the ammo?

[Calvin N. Hobbes, 17218]

It is still done today

[Utah Bob #35998]

It is mostly done in memorial services today but on the huge fast moving battlefields of WWII it was common. There were plenty of rifles. The purpose is to assist the graves registration troops who follow the action. They collect the remains and it's a lot easier to spot a rifle and helmet than a body or parts lying on the ground. The graves were usually dug in a rear area and marked but not with rifles. That was a battlefield procedure.

[Cat Brules]

The M1 Garand rifle weighs in excess of 9 pounds. Try carrying that for ten miles, then try carrying 2 of them, in addition to your other essentials. Heck, try carrying the 5+ pound M1 Carbine ten miles; then, x2. Yes, marking the dead in this manner was done.

 

The weapons had to be left behind or critical parts removed to de-mil them. And, in a fast-moving offensive, very often these so-marked dead soldiers were behind the lines at that point anyway. Everyone had their own weapons and this job of collecting battlefield war material, or "pickups," was someone else's job; not the advancing or retreating troops, unless there was a significant lull in the fighting and the front-line troops were so utilized for other work.

[Sparky Nelson]

One of the things that struck me is that all of the characters who showed a photo of their wife/girl/kids died. Lloyd Bridges (playing an English infantryman) was the first to go. We've seen this in other movies. Lesson learned: don't share pictures with your comrades in arms.

 

TVTropes.org is a web site that collects "tropes" (conventions used in writing fiction - ideas that everybody recognizes) from fiction. They started out using TV shows but they've since expanded into every kind of fiction, even Web comics and video games. What you describe is what they call "Fatal Family Photo."

 

They have a whole collection called "How to Survive a War Movie." I think it'd make a fun drinking game to watch a war movie and drink a shot every time they use something from the list. (And a double if they do it more than once.)

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Thanks for the replies. I learn something new every day.

 

Sparky, those links are fun.

[Sparky Nelson]

Sparky, those links are fun.

 

Yeah, TVTropes can be a real time sink. It's also a good way to find out about books, movies, TV shows, and comics you might not have heard about, but will like.

[Bugs Bonney SASS # 10171]

On the front line the dead don't get buried unless there is a lul and you expect to be there for some time. Regarding weight of rifles In John George's book "Shots Fired In Anger" People often picked up guns casualties dropped if they wanted that particular weapon. He was in Guadalcanal and later with Merrill's Marauders. He said that as troops got more and more experience they developed an attachment to a weapon and that was an individual preference. In the jungle fighting he was involved in he says he never wanted to lug a Thompson around but didn't mind being around one when bullets started flying. He also said that the only gun you never saw lying around was the BAR. When a BAR man was hit someone always picked up the gun immediately. Never mind the weight, never mind the humidity and heat. Nobody left a BAR behind. An interesting perspective from a guy that was there.

[Utah Bob #35998]

One of our VFW members was with the 77th Div on Guam, Ie Shima, and Okinawa. He told me he lloved his Thompson in the jungle. He was less happy about it in the wide open farmlands on Oki.