Paratroop Command
# Paratroop Command

Paratroop Command is a 1959 American war film directed by William Witney, starring Richard Bakalyan, Ken Lynch and Jack Hogan. American International Pictures originally released the film as a double feature with Submarine Seahawk.

## Plot

Charlie is a paratrooper that is mistaken for a coward by fellow soldier Ace because he lies still in an attempt to ambush a group of German soldiers. He then suffers the scorn of his unit because he accidentally kills his friend Cowboy, who was wearing a German uniform in an attempt to infiltrate enemy lines, and was apparently holding a gun on the rest of the squad. Ace threatens him, and in subsequent action in Salerno, curses him with his dying breath. Charlie is hanging from a tree in his parachute and carrying a vital generator, with both the Lieutenant and Sergeant wounded, on the wrong side of a road that is mined. Following the Lieutenant's instructions, he clears the mines with hand grenades, but a dud grenade leaves him stranded and short of his destination. Sacrificing his life, he runs the final distance and explodes the remaining mine. . The film is set in World War II in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy.

## Cast

As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):

| Actor | Role |
| - | - |
| Richard Bakalyan | Charlie |
| Ken Lynch | Lieutenant |
| Jack Hogan | 'Ace' Mason |
| Jimmy Murphy | Sergeant |
| Jeff Morris | Pigpen (as Jeffrey Morris) |
| James Beck | Cowboy (as Jim Beck) |
| Carolyn Hughes | Gina |
| Patricia Huston | Amy, a WAC |
| Paul Busch | German Captain |
| Sydney Lassick | Interpreter (as Sid Lassick) |
| Brad Trumbull (credits as Trumball) | C-47 Pilot |

A full cast and production crew list is too lengthy to include, see: IMDb profile.

## Reception

Quentin Tarantino, an admirer of Witney's work, considers this film to be among his four best. Tarantino called it "the best of American-International’s WW2 potboilers. But I think it’s even better than that. It contains a realism that sets it apart from most other WW2 movies done in that same era. So much so that it makes a lot of good and similar movies from that same time, Robert Aldrich’s Attack and Don Siegel’s Hell is for Heroes, look theatrical and stagey by comparison."

