After a US defeat in 1943 at the Battle of Kasserine Pass, George Patton assumes command of (and instills some much-needed discipline in) the American forces. Patton commands the II Corps in North Africa and excels militarily. Engaged in battle against Germany's Field Marshal Rommel (Karl Michael Vogler), Patton drives back "The Desert Fox" by using the German's own tactics. Promoted to Lieutenant General, Patton is sent to Sicily, where he engages in a personal war of egos with British Field Marshal Montgomery (Michael Bates). Performing brilliantly in Italy, Patton seriously jeopardizes his future with a single slap.
Cast: George C Scott
Crew: Franklin J Schaffner (Director), Fred J Koenekamp (Director of Photography), Jerry Goldsmith (Music Director)
Rating: U (India)
Release Dates: 02 Apr 1970 (India)
Did you know? The ivory-handled revolvers worn by George C. Scott in the opening scene were in fact George S. Patton's bona-fide revolvers. Read More
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as General George S. Patton Jr.
as Willy
as British Briefing Officer
as Moroccan Minister
as General Patton's Driver
as General Bradley's Driver
as Tank Captain
as Clergyman
as Major General Francis de Guingand
as Major General Walter Bedell Smith
as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Davenport
as General Sir Harold Alexander
as Major General Lucian K. Truscott
as General Omar N. Bradley
as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
as Third Army Chaplain
as Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery
as Brigadier General Hobart Carver
as Captain Richard N. Jenson
as Colonel John Welkin
as Correspondent
as Captain Chester B. Hansen
as Soldier Who Gets Slapped
Production
Producer
Production Company
Associate Producer
Unit Production Manager
Distribution
Writers
Screenplay Writer
Story Writer
Novelist
Camera and Electrical
Director of Photography
Still Photographer
Assistant Cameraman
Music
Music Director
Art
Art Director
Set Decorator
Storyboard Artist
Assistant Art Director
Casting
Casting Director
Editorial
Editor
Makeup and Hair
Makeup Artist
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
English
Colour Info:
Color
Sound Mix:
6-Track 70mm, Mono
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
2.35:1
Stereoscopy:
No
Filming Locations:
Goofs:
Revealing Mistakes
The Douglas C-47 was a relatively loud aircraft; however, in the scene showing Patton talking to his staff while their C-47 was flying them to France, almost no engine noise can be heard.
Revealing Mistakes
After Patton knocks the pin-up girl poster off the wall, multiple scratches can be seen on the wall from earlier takes.
Factual Mistake
In the movie, George S. Patton refers to himself as a Lieutenant (3-star) General before the confirmation became official. In reality, according to his service record, he only referred to himself by that rank after he signed his official commission paperwork.
Factual Mistake
Near the end of the movie when Patton volunteers his men to aide at the Battle of the Bulge, the leaders discuss a decision made by "Ike" (General Eisenhower) and it shows him absent from the meeting. General Eisenhower was actually present at that meeting.
Factual Mistake
The HE-111 bombers used in the attack on Patton's Headquarters in North Africa didn't have the capacity to carry the number of bombs that were dropped during this sequence. They must have been designed by the same company that makes Western movie six shooters. Also, the HE-111 was not set up to make ground strafing runs.
Factual Mistake
During the funeral procession for his aide Captain Jenkins, Patton's overseas cap is tucked into his belt. Since he was outdoors, he should have been wearing it (the other soldiers in the procession are correctly wearing their helmets).
Factual Mistake
During the scene at Messina, the drum major gives the command: "Forward, March!" which is incorrect. All pipe band commands follow the British model and the correct command would be: "By the right, Quick March!"
Revealing Mistakes
In the latrine scene where British General Montgomery is briefing U.S. General Smith, Montgomery breathes on the mirror to make a mist, then draws two maps of Sicily on it to show Smith two attack options. Afterwards, Smith erases one map for security reasons, but leaves the other one intact.
Revealing Mistakes
When Patton fires his pistol at the German planes, there is no recoil.
Errors in Geography
In one scene, there is a map of Normandy. This map is completely inaccurate. Rather than five beaches (Utah, Omaha, Juno, Sword and Gold), it only shows three, and only has two flags over those three beaches. There is an American flag over Omaha and Utah, a blank space over Juno, and a Union Jack over Gold and Sword.
Errors in Geography
In the opening war scene, set in North Africa, two vultures are shown in the abandoned camp. These are Griffon Vultures which are extremely rare in North Africa (but more common in Spain where the film was shot).
Factual Mistake
Contrary to the way it's portrayed in the film, the controversy over Patton's Knutsford speech was not over his having insulted the Russians (in fact, the Army quickly revised the initial transcript of his remarks to reflect that he had mentioned them). It had to do with his talk of "ruling the world" after the war - members of Congress said he had no business as a general commenting on post-war political affairs, while others objected to the notion of the US, Britain or anyone else "ruling the world."
Factual Mistake
During all battle scenes the sound of distant explosions syncs precisely with the sight of them. This is of course impossible due to the discrepancy between the speeds of light and sound. This goof is made in virtually all war films as well as documentaries where sound is added after the fact.
Factual Mistake
Patton slapped a soldier on two separate occasions, not just one as portrayed in the movie.
Factual Mistake
During the scenes taking place in 1944, there is not one single M4 Sherman tank. The M4 Sherman was the workhorse of the Allies, and was almost the only tank used in World War II from early 1944 on. The tanks used in the film are all post war M47 and M48 Patton tanks, despite showing newsreel footage of Shermans.
Factual Mistake
The prayer for good weather was actually put on the back of a small Christmas card that was printed for the troops on December 11th, five days before the Battle of the Bulge began. The actual prayer contained the words "these immoderate rains" while the movie version said "this immoderate weather."
Factual Mistake
When the HE-111s are attacking, George S. Patton pulls out his 1903 Colt General Officer's Model Pistol, firing nine rounds at the planes. The 1903 General Officer's Model holds 7 rounds in the magazine and 1 in the chamber.
Audio/Video Mismatch
In the scene where the German generals watch the captured newsreel footage of George S. Patton and Omar Bradley landing on Sicily, their dialogue is translated falsely in the subtitles - at no time do they call Patton a 'gangster'. The expression might however be meant as an attempt to convey the impression that Patton's big cigar might leave with German officers.
Audio/Video Mismatch
The bagpipe music starts before the pipers have inflated their bags and struck in.
Character Error
Visiting the Carthaginian ancient battle field in Tunisia, Patton says, "The Arab women stripped the dead soldiers of their clothing." There were no Arabs in Tunisia during the Punic wars. The line is complete fiction, obviously intended to draw parallelism between the ancient Carthaginians and Patton's troops in the first shot of the movie (who were not scavenged by Tunisian civilians in real life either).
Character Error
When George S. Patton arrives in Malta, he makes a speech about the Great Siege of Malta, involving the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. However, he puts the date of this defence as 1528. In fact, the siege took place in 1565 - indeed, the Knights were not granted Malta and Tripoli by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V until 1530. He also gives the figure for the number of defenders as 400 Knights with 800 mercenaries when in fact the accepted number is nearer 9000 in total (including Maltese militia). 40,000 attackers is the highest level of the accepted estimates and the more realistic figure is most likely around 25-30,000.
Character Error
When the British troops parade into Messina, a sign can be seen on the wall saying "Benvenutti amici a Messina", with a spelling error (it should read "Benvenuti"). Arguably plausible, as Sicilians are said (by non-Sicilans) to be poorly educated in spelling.
Character Error
A German soldier writing down the number of casualties is shown marking the thousands with commas, as usual in English. Later, the same soldier is shown using periods for thousands, as a German would.
Character Error
When Patton arrives at II Corps Headquarters near the beginning of the movie, the peasant woman who follows him to the door (holding chickens in her hands) speaks Spanish ("Oiga, oiga...compre gallina.") not Arabic.
Character Error
After Gen Patton fires his pistol at the strafing German bombers, he tucks it into his belt even though he's wearing a shoulder holster for it.
Continuity
When George S. Patton learns he has been relieved of command of the 7th Army, Willie "George" Meeks escorts Patton's aide while wearing Staff Sergeant's stripes. In a later scene when Meeks is waiting for Patton to prepare for bed, Meeks is wearing the stripes of a Sergeant.
Continuity
In Walter Bedell Smith's office, after the Knutsford speech controversy, George S. Patton's left shoulder has no patch on it. When he goes into the hallway to meet his orderly, Meeks, the Seventh Army patch of his last command is there.
Continuity
The scene, where General Fredendall jumps into his jeep after being relieved of his command of II Corps by Gen. Patton, the camera shows two GI's replacing the two star I.D. plates in the front of Patton's vehicle with a 3-star I.D. plate after he self-promoted himself in advance of receiving Senate confirmation. In the next scene shows Patton and Bradley heading toward the battle front on Patton's vehicle until he orders his driver to turn right to head for Carthagenian ruins. It shows that vehicle still had the 2-star I.D. plate that was replaced in the earlier scene.
Continuity
When George S. Patton talks with noncommissioned officers about Bernard L. Montgomery's campaign in Sicily, he has a magnifying glass in his left hand and a cup in his right. He sets down the magnifying glass to hold the cup with his left hand to put it on the table. In the next shot the cup is already on the table and he is holding the magnifying glass with the left hand.
Crew/Equipment Visible
When George S. Patton is directing traffic in the muddy field, one of the tanks that is coming toward the camera is driven by a man wearing civilian clothes and a beret.
Crew/Equipment Visible
As George S. Patton is viewing the battlefield through binoculars and facing the camera, various lights/booms etc are clearly reflected in the binocular lenses.
Crew/Equipment Visible
When Generals Walter Bedell Smith and Bernard L. Montgomery are discussing Sicily in the latrine, the shadow of the cameraman is seen behind Smith.
The Douglas C-47 was a relatively loud aircraft; however, in the scene showing Patton talking to his staff while their C-47 was flying them to France, almost no engine noise can be heard.
Revealing Mistakes
After Patton knocks the pin-up girl poster off the wall, multiple scratches can be seen on the wall from earlier takes.
Factual Mistake
In the movie, George S. Patton refers to himself as a Lieutenant (3-star) General before the confirmation became official. In reality, according to his service record, he only referred to himself by that rank after he signed his official commission paperwork.
Factual Mistake
Near the end of the movie when Patton volunteers his men to aide at the Battle of the Bulge, the leaders discuss a decision made by "Ike" (General Eisenhower) and it shows him absent from the meeting. General Eisenhower was actually present at that meeting.
Factual Mistake
The HE-111 bombers used in the attack on Patton's Headquarters in North Africa didn't have the capacity to carry the number of bombs that were dropped during this sequence. They must have been designed by the same company that makes Western movie six shooters. Also, the HE-111 was not set up to make ground strafing runs.
Factual Mistake
During the funeral procession for his aide Captain Jenkins, Patton's overseas cap is tucked into his belt. Since he was outdoors, he should have been wearing it (the other soldiers in the procession are correctly wearing their helmets).
Factual Mistake
During the scene at Messina, the drum major gives the command: "Forward, March!" which is incorrect. All pipe band commands follow the British model and the correct command would be: "By the right, Quick March!"
Revealing Mistakes
In the latrine scene where British General Montgomery is briefing U.S. General Smith, Montgomery breathes on the mirror to make a mist, then draws two maps of Sicily on it to show Smith two attack options. Afterwards, Smith erases one map for security reasons, but leaves the other one intact.
Revealing Mistakes
When Patton fires his pistol at the German planes, there is no recoil.
Errors in Geography
In one scene, there is a map of Normandy. This map is completely inaccurate. Rather than five beaches (Utah, Omaha, Juno, Sword and Gold), it only shows three, and only has two flags over those three beaches. There is an American flag over Omaha and Utah, a blank space over Juno, and a Union Jack over Gold and Sword.
Errors in Geography
In the opening war scene, set in North Africa, two vultures are shown in the abandoned camp. These are Griffon Vultures which are extremely rare in North Africa (but more common in Spain where the film was shot).
Factual Mistake
Contrary to the way it's portrayed in the film, the controversy over Patton's Knutsford speech was not over his having insulted the Russians (in fact, the Army quickly revised the initial transcript of his remarks to reflect that he had mentioned them). It had to do with his talk of "ruling the world" after the war - members of Congress said he had no business as a general commenting on post-war political affairs, while others objected to the notion of the US, Britain or anyone else "ruling the world."
Factual Mistake
During all battle scenes the sound of distant explosions syncs precisely with the sight of them. This is of course impossible due to the discrepancy between the speeds of light and sound. This goof is made in virtually all war films as well as documentaries where sound is added after the fact.
Factual Mistake
Patton slapped a soldier on two separate occasions, not just one as portrayed in the movie.
Factual Mistake
During the scenes taking place in 1944, there is not one single M4 Sherman tank. The M4 Sherman was the workhorse of the Allies, and was almost the only tank used in World War II from early 1944 on. The tanks used in the film are all post war M47 and M48 Patton tanks, despite showing newsreel footage of Shermans.
Factual Mistake
The prayer for good weather was actually put on the back of a small Christmas card that was printed for the troops on December 11th, five days before the Battle of the Bulge began. The actual prayer contained the words "these immoderate rains" while the movie version said "this immoderate weather."
Factual Mistake
When the HE-111s are attacking, George S. Patton pulls out his 1903 Colt General Officer's Model Pistol, firing nine rounds at the planes. The 1903 General Officer's Model holds 7 rounds in the magazine and 1 in the chamber.
Audio/Video Mismatch
In the scene where the German generals watch the captured newsreel footage of George S. Patton and Omar Bradley landing on Sicily, their dialogue is translated falsely in the subtitles - at no time do they call Patton a 'gangster'. The expression might however be meant as an attempt to convey the impression that Patton's big cigar might leave with German officers.
Audio/Video Mismatch
The bagpipe music starts before the pipers have inflated their bags and struck in.
Character Error
Visiting the Carthaginian ancient battle field in Tunisia, Patton says, "The Arab women stripped the dead soldiers of their clothing." There were no Arabs in Tunisia during the Punic wars. The line is complete fiction, obviously intended to draw parallelism between the ancient Carthaginians and Patton's troops in the first shot of the movie (who were not scavenged by Tunisian civilians in real life either).
Character Error
When George S. Patton arrives in Malta, he makes a speech about the Great Siege of Malta, involving the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. However, he puts the date of this defence as 1528. In fact, the siege took place in 1565 - indeed, the Knights were not granted Malta and Tripoli by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V until 1530. He also gives the figure for the number of defenders as 400 Knights with 800 mercenaries when in fact the accepted number is nearer 9000 in total (including Maltese militia). 40,000 attackers is the highest level of the accepted estimates and the more realistic figure is most likely around 25-30,000.
Character Error
When the British troops parade into Messina, a sign can be seen on the wall saying "Benvenutti amici a Messina", with a spelling error (it should read "Benvenuti"). Arguably plausible, as Sicilians are said (by non-Sicilans) to be poorly educated in spelling.
Character Error
A German soldier writing down the number of casualties is shown marking the thousands with commas, as usual in English. Later, the same soldier is shown using periods for thousands, as a German would.
Character Error
When Patton arrives at II Corps Headquarters near the beginning of the movie, the peasant woman who follows him to the door (holding chickens in her hands) speaks Spanish ("Oiga, oiga...compre gallina.") not Arabic.
Character Error
After Gen Patton fires his pistol at the strafing German bombers, he tucks it into his belt even though he's wearing a shoulder holster for it.
Continuity
When George S. Patton learns he has been relieved of command of the 7th Army, Willie "George" Meeks escorts Patton's aide while wearing Staff Sergeant's stripes. In a later scene when Meeks is waiting for Patton to prepare for bed, Meeks is wearing the stripes of a Sergeant.
Continuity
In Walter Bedell Smith's office, after the Knutsford speech controversy, George S. Patton's left shoulder has no patch on it. When he goes into the hallway to meet his orderly, Meeks, the Seventh Army patch of his last command is there.
Continuity
The scene, where General Fredendall jumps into his jeep after being relieved of his command of II Corps by Gen. Patton, the camera shows two GI's replacing the two star I.D. plates in the front of Patton's vehicle with a 3-star I.D. plate after he self-promoted himself in advance of receiving Senate confirmation. In the next scene shows Patton and Bradley heading toward the battle front on Patton's vehicle until he orders his driver to turn right to head for Carthagenian ruins. It shows that vehicle still had the 2-star I.D. plate that was replaced in the earlier scene.
Continuity
When George S. Patton talks with noncommissioned officers about Bernard L. Montgomery's campaign in Sicily, he has a magnifying glass in his left hand and a cup in his right. He sets down the magnifying glass to hold the cup with his left hand to put it on the table. In the next shot the cup is already on the table and he is holding the magnifying glass with the left hand.
Crew/Equipment Visible
When George S. Patton is directing traffic in the muddy field, one of the tanks that is coming toward the camera is driven by a man wearing civilian clothes and a beret.
Crew/Equipment Visible
As George S. Patton is viewing the battlefield through binoculars and facing the camera, various lights/booms etc are clearly reflected in the binocular lenses.
Crew/Equipment Visible
When Generals Walter Bedell Smith and Bernard L. Montgomery are discussing Sicily in the latrine, the shadow of the cameraman is seen behind Smith.
Trivia:
The ivory-handled revolvers worn by George C. Scott in the opening scene were in fact George S. Patton's bona-fide revolvers.
The movie begins with an opening line of "Ten-hut!", without showing the 20th Century-Fox logo, or any other indication that the film is starting. At military bases across the US theater owners reported that soldiers in the audience would often stand up and snap to attention when they heard the opening line, assuming it to be a real call to attention.
George C. Scott's performance in the film won him the Academy Award for best actor, but he refused to accept it, claiming that competition between actors was unfair and a "meat parade".
When George C. Scott learned that the famous speech in front of the American flag was going to come at the opening of the film, he initially refused to film it. He felt that if they put that scene at the beginning, then the rest of his performance would not live up to that scene. Director Franklin J. Schaffner lied to Scott and told him that the scene would be put at the end of the film.
The real General George S. Patton is said to have had a surprisingly high-pitched voice.
The movie begins with an opening line of "Ten-hut!", without showing the 20th Century-Fox logo, or any other indication that the film is starting. At military bases across the US theater owners reported that soldiers in the audience would often stand up and snap to attention when they heard the opening line, assuming it to be a real call to attention.
George C. Scott's performance in the film won him the Academy Award for best actor, but he refused to accept it, claiming that competition between actors was unfair and a "meat parade".
When George C. Scott learned that the famous speech in front of the American flag was going to come at the opening of the film, he initially refused to film it. He felt that if they put that scene at the beginning, then the rest of his performance would not live up to that scene. Director Franklin J. Schaffner lied to Scott and told him that the scene would be put at the end of the film.
The real General George S. Patton is said to have had a surprisingly high-pitched voice.
