For this year, I’m going with the reminder of the fractured phrase: Hooray for Hollyweird! Most of us love movies and I enjoy recommending what you should watch on any given day. So, Hooray for Hollyweird … and for today’s recommendation, let’s check out “Cross of Iron,” which was legendary director Sam Peckinpah’s only movie set in World War II.
Of course, “Cross of Iron” is about German soldiers on the Russian front and so named for the famed medal presented as a military honor. James Coburn leads his ragtag but deadly squad on missions behind enemy lines and is in constant conflict with the brass, except for his direct commanding officers, who respect him and his ability as a leader.
At this point, enter a martinet into “Cross of Iron” and he immediately takes a dislike to Coburn and his men. The story plays out from there to an unexpected ending.
You’ll find one of the best battle scenes featuring tanks in “Cross of Iron,” as the Russians use the venerable T-34 model to take back a factory complex from the Germans. Real T-34/85 tanks are used, as more than 50,000 were produced during and just after WWII and used by Communist regimes worldwide.
“Cross of Iron” isn’t Peckinpah at his best, which in my opinion was “The Getaway” with Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw. “Cross of Iron” falls somewhere near his espionage-karate effort “The Killer Elite” with James Caan and Robert Duvall and is far better than the simply awful CB radio-themed “Convoy” with the late Kris Kristofferson and MacGraw (yes, even great directors turn out something terrible during their career).
You won’t have any trouble finding “Cross of Iron” in today’s streaming world and I also have it on DVD. So, find it … and then you’ll definitely say … “Hooray for Hollyweird!”
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