My dad served under Patton and knew the man well. He said that Scott absolutely nailed him in mannerism, speech and looks.
The sequel, also with George C. Scott, is interesting, although understandably not the epic the first film was. And that’s part of the point. Patton was put in charge of transforming Germany from a military occupancy to a functioning civilian government. Sounds challenging, but to him, it was a desk job, and he didn’t like it. The final irony was that this man who led armies into battle was in a freak road accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down while no one else in the car was even hurt.
Hmmm. At least one of these gentlemen … has a flawed memory.
I remember reading somewhere that Patton had a high-pitched voice. Can that be the tie-breaker?
A soldier who had just seen Patton speak to the Third Army in England wrote in a letter that Patton spoke “in a somewhat boyish, shrill yet quiet voice.”*
I’m having trouble picturing that.
- Patton: The Man Behind the Legend, 1885-1945, by Martin Blumenson, p. 220.
There must be – I’ve heard one. Couldn’t tell you where.
I wouldn’t call it “squeaky”, but it was far removed from George C. Scott’s low, gravelly voice. Scott sounded the way you think Patton ought to have sounded, you’d think. Reality doesn’t often meet your expectations. Churchill’s voice is pitched much higher than you think it ought to be.
The film is definitely worth watching. A portrait of the man, and not an unflattering one, I think. It’s based on Ladislas Farago’s bio of him (which I read) and Omar Bradley’s a Soldier’s Story 9which I haven’t), so you can understand why Karl Malden is such a sympathetic character, and why the movie often seems to take his POV.
I was surprised to learn that the opening speech is actually mostly taken from a single speech Patton actually gave. I would have expected a made-up speech, using some of his phrases occasionally, or cobbled together from a few of his speeches. But the speech as given (It also appears at the start of the sound track album – I practically have it memorized) is almost identical to a speech Patton actually gave.
Rotten Tomatoes, on the other hand, I’m not trusting so much anymore.
Near the end of the movie, Patton and his staff officers are being entertained by a Russian general (Zhukov?)-and Patton says something that the russian translator didn’t like (I think he referred to to the Russian as a “son of a bitch”). Anyway, Patton had deep suspicions of the Russians-would he have actually behaved in such a manner? It isn’t NICE for allies to be insulting eachother!
Give how Patton had his hand slapped after the speech in England (“the USA and the British Empire will rule the world”)-would Patton have been so foolish as to behave this way?
ralph124c, I think I first encountered that scene in Zhukov’s autobiography. I don’t have that available to now check, but I do believe it IS accurate.
Patton was notorious for believing that the war wasn’t over with the fall of Germany, and the logical thing to do was to keep pushing east until we took Moscow.
Funny thing is, some German generals also hoped that they could somehow surrender to the western allies and have British and American troops reinforce them on the eastern front against the Russians.
Trouble is, if Patton had his way, the more likely result would have been the Peoples Republic of France.
Someone further up the thread asked “what flaws?”, and I would’ve replied with the post-war scene where he’s on the phone with Ike’s adjutant (whose name escapes me), ranting about the Russians – saying that we’re going to fight them sooner or later, let’s do it now while we have the army here to fight’em with. (Hard to argue with that logic. ) 
And that he’d start something and make it look like it was their fault.
I love this movie.
About the slapping incident, the “trivia” section in IMDB says this:
Lot’s of other interesting stuff in there, too. Patton (1970) - Trivia - IMDb
He was in the 1912 Olympics, too!!
Yep. Great fencer, Patton.
Why do I know that?
Well if we’re talking about sports…
The Olympics. Did he miss? Or did the bullet go through the same hole?
One of my earliest movie-going memories is seeing Patton at the drive-in while perched atop my parents 1969 Plymouth station wagon. It is one the movies that I will sit down and watch whenever I come across it.
That incident indirectly led to the death of a relative. He was an Army psychiatrist, and was moved after the the incident in a response by the Army. Unfortunately, his plane crashed. No, we don’t blame Patton - just have that odd link to him.
Well, there were so many good ones, it’s hard to call one the “best”, but I love the scene where Monty is parading through Palermo, and he comes around the corner and sees Patton and the 7th army, standing at attention, just waiting for him. Classic! General Sir Hizzhonour Count Visigoth Almighty Hoity-Toity Montgomery was a terrible General, and Patton showed him up time and again. Not only did 7th Army capture 2/3 or Sicily despite Monty getting a 2 week head start, he cost the Allies the chance to end the war when he took 2 weeks to link up with 3rd Army at Falaise. If Patton hadn’t been ordered to stop and wait for Montgomery, he could have easily pocketed and captured the lions share of Germany’s forces on the Western Front, likely forcing an end to the war. Germany would have had nothing to stop Ike’s troops short of Berlin. Imagine, no East Germany, no Warsaw Pact, maybe not even a cold war. Instead the Germans managed to slip away while Monty dithered.
Please see the film.
I don’t generally like military movies, but this film is more than that. It is a more intimate look at a complex and fascinating human being who had a great impact on World War II and thus, all of our lives.
The acting is stunning! The writing is very strong. I didn’t think I liked it the first time I saw it, but I felt compelled to see it a second time. Then I was hooked and wanted to see it a third time.
That is most unusual for I am a very girlie girl.
I didn’t read this thread. Sorry. You may have seen it by now…
What a load of horse Spielberg!
Palermo is on the West end of Sicily. You’re thinking of Messina (that’s on the East end of Sicily closest to the Italian mainland) which was left empty for the allies take. The parade scene in that tripey ‘Patton’ movie never took place.
Messina had been successfully evacuated across the strait (except for a small number of deserters) of all Axis troops and vehicles, transport and combat, thereby handing a strategic victory to the Axis. For this we can thank the bumbling incompetence of “Ike”, the most inept and buffoonish Field Commander of WWII.
Ike made no plans to cater for the blindingly obvious possibility that the enemy just might try to escape across the Messina strait unless some effort was made to interdict them with air and naval forces (although General Alexander can share some of the blame for that).
As for the Falaise pocket, Patton’s advance was stopped on the orders of that other incompetent General, Omar Bradley, not that Patton would have been capable of advancing much further, despite that blowhard’s endless talent for Braggadocio, for reasons having much to do with his having run out of supplies.
You really should make an effort to not confuse Hollywood Spielberg with reality 
Not mentioned in the movie is the fact that Patton agreed to an early army integration experiment involving black soldiers. The following speech is in one of my history books, but fortunately I found it here, and so I can copy and paste it and don’t have to type in the whole thing. (I have bolded my favorite line, perhaps of all time):
GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON THAT SON OF A BITCH PATTON AGAIN (1944 welcoming the 761st ‘Black Panther’ Tank Battalion to Europe in World War II.) Patton’s speeches to his troops were interlaced with profanity. “Men, you are the first Negro tankers ever to fight in the American army. I would never have asked for you if you were not good. I have nothing but the best in my army. I don’t care what color you are as long as you go up there and kill those Kraut sons-of-bitches. Everyone has their eyes on you are expecting great things from you. Most of all, your race is looking forward to your success. Don’t let them down, and, damn you, don’t let me down! If you want me you can always find me in the lead tank.”