The Last Blitzkrieg (Columbia Pictures) (1959)

(Mat 2-A; Still No. R-7) Van Johnson, in his greatest role since “Battleground,” stars and Lise Bourdin is featured in “The Last Blitzkrieg,’ Columbia Pictures’ drama of how saboteurs spread terror behind Allied lines during the last days of World War II. Kerwin Mathews and Dick York co-star. (Hitler’s Horror Hoax) The authentic story, never before revealed, of the Nazi efforts to spread terror behind the American lines in the last weeks of December, 1944, when the Allied offensive had ground to a halt in the Ardennes Forest, has been told in Columbia Pictures’ “The Last Blitzkrieg,” starring Van Johnson at the ................ Theatre. Kerwin Mathews and Dick York co-star in the film, drama of the Battle of the Bulge. General Von Rundstedt, commanding the German armies, used specially trained commandoes to create chaos and to commit sabotage and murder behind the American lines. These commandoes had been trained by Colonel Otto Skorzeny, the German officer who engineered the _ spectacular escape of Mussolini, half a year before, from Allied forces in Italy. Dressed in GI _ uniforms, these commandoes’ were dropped behind the line and infiltrated positions held by the American Army. Helped by a thick fog, they were able to cut several supply lines for a couple of days. American units lost contact with their main forces. Food and ammunition became scarce and, until the fog lifted, sabotage and murder were possible in the confusion. The Ardennes area where the story takes place covers the whole territory of Luxembourg, the southwestern part of Belgium and stretches out as far as the southern part of Holand. It was the latter area that was chosen by producer Sam Katzman and director Arthur Dreifuss for location shooting. (Van Johnson) Van Johnson, erstwhile boyish idol of the bobby-soxers and now an actor of maturity and depth, stars in Columbia Pictures’ “The Last Blitzkrieg,”’ co-starring Kerwin Mathews and Dick York at the Theatre. Van plays one of Hitler’s “terror men” in the Battle of the Bulge, Germans in American uniforms who sneaked behind our lines to commit sabotage and murder. Early in life, Van set his heart on becoming an actor. After graduation from school and a reluctant year spent in the family business, Van tried his luck on Broadway, landing a job in the chorus of the musical, “New Faces.” Eventually he went into the Broadway hit show, “Too Many Girls,’ and, the following year, he won a small role in “Pal Joey.” Johnson left ‘‘Pal Joey” for a Hollywood screen contract which lasted only six months, during which he appeared in one picture, “Murder in the Big House.” Just before he was due to return to New York, he was signed for a role in “The War Against Mrs. Hadley.” The rest is screen history. (York Short) After a series of supporting roles in such pictures as “My Sister Eileen” and “Cowboy,” Dick York has reached star status. The brilliant young actor, starred with Van Johnson and Kerwin Mathews at Aa. See eae ee Theatre, in Columbia Pictures’ “The Last Blitzkrieg,” also will star in the forthcoming “They Came to Cordura,’’ headed by Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth. rer errr rere rey (General Advance) The difficult days when the Allied offensive in Western Europe was stalled in the Ardennes by a German counterattack during World War II was the precise moment for Hitler’s “terror men.’ Columbia Pictures’ ‘‘The Last Blitzkrieg,” starring Van Johnson and co-starring Kerwin Mathews and Dick York, tells the inside story of the Hitler commandoes, who, in American uniforms, sneaked behind the American lines to sabotage and murder. The new Columbia drama starts pe het at the ............ Theatre. Van Johnson plays one of the fanatical Nazis who, because of their ability to speak perfect English, were selected to serve in the picked unit. Equipped with American uniforms, these trained saboteurs infiltrated the American lines. Spying, sabotaging, slaughtering, these picked German soldiers participated in the last assault that almost turned the tide of victory, the Battle of the Bulge. Larry Storch and Leon Askin, as embattled GI’s, and Lise Bourdin as a French girl in the battle area, are featured. Lou Morheim scripted the Columbia war drama. <A Clover Production, the film was directed by Arthur Dreifuss for producer Sam Katzman. (Opening Notice) Columbia Pictures’ “The Last Blitzkrieg,” starring Van Johnson and co-starring Kerwin Mathews and Dick York, ODES ees cases Stsbhesekcks.as Theatre. The story of Hitler’s “terror men” during the Battle of the Bulge, “The Last Blitzkrieg” features Larry Storch, Lise Bourdin and Leon Askin. Lou Morheim wrote the screenplay of the Clover Production. The film was directed by Arthur Dreifuss and produced by Sam Katzman. (Mathews Short) Kerwin Mathews, member of a pioneer American family, plays a German commando in Columbia Pictures’ “The Last Blitzkrieg,” exciting drama at the Theatre in which Mathews is co-starred with Van Johnson and Dick York. Mathews declared that “this part is the most difficult I’ve ever played—a German soldier, blind with hate against the Americans.” eee ereenenee (Production Short) For the battle scenes in Columbia Pictures’ “The Last Blitzkrieg,” starring Van Johnson and co-starring Kervin Mathews and Dick York at the Theatre, director Arthur Dreifuss used as extras some 250 students of the world-famous College of Engineering of Delft, Holland. eer rr errr erry (Review) The story of the Hitler “terror” attack that almost turned the tide of victory during World War II’s crucial Battle of the Bulge is told in Columbia Pictures’ “The Last Blitzkrieg,” starring Van Johnson and co-starring Kerwin Mathews and Dick York. The war drama opened yesterday at the Theatre. During those days of terror when victory hung by a thread, the Nazis sabotaged and murdered in a counterattack that marked the most incredible plot in the history of warfare. “The Last Blitzkrieg” is the inside story of that plot. Van Johnson plays a dedicated Nazi, with a_ perfect command of English, assigned to a school where Hitler’s “terror men” were trained. Their mission, after having assumed American identities complete to uniform, is to infiltrate the Allied lines and to spread terror by espionage, sabotage and _ out-and-out slaughter. Accompanied by Mathews, a diehard Nazi, Johnson successfully pene trates the American lines and, in the swaying tides of battle, waits for his opportunities to betray the GI’s. Dick York is seen as the U.S. sergeant who uncovers the masquerade. Seen in support of the stars of “The Last Blitzkrieg” are Larry Storch, Lise Bourdin and Leon Askin. A Clover Production, the Columbia drama was written by Lou Morheim. Arthur Dreifuss directed and Sam Katzman produced. (Mat 1-A; Still No. R-42) Van Johnson stars in Columbia Pictures’ “The Last Blitzkrieg,” the never-before-revealed story of the last days of World War II. Kerwin Mathews and Dick York are co-starred.