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FightenIrish35

My father told me today that he passed. Im only 21 but ive seen a few of his movies,and they are all very well played.I actaully saw one of his movies for the first time about 2 months ago.He will be missed.

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My father told me today that he passed. Im only 21 but ive seen a few of his movies,and they are all very well played.I actaully saw one of his movies for the first time about 2 months ago.He will be missed.

 

 

Michael,

 

You have to watch "Battleground". One of the best WWII movies of the period, and for my money, one of the best ever. thumbsup.gif

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A head injury exempted him from military service in WWII.

 

Here's a few of his films

 

30tok.jpg

 

caine.jpg

 

battleground.jpg

 

gobroke.jpg

 

and a scene from Go For Broke

 

gobroke2.jpg

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FightenIrish35

Ill have to buy the Battleground one next time out...Thirty seconds over Tokyo is one of the ones i saw I just couldnt rember the name...Great movie

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Battle Ground and Go For Broke are two of my favorite WW2 films.

 

If you haven't seen either of them you should.

 

RIP Van, your work lives on. 92 wasn't a bad innings.

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craig_pickrall

I think after my wife goes to work tonight I'll break out Battleground and watch it again for the 100th time. Might even do a double feature and follow up with Go For Broke. He was in some of the very best WW2 movies that are still great today. The big decision is whether to watch the B&W or the colorized copies.

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I have watched Battleground every night this past week even before his death. Honestly when I was watching it, I didnt even know he was still alive.

I really was sad when I heard the news. He was involved in alot of great WWII Movies. I didnt know that James Arness was in Battleground too. He was actually in alot of heavy combat during WWII.

I read that Van Johnson had a bad car wreck in 1943 and the doctors had to put a metal plate in his head and that is what kept him out of the service during WWII.

I think he did his part with all of the movies he did to keep the american spirit alive.

I get really sad thinking about how that generation's chapter is slowing closing and is just about closed. That is why each and every day I try to do something for the men and women who sacrificed back then.

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Besides the ones shown above, Johnson appeared in uniform in several other films including some that were released in other languages. Unlike the "war movies" shown above, this batch is basically about GI's and dames (as they used to say.....)

 

Here he is in Weekend At the Waldorf:

 

waldorf.jpg

 

duas.jpg

 

paris.jpg

 

miracle.jpg

 

And here's yet another one showing heroic officers staring into the distance:

 

commanddec.jpg

 

to wit:

 

stare.jpg

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One of the greats of Hollywood. I must've written Johnson ten letters as a kid asking for his autograph (... he never wrote back). In any event, he had a long, full life and that's certainly enough to be thankful for. The Caine Mutiny is one of the best films I've ever seen.

 

 

Beau

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Van Johnson participated of 03 of the best war films made already (in my opinion):

 

1. Battleground

2. Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

3. Command Decision

4. Battle of Britain

5. Das Boot

6. A Bridge Too Far

7. Stalingrad

8. The Big Scape

9. Twelve O'Clock High

10. The Longest Day

 

RIP!!!

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  • 1 month later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Strangely enough, two more actors from Battleground have passed away in less than two months:

 

Van Johnson – December 12, 2008

 

Ricardo Montalbán - January 14, 2009

 

James Whitmore – February 6, 2009

 

:(

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  • 9 years later...

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