Patton

Patton, motion-picture dramatization about the military life of General George S. Patton, Jr., based on the books Patton: Ordeal and Triumph by Ladislas Farago and A Soldier's Story by General Omar N. Bradley. Released in 1970, this film won seven Academy Awards including best picture and best actor for George C. Scott’s portrayal of the World War II (1939-1945) general. Patton was known for his abrasive public persona and for disobeying the orders of higher commanders while simultaneously achieving dramatic, aggressive wartime victories—namely, over German general Erwin Rommel in Africa, and in the Battle of the Bulge.

Director

• Franklin J. Schaffner

Cast

• George C. Scott (General George S. Patton, Jr.)
• Karl Malden (General Omar N. Bradley)
• Michael Bates (Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery)
• Edward Binns (Major General Walter Bedell Smith)
• Lawrence Dobkin (Colonel Gaston Bell)
• John Doucette (Major General Lucian K. Truscott)
• James Edwards (Sergeant William George Meeks)
• Frank Latimore (Lieutenant Colonel Henry Davenport)
• Richard Muench (Colonel General Alfred Jodl)
• Morgan Paull (Captain Richard N. Jenson)
• Siegfried Rauch (Captain Oskar Steiger)
• Paul Stevens (Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Codman)
• Michael Strong (Brigadier General Hobart Carver)
• Karl Michael Vogler (Field Marshal Erwin Rommel)
• Stephen Young (Captain Hansen)
• Peter Barkworth (Colonel John Welkin)
• John Barrie (Air Vice—Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham)
• David Bauer (Lieutenant General Harry Buford)
• Tim Considine (Soldier who gets slapped)
• Albert Dumortier (Moroccan Minister)
• Gerald Flood (Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder)
• Jack Gwillim (General Sir Harold Alexander)
• David Healy (Clergyman)
• Bill Hickman (General Patton's Driver)
• Carey Loftin (General Bradley's Driver)
• Lionel Murton (Third Army Chaplain)
• Sandy Kevin (Correspondent)
• Douglas Wilmer (Major General Francis de Guingand)
• Patrick J. Zurica (First Lieutenant Alexander Stiller)
• Lowell Thomas (Narrator of Fox Movietone Newsreels)
• Alan MacNaughtan (British briefing officer)
• Clint Ritchie (Tank Captain)
• Abraxas Aaran the dog (Willy)

Awards

• Academy Award for Best Picture (1970): Frank McCarthy—Producer
• Academy Award for Best Actor (1970): George C. Scott
• Academy Award for Best Director (1970): Franklin J. Schaffner
• Academy Award for Best Writing—Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced (1970): Francis Ford Coppola, Edmund H. North
• Academy Award for Best Art Direction (1970): Urie McCleary—Art Direction, Gil Parrondo—Art Direction, Antonio Mateos—Set Decoration, Pierre-Louis Thevenet—Set Decoration
• Academy Award for Best Film Editing (1970): Hugh S. Fowler
• Academy Award for Best Sound (1970): Douglas Williams, Don Bassman
• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actor—Drama (1971): George C. Scott

Trivia

• Actor Scott turned down his Academy Award because he felt that he was in unfair competition with the other actors.

Quotes

• Patton: “If everyone is thinking alike then somebody isn't thinking.”