A Bridge Too Far (film)
| A Bridge Too Far | |
|---|---|
 original film poster | |
| Directed by | Richard Attenborough |
| Written by | Cornelius Ryan (book) William Goldman (screenplay) |
| Produced by | Joseph E. Levine, Richard Levine |
| Starring | Dirk Bogarde James Caan Michael Caine Sean Connery Edward Fox Anthony Hopkins Hardy Krüger Laurence Olivier Robert Redford Maximilian Schell |
| Cinematography | Geoffrey Unsworth, BSC |
| Edited by | Antony Gibbs |
| Music by | John Addison |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date | June 15, 1977 |
Running time | 176 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $22 million |
A Bridge Too Far is a 1977 epic war film based on the 1974 book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan, adapted by William Goldman. It was produced by Joseph E. Levine and Richard P. Levine and directed by Richard Attenborough.[1]
The film tells the story of Operation Market-Garden, and its ultimate failure, the Allied attempt to break through German lines and seize several bridges, with the main objective the bridge over the Lower Rhine (Neder Rijn) River, in the occupied Netherlands during World War II. The name for the film comes from a comment made by British Lieutenant-General Frederick A.M. Browning, deputy commander of the First Allied Airborne Army, who told Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, the operation's architect, before the operation, "I think we may be going a bridge too far."[2]
The ensemble cast includes Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Elliott Gould, Edward Fox, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Kemp, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Liv Ullmann, Maximilian Schell, Hardy Krüger and Ryan O'Neal. The music for the film was scored by John Addison, who was a soldier with the British XXX Corps during Operation Market Garden.[3]
Plot summary
Introduction and planning
The film begins with a montage of actual archival film footage and narrated by a Dutch woman, Kate Ter Horst (Liv Ullmann), describing the state of affairs five years into the war. D-Day had come and gone and the Allies are bogged down by overextended supply lines. Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower had to decide between U.S. General George S. Patton and British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, each of whom had competing plans for ending the war quickly, and being the first to get to Berlin. Under political pressure, Eisenhower chose Montgomery's Operation Market Garden. In September, 1944, the Allies are advancing but have paused in Belgium, near Lommel.
A Dutch family, part of the Dutch resistance underground, observes the German withdrawal toward Germany and awaits the impending arrival of Allied forces. Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt (Wolfgang Preiss) arrives in the Netherlands and discovers he has few resources in men or equipment and morale is very poor. The underground resistance leader (Siem Vroom), along with his 13-year old son (Erik van 't Wout), keep careful notes of German troops evacuating throughout Arnhem, information he will later pass on to the Dutch resistance.
Operation Market Garden envisions 35,000 men being flown 300 miles from air bases in England and being dropped as much as 64 miles behind enemy lines in the Netherlands. The largest airborne assault ever attempted, with Browning saying that "We're going to lay a carpet, as it were, of airborne troops, over which 30th corps can pass."[4], and confidently suggests that "We shall seize the bridges - it's all a question of bridges - with thunderclap surprise, and hold them until they can be secured."[5] by Allied mechanized units, the 20,000 vehicles led by XXX Corps. Arnhem's bridge crosses the Lower Rhine (Neder Rijn) River, the last major river between the Allies and the German heartland, and seizure of the bridge will allow vast Allied armies to turn east into Germany.
The plan is to begin in seven days time, and for XXX Corps to reach Arnhem two days after the drop. The U.S. 101st Airborne Division, under Major General Maxwell D. Taylor (Paul Maxwell), is responsible for the road and bridges from the north side of Eindhoven to the south side of the Maas (Meuse) River at Grave. The U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, under Brigadier General James M. Gavin (Ryan O'Neal) is responsible for the bridge crossing the Maas, and from the north side of the Maas to the north side of the Waal River bridge, just north of Nijmegen. The 1st British Airborne, under Major-General Robert E. Urquhart (Sean Connery) is to land northwest of Oosterbeek, and take and hold the north side of the Lower Rhine River to the bridge at Arnhem. The Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, Polish Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski (Gene Hackman), are to secure the south side of the Lower Rhine and make contact with Lieutenant-Colonel John Dutton Frost (Anthony Hopkins), and Second Battalion, who is to work his way east along the banks of the river. XXX Corps, lead by Lieutenant-General Brian G. Horrocks (Edward Fox), and spearheaded by Lieutenant-Colonel John O.E. Vandeleur (Michael Caine) on point, are to cross the Maas-Schelde Canal on the north side of Lommel and push up the road, as quickly as possible, to Arnhem. Hooking up, and linking, with the U.S. 101st, U.S. 82nd, and finally British 1st, at the Lower Rhine River bridge.
Field Marshal von Rundstedt and Field Marshal Walter Model (Walter Kohut) agree that American General Patton will be chosen to invade the Netherlands. SS-Lieutenant General Wilhelm Bittrich's (Maximilian Schell) II SS Panzer Corps (includes 9th SS and 10th SS Panzer divisions) is due for a rest, off the front lines. Rundstedt suggest they be pulled back to Arnhem and Model agrees.
Polish Major General Sosabowski (Gene Hackman) remains silent during the Market Garden command briefing, after which he voices his deep doubts that the plan can work. He is one of two dissident voices that are shuttled aside but correctly forecast defeat. American command worries about parachuting in daylight (no major drop had been previously attempted) but note it is a "no moon period" anyway meaning a night drop would be difficult.
The Dutch teenager manages to pass through German lines and discover that Field Marshal Model is at the German command HQ, an important bit of information for the underground because Model is a prominent figure and is always accompanied by German troops.
A young British intelligence officer, Major Fuller (in the film; actually Brian Urquhart; played by Frank Grimes), asks the British commander, Lieutenant-General Frederick A.M. Browning (Dirk Bogarde), to allow another low level reconnaissance mission of the Arnhem area. This follows after he disagrees with the general consensus among the British top brass that resistance will consist entirely of "Hitler Youth or old men".[6] His request is granted.
British commanders planning the drop note that they are badly short of transport aircraft and the area near Arnhem is ill-suited for a landing. They will have to land in an open area eight miles (13 km) from the bridge. Sosabowski walks up to check the R.A.F briefing officer's (Jeremy Kemp) uniform insignia and says "Just making sure whose side you're on."
In a briefing led by General Urquhart (Sean Connery), describing 1st British Airborne plan at Arnhem, tells that the key for the eight mile distance from the drop zone to the bridge, is the use of gliders to bring in a special reconnaissance squadron with Jeeps, and mounted with twin Vickers machine guns. Everyone at the briefing is surprised they are going to attempt a landing so far from the bridge, but of course they have to make the best of it. Browning lays out that if any one group fails, the entire operation fails. As British officers, they keep a "stiff upper lip" and do not question their orders. Sosabowski thinks about asking for a letter from General Browning (Dirk Bogarde), stating that he is being forced to act under Browning's order in case his men are massacred.
British technical support preparing the portable radios for the mission note they are not likely to work for the long distance from the drop zone to the Arnhem bridge. Lieutenant Cole (Peter Settelen) who used the radio equipment in the desert of North Africa, had no trouble with it. But, Cole's superior, Major Robert Steele (Stephen Moore) thinks that the water and trees of Holland will cause the radios not to work. As with most others with doubts about the mission, they choose not to rock the boat and do not convey their concerns up the chain of command.
Learning a German armored (Panzer) division might be near the Arnhem area, intelligence officer Major Fuller (Frank Grimes) brings the reconnaissance photos to General Browning and it is quite clear German tanks are present at Arnhem. Browning speculates the tanks are not in fully serviceable condition, dismisses the photos, and also ignores the confirmation reports from the Dutch underground. Browning does not want to be the one to tell Montgomery of any doubts because 16 consecutive previous airborne drop operations have been canceled. Major Fuller's concerns are brushed off and he is actually removed from duty, and informed by a British doctor (Gerald Sim) whose diagnosis is that the officer is too stressed to perform his duties.
At the ground forces (XXX Corps) briefing, the overall plan is outlined, laying out the bridges that will be taken by the paratroopers, held and then secured by ground forces. Speed is the vital factor. Arnhem must be reached within 2–3 days. It is the crucial bridge, the last means of escape for the German forces in the Netherlands and an excellent route to Germany for Allied forces who hope to finish the war by Christmas. The major road that connects Lommel with Arnhem (Lommel-Valkenswaard-Eindhoven-Son-Veghel-Uden-Grave-Nijmegen-Elst-Arnhem) is only a single highway linking the various key bridges. It is passable for two regular cars, but trucks and tanks have to squeeze to the shoulder to pass. The road is also elevated, approximately three to six feet, causing anything moving on the road to stand out.
Operation begins
The initial phases of Market Garden go as planned, the airborne drops catch the Germans totally by surprise, and there is little to no resistance. Additionally there are no Axis aircraft to push the troop transports off their landing zones. Most of the men come down in soft, plowed fields. The drop for the 101st was the best they had during the war. The men were more likely to get hit by falling equipment than get shot by the Germans. Model, thinking that the Allies must be trying to capture him personally, doesn't think about the bridge, but retreats from Arnhem. General Gavin (Ryan O'Neal) breaks two discs in his back during his landing. The special reconnaissance squadron, is lead by Freddie Gough, with the special Jeeps (with Vickers machine guns), some of which either didn't arrive by gliders at all or were shot up in an ambush. Meanwhile, Bittrich and his subordinate, General Ludwig (Hardy Krüger), realize the situation and send forces to reinforce Nijmegen and Arnhem. When a German soldier captures the actual plans for Market Garden from an abandoned glider, Model brushes them off as fake, but still knows they will be able to repel the paratroopers.
Expected German resistance begins slowing XXX Corps' progress immediately, and they do not arrive in Eindhoven when planned. The advance is also curtailed by the narrow highway. As the 506th of the 101st, led by Colonel Robert Stout (Elliott Gould), approaches the bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal, at Son (Zon), German 88 mm guns hold them off until the bridge is blown up. It takes 36 hours to bring up Bailey bridging equipment and construct a bridge. XXX Corp meets up with the 82nd Airborne Division in Nijmegen, where part of the division, led by US Major Julian Cook (Robert Redford), is forced to perform a dangerous daylight river crossing in flimsy canvas-and-wood assault boats. As the British cross the bridge, the Germans attempt to destroy it, but fail. However, it makes no difference: the XXX Corps' progress is still slow and the Germans close in on the 1st Airborne, as they were not expecting to fight two SS Panzer Divisions. British paratroopers do take and occupy parts of Arnhem, but can only hold so long. The initial German attack on the paratroopers is repelled with many German casualties, but they are still hard-pressed. British Armour continues to fight its way up the corridor, but is hopelessly delayed by various events.
Operation ends
After securing Nijmegen Bridge, XXX Corps waits several hours for its infantry forces to finish securing the town. Sosabowksi's troops attempt to rescue the British in Arnhem, but fail. After days of house-to-house fighting in Arnhem, paratroops versus crack SS infantry and Panzers, the paras are either captured or forced to withdraw. The dialogue between Frost and Model's adjutant requesting surrender [7] and getting a reply "We haven't the proper facilities to take you all prisoner. Sorry.", however never took place. Instead Obersturmbannführer Heinz Harmel, commander of the 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg, selected a British prisoner, Sergeant Stanley Halliwell [8], and sent him into the British perimeter to request that Frost surrender his forces. After arriving, Halliwell explained what Harmel wants; Frost gave Halliwell a message for Harmel to “Go to hell.”, as is portrayed in the movie. Halliwell then told Frost, “If it’s all the same to you, Colonel, I’ll stay. Jerry [the Germans] will get the message sooner or later.”[9] Operation Market Garden has failed. Urquhart manages to escape capture with two thousand of his troops and confronts Browning about his personal feeling about the operation, which was determined to have been 90% successful. Browning replies "I always felt we tried to take it a bridge too far."
Production notes
Air filming was done in the first weeks of September 1976, culminating in a series of air drops of a total of 1,000 men, together with the dropping of supplies from a number of Dakota aircraft. The Daks were gathered by the film company Joseph E. Levine Presents Incorporated. All aircraft were required to be CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) or FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) registered and licensed to carry passengers. An original deal for the purchase of ten fell through when two airframes were rejected as passenger configured without the necessary jump doors. Eleven Dakotas were procured. Two Portuguese, ex-Portuguese Air Force, 6153, and 6171, (N9984Q and N9983Q), and two Air International Dakotas, operating from Djibouti in French Somaliland, F-OCKU and F-OCKX, (N9985Q and N9986Q) were purchased by Joseph E. Levine. Three Danish Air Force, K-685, K-687, and K-688, and four Finnish Air Force C-47s, DO-4, DO-7, DO-10 and DO-12, were loaned for the duration of the parachute filming.
Aircraft 6171 doubled as the camera ship on most formations, with a camouflaged Piper Aztec, G-AWDI. A camera was mounted in the astrodome, one on the port upper mainplane surface, with a third camera on the outside of the forward port cabin window and a fourth under the aircraft centre section. In addition, centre escape hatches were removed to make additional camera ports available, provided that no troops were aboard during filming. A second Aztec, G-ASND, was a back-up camera ship on some shots, but it was not camouflaged. An Alouette, G-BDWN, was also employed. After a mishap with G-AWDI, two locally-hired Cessna 172s, PH-GVP and PH-ADF, were also used. Ten Horsa glider replicas were built, but a windstorm damaged almost all of them. Seven or eight were hastily repaired for the shoot. Dakota 6153 was fitted with tow gear and Horsa replicas were towed at high speed, though none went airborne. A two-seat Blaník sailplane, provided by a member of the London Gliding Club, Dunstable, was towed aloft for the interior take-off shots.
Four Harvards portrayed American and German fighters. Their original identities were PH-KLU, PH-BKT, B-64 and B-118, the latter two aircraft loaned by the Royal Netherlands Air Force. These were flown by members of the Gilze Rijen Aero Club, which also provided an Auster III, PH-NGK, which depicted an Auster V, RT607, in wartime camouflage. Spitfire Mk. IX, MH434, depicting a photo reconnaissance variant, coded AC-S, was lent by the Hon. Patrick Lindsay, and was flown by aerobatic champion Neil Williams.[10]
The scenes around the 'Arnhem' bridge were actually shot in Deventer, where a similar bridge over the IJssel was still available. Although the original bridge in Arnhem still existed, it was by the mid-1970s sitting in a modern urban surroundings which could not be used to portray a 1940s city. A few scenes were shot in Zutphen, where the old municipality house (a white building which in the film featured the Nazi command centre) and the main church can be seen.
The movie's treatment of military history is somewhat misleading compared to the original book; in particular, the reasons for the delay in XXX Corps reaching the Arnhem bridge, which led to the failure of the attack, differ considerably from the book.
According to an episode of the Dutch TV history programme Andere Tijden (site in Dutch) (English: Different Times) about the making of this movie, the producer Joseph E. Levine told the Deventer town government that their town should host the world premiere for A Bridge Too Far, on June 14, 1977. This never came to be, though, and Deventer even missed out on the Dutch premiere, which was held in Amsterdam.
Military consultants
- Major General John Dutton Frost
- General James M. Gavin
- Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks
- Major General Roy Urquhart
- Brigadier J.O.E. Vandeleur
Source: Goldman, William Goldman's Story of a Bridge Too Far
Cast and roles (Allies)
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Dirk Bogarde | Lt. Gen. Frederick Browning, British Army |
| James Caan | Ssg. Eddie Dohun (based on Charles Dohun), U.S. Army |
| Michael Caine | Lt. Col. J.O.E. Vandeleur, British Army |
| Michael Byrne | Lt. Col. Giles Vandeleur, British Army |
| Sean Connery | Maj. Gen. Roy Urquhart, British Army |
| Edward Fox | Lt. Gen. Brian Horrocks, British Army |
| Elliot Gould | Col. Robert Stout (based on Robert Sink), U.S. Army |
| Gene Hackman | Maj. Gen. Stanisław Sosabowski, Polish Armed Forces |
| Anthony Hopkins | Lt. Col. John Frost, British Army |
| Ryan O'Neal | Brig. Gen. James Gavin, U.S. Army |
| Robert Redford | Maj. Julian Cook, U.S. Army |
| Denholm Elliott | RAF meteorologist officer |
| Peter Faber | Capt. Arie D. "Harry" Bestebreurtje[11] |
| Christopher Good | Maj. Carlyle (based on Maj. A. Digby Tatham-Warter), British Army [12] |
| Frank Grimes | Maj. Fuller (based on Brian Urquhart), British Army |
| Jeremy Kemp | RAF briefing officer |
| Nicholas Campbell | Capt. Glass, based on Captain LeGrand King "Legs" Johnson was company commander of F/502[13] |
| Paul Copley | Pvt. Wicks, British Army |
| Donald Douglas | Brig. Gerald Lathbury, British Army |
| Keith Drinkel | Lt. Cornish, British Army |
| Colin Farrell | Cpl. Hancock, British Army |
| Richard Kane | Col. Weaver (based on Graeme Warrack), British Army |
| Paul Maxwell | Maj. Gen. Maxwell Taylor, U.S. Army |
| Stephen Moore | Maj. Robert Steele, British Army |
| Donald Pickering | Lt. Col. Mackenzie, British Army |
| Gerald Sim | Col. Sims, British Army |
| John Stride | Grenadier Guards major |
| Alun Armstrong | Cpl. Davies, British Army |
| David Auker | 'Taffy' Brace |
| Michael Bangerter | British staff colonel |
| Michael Graham Cox | Capt. Cleminson, British Army |
| Garrick Hagon | Lt. Rafferty, U.S. Army |
| John Ratzenberger | Lt. U.S. Army |
Source: A Bridge Too Far at IMDb
Cast and roles (Germans)
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Hardy Krüger | SS-Brigadeführer Ludwig |
| Maximilian Schell | SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Bittrich |
| Wolfgang Preiss | Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt |
| Walter Kohut | Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model |
| Hartmut Becker | German sentry |
| Hans von Borsody | General der Infanterie Günther Blumentritt |
| Lex van Delden | SS-Oberscharführer Matthias |
| Fred Williams | SS-Hauptsturmführer Viktor Eberhard Gräbner |
Source: A Bridge Too Far at IMDb
Cast and roles (Dutch)
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Laurence Olivier | Dr. Jan Spaander |
| Liv Ullmann | Kate ter Horst |
| Siem Vroom | Underground leader |
| Erik van 't Wout | Underground leader's son |
| Marlies van Alcmaer | Underground leader's wife |
| Mary Smithuysen | Old Dutch lady |
| Hans Croiset | Old Dutch lady's son |
| Josephine Peeper | Cafe waitress |
| Erik Chitty | Organist |
Source: A Bridge Too Far at IMDb
Facts and figures
 | This May, 2009 contains a list of miscellaneous information. (May 2009) |
- Joseph E. Levine financed the $22 million budget himself. During the production, he would show footage from the film to distributors who would then pay him for distribution rights. By the time the film was finished, Levine had raised $26 million, putting the film $4 million in the black before it had even opened.
- To tempt the distributors, Levine needed to assemble an all-star cast. The principal players were paid $250,000 a week, though Sean Connery held out for a total of $750,000. The part of Major Cook came down to a choice between the two biggest box office stars, Steve McQueen and Robert Redford. Attenborough pushed for McQueen, with whom he had worked as an actor on The Sand Pebbles and The Great Escape. But McQueen wanted $3 million, plus $50,000 for his entourage, $470,000 to buy a house he couldn't sell and to have his part scheduled so he could immediately begin production on another film for which he was being paid $3 million. Levine turned him down and Redford agreed to play the part for $2 million.[1]
- Shooting of the American-led assault on the Bridge at Nijmegen was dubbed the “Million-Dollar Hour”. Because of the heavy traffic, they had permission to film on the bridge between eight and nine o'clock on the 3 October 1976, and if they couldn't shoot the scene, they would have to reschedule at a cost — including Redford's overtime — of at least a million dollars. For this reason, Attenborough insisted that all actors playing corpses keep their eyes closed.[1]
- Michael Caine's scripted line to order the column of tanks and armoured cars into battle, was "Forward, go, charge". Luckily for Caine, Lieutenant Colonel Joe Vandeleur was on the set, so he could ask him what the actual line was. Vandeleur told him, "I just said quietly into the microphone, 'Well, get a move on, then'", which is what Caine says in the film as released. Vandeleur was apparently enamoured of Caine playing him, telling him that he was taller and more handsome than in reality.
- Steven Spielberg's idea for putting his Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers actors through boot camp was originally done by Attenborough for this film. Attenborough put many of the extras/soldiers through a mini-boot camp and even had them housed in a barracks of sorts during filming.
Reception
Reviews of A Bridge too Far have been mixed, but it holds a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a 2 out of 4 stars. Dennis Schwartz of Ozus World Movie Reviews graded the film C+ and wrote "Though overlong, muddled, ponderous and overbaked, it's not without some impressive moments. Steve Crum of Video-Review Master gave the film a 3 out of 5 stars, and wrote "Dozens of stars do not a classic WWII flick make. James Caan fares the best of them all in a memorable sequence. Emanuel Levy of Emanuel Levy.com gave a negative reveiw of 2 out of 5 stars. However James Rocchi of Netflix gave the film a perfect 5 out of 5 stars. Peter Canavese of Groucho reveiws gave the movie a positive review of 3.5 out of 4 stars.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Goldman 1975
- ^ Ryan 1974, p. 67
- ^ A Bridge Too Far at IMDb
- ^ 00:11:37,480 frames 93/94
- ^ 00:11:41,280 frames 94/95
- ^ 00:17:21,120 frames 177/178
- ^ 01:55:06 frames 934/935
- ^ 1st Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers
- ^ p.356, Arthur
- ^ Hurst, Flt. Lt. K.J., DC-3 Project Officer for the film; AIR International, July 1977, Volume 13, Number 1, p. 33-34, Talkback column
- ^ Capt. Arie D. Bestebreurtje, Office of Strategic Services [1]
- ^ The character of Major Carlyle depicts commander of A Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion, Major Allison Digby Tatham-Warter. He did not die of wounds at at Brigade HQ, but was taken prisoner, moved to the St. Elizabeth Hospital, and later conducted an escape Operation Pagasus with the Dutch Resistance to bring out 138 escapees of the battle, and returning to his post with the remnants of his Company Evasion Report: 21st September - 23rd October 1944 [2]
- ^ He was initially wounded by a rifle bullet in the right shoulder. The following is taken from War Stories website [3] History vs Hollywood - Captain Legs Johnson "Medics made him lie down and set up an IV with plasma flowing into him. Medical jeeps bearing stretchers were evacuating wounded two at a time, to a field hospital in Son. Since many of the wounded were hit more seriously than himself, Legs kept delaying his own evacuation, telling the medics to convey the others first. Even when Legs was finally loaded, he was still telling them to delay and take others. Against his objections, he was placed across the hood of the Jeep on a stretcher and then the Jeep scratched-off, headed for Son.
At that time, a German MG42 machinegun fired at the Jeep from over 500 yards distance. One round entered Legs' helmet and tore into his head. He lost consciousness and would not wake -up until weeks later.
At the hospital in Son, Legs was briefly examined and since he was unconscious and his brains were exposed, he was relegated to the 'dead pile' of troopers who were wounded so seriously that they had no chance to survive.
Later that afternoon, Sgt Charles Dohun (Hollywood changed his first name to EDDIE), who was Legs' runner [orderly] wandered over to the hospital for a specific purpose. He knew that the captain had a substantial amount of cash in his billfold and he didn't want a stranger from another unit to get it.
Dohun spotted Captain Johnson in the dead pile and examined him-when he discovered that Legs was still breathing, he carried him into an operating room and ordered the surgeon to save him. When the doctor refused, Dohun pointed a souvenir Luger at him and threatened to shoot him (he did not use a .45 as shown in 'A Bridge Too Far', but a .45 looks more impressive).
The operation was successful. "Legs" regained consciousness six weeks later in a hospital, "deaf, dumb, blind, and with a steel plate in my head." As of this writing (October, 2005), Legs is still alive in Florida. Charles Dohun survived WW2 and lived in N.C. until his death about 15 years ago. Regarding the Hollywood Depiction
When I interviewed Legs Johnson in the late 1990's, he commented on how he and Sgt Dohun were portrayed in 'A Bridge Too Far', the 1977 Hollywood version of Cornelius Ryan's book about Operation Market Garden.
"Legs" said :"In the movie, I was a little, scared guy, and Dohun was a great big guy. Hell, in real life I would've made TWO of Dohun."
Cornelius Ryan described in his book, how Sgt Dohun was placed under arrest for threatening to shoot the surgeon. I have not learned the identity of that doctor, but he did NOT pardon the sgt, as shown in the film. Sgt Dohun was taken before LTC Steve Chappuis (later Brigadier General (Ret.) Steve A. Chappuis), the 2/502 C.O. and "Silent Steve" placed him under arrest for one minute. As Dohun stood at attention before his desk, the LTC looked at his watch for sixty seconds, then told Dohun he could go.
Captain Hugh 'Duke' Roberts, the second battalion S-1 of the 502 PIR, was among the few indiividuals who knew the story of how Dohun had ordered the doctor to perform the operation, at gunpoint. Duke wrote a letter to Mrs Johnson,(Legs' wife), explaining how Sgt Dohun had been responsible for saving his life. When Cornelius Ryan was researching 'A Bridge Too Far', Mrs Johnson sent that letter to Ryan, which is how the author became aware of the story.
References
- Arthur, Max, Forgotten Voices of the Second World War: A new history of world war two in the words of the men and women who were there, Ebury Press, 2004
- Goldman, William (1977). William Goldman's Story of a Bridge Too Far. Coronet Books. ISBN 0-340-22340-5. [NB: Book has no page numbers]
- Ryan, Cornelius (1974). A Bridge Too Far. Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 0-340-19941-5.
{{cite book}}: Text "London" ignored (help) - Waddy, Colonel John (1977). "The Making of a Bridge Too Far". After the Battle (17). London: Plaistow Press: pp. 10-34.
{{cite journal}}:|pages=has extra text (help)