No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2014)

This film is not a full biography of General George S. Patton; it contains nothing about Patton's early years or his military service prior to World War II. It opens with a highly theatrical opening monologue, delivered by Scott in front of a huge American flag, based on Patton's famous speech to the Third Army. ("No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.") It then follows his wartime career in North Africa, Sicily, France and Germany, but omits his death in a road accident a few months after the end of the war.
There can be no doubt that General Patton was a highly complex character. He was a brilliant tactical commander and the Allied general most feared by their German opponents, who could not understand why Eisenhower rather than Patton was chosen to command the Allied invasion of Europe. His American and British colleagues, however, did not esteem him so highly, regarding him as rash, unpredictable, quick-tempered and too prone to take risks. Patton, in turn, had an equally low opinion of his colleagues; a theme running throughout the film is his feud with the British General Montgomery. Eisenhower does not appear, but we are left in no doubt that Patton did not esteem him any more highly than he did Monty. He is, however, shown as having a grudging respect for his second-in-command General Omar Bradley, even though Bradley's cautious temperament is the polar opposite of Patton's own. (In reality the two men appear to have detested one another, but Bradley was acting as military adviser to the production, so the film-makers doubtless wanted to portray him in a good light).
Another contradiction in Patton's character is shown in his religious views. He claims to be a devout Christian, but nevertheless believes firmly in reincarnation, which is not part of the Christian faith. (He claims to have fought, in one incarnation or another, in most of the great battles in history). His attitude to war, moreover, seems to go far beyond the traditional Christian doctrine of the "Just War" and comes perilously close to relishing warfare for its own sake. He was notoriously foul-mouthed and his inability to control his temper was shown in two separate incidents in which he slapped soldiers whom he regarded as guilty of cowardice; these incidents, which are combined into a single incident in the film, led to him being relieved of his command.
George C. Scott famously refused the Oscar he won for "Patton". He had, in fact, objected to his nomination, saying that he disliked the concept of acting competitions because he did not consider himself to be in competition with other actors and that he would not accept the award if he won. The Academy, however, still insisted upon voting him "Best Actor", and the record books show that he won the award in 1970. It might have been more appropriate if the Academy had respected Scott's wishes, withdrawn his name from the nominations and given the award to some other actor. (My nomination would have been Jack Nicholson for "Five Easy Pieces").
With all due respect to Scott's principled stand, there can be no doubt that his performance was worthy of an Oscar. Patton could easily have emerged from a filmed biography simply as a one- dimensional monster, but Scott manages to unite all the many facets of the General's personality into a fully rounded portrait of a complex human being, completely dominating the picture with his commanding presence. Karl Malden has the rather thankless task of playing the much quieter, more restrained Bradley, but succeeds well enough to avoid being totally eclipsed.
"Best Actor" was not the only Oscar won by "Patton"; it also won six others, including "Best Director" for Franklin J. Schaffner and "Best Picture". 1970 was perhaps not the greatest year in movie history- it was, after all, the year in which a film as weak as "Love Story" could receive a "Best Picture" nomination- but "Patton" might have had a worthy rival in the shape of "Ryan's Daughter". For some reason, however, David Lean's film was not even nominated, and "Patton" was certainly the best of the five nominees. Its success does not rest on Scott alone; its other merits include a fine musical score by Jerry Goldsmith and some strikingly vivid battle scenes.
Frank McCarthy, the producer of "Patton", was later to produce "MacArthur", another biography of a controversial American commander from World War II. "MacArthur", however, is today largely forgotten, possibly because of the miscasting of Gregory Peck in the central role. Scott, however, has helped to raise "Patton" to the status of an American classic and its main character to the status of American folk hero. It is perhaps the greatest of all military biopics. 8/10