Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

mark.waltz Every military archetype is present in this pre-Pearl Harbor training drama that prepared the future "boys over there" just in case. Of course, just in case was can obvious foregone conclusion, so it was just a matter of time and circumstances. Reminding me of the later Pine-Thomas programmers that covered every part of military life without giving away military secrets. These war pictures were important for the parents of the young men going off to an unknown future, not just propaganda but important morale boosters as well.The four young men going into the parachute battalion are as different as different can be. Cocky Robert Preston is the pompous joker of the bunch, while Edmund O'Brien is a commanders son who is a recovering alcoholic. Sweet faced Richard Carlson is a secret coward whose inner tension builds up to being revealed in the film's key scene. Future Jed Clampett Buddy Ebsen is playing a younger version of his hillbilly character, making him the comic relief. Aboard the train to training camp, they meet pretty Nancy Kelly and her gruff father (an excellent Harry Carey), unaware of O'Brien's struggles, but preferring him over the obnoxious Preston who takes an instant dislike to him as well. Is it any real surprise that Carey ends up being their trainer? Mixing the description of parachute battalion training (through stock footage, training films and newly photographed sequences) and romantic complications, this is not bad, but oh so familiar. Of the four young men, O'Brien and Cromwell play the more well defined characters, while Preston and Ebsen are simply "types" and not really given story. Preston does lead a drill much like he would years later lead the boys band in "The Music Man", and Ebsen shows off his rubber legged dancing in one brief sequence as well. It all culminates in a faked battle sequence for training where Ebsen confronts the other soldier he has been searching for ever since the film began for seemingly ridiculous reasons. Absolutely worth catching, but definitely leaves the viewer wanting something a little more substantial once it is all over.

MartinHafer Just before the US entered WWII, quite a few patriotic films were made by Hollywood showcasing the various duties of its armed forces. Some (such as "Caught in the Draft" and "Buck Privates") were comedies others were not ("Dive Bomber" and "I wanted Wings"). But all were films with a message--it's patriotic and important to become part of these fighting units. "Parachute Battalion" is such a film and it debuted several months before Pearl Harbor.The film is about a small group of men who volunteer for the paratroopers. Not surprisingly, it's a scary proposition jumping out of airplanes and the film shows their progress through this school. There are four fellows in particular that they showcase: a brash All-American football player (Robert Preston), the son of the base commander who is keeping his identity secret from his follow soldiers (Edmond O'Brien), comic relief (Buddy Ebsen) and a guy scared out of his wits (Richard Cromwell). All must prove themselves as they progress through camp.So why did I score such a routine with a very high score of 8? One reason is that the men are NOT uniformly perfect--one clearly cracks up and another is close. Such fallibility probably would have NOT been in the film had it been made once the US was in the war--and it adds to the realism. But the biggest reason I liked the film is that little stock footage was used and what was used fit seamlessly into the movie. All too often, crappy, grainy footage is shoved into such films--but here you actually see the actors doing much of the work. Overall, it is an interesting little film--and a nice chance to see a young Edmond O'Brien in an early starring role.

Spuzzlightyear This curious movie, which seems to be part documentary and part drama, tells of three individuals who have signed up for a parachute battalion. This film almost gives the VIEWER a heads up on what it takes to train to drop your parachute. Everything from Jumping exercises to height practice to even detailed instruction on how to pack a parachute! Oh yeah, two of the squad have a bit of a spat over a girl, but the main plot is about the training. What's so curious is that the film was made with the National Paratroopers Batallion in America, but shows some curious habits of the paratroopers that almost put them in a bad light. I'm talking of course of the captain pushing off a scared paratrooper off a plane for his solo flight, and another scene where another scared paratrooper pulls a gun on the plane (!!) and tells them HE'S NOT JUMPING!! Anyways, that's all forgotten of course, because any film that has Buddy Ebsen dancing and doing comedy is fine by me J

dickod "Parachute Battalion" was filmed with members of the 501st Parachute Battalion performing the actual jump scenes, etc. A member of my family was in the 501st and was killed on D-day after jumping into Normandy. On the very off-chance that he might be seen in the movie backdrop, I would like to be able to view a video of it but cannot locate a copy. Can anyone help me in this regard?