ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Patton (1970)

Updated on October 7, 2012

The Hard-Headed But Brilliant General

Geoge C. Scott as Patton
Geoge C. Scott as Patton

From the moment that George C. Scott steps in front of the giant American flag to address the troops to the scene of his final homage, there is no equivocation that we are seeing General Patton. George C. Scott's acting is so on-spot that his figurement appears and behaves as the personification of Patton. The general was such a gung-ho personality that he disregarded his own military assignments -- if for no other reason than to show Field Marshal Montgomery that he was a superior leader of combat assaults.

Patton - A Figure For The Ages

Karl Malden as General Bradley
Karl Malden as General Bradley

He regarded himself as the reincarnation of other commanders in ancient wars -- and he was well-versed on strategics from historic logs. He was both profane and religions, sometimes seeking God for moral guidance. Thus Patton was a complex individual -- divided by his own desire to prove his leadership skills, and the often humiliating twists of fate. Despite his human foibles, Patton was a brilliant tactician -- and, as the German's surmised, the indisputable commander to lead the D-Day invasion -- though his actions prior to the war were merely to solidify the German opinion.

A Great Desire For Glory

Malden and Scott in the Field
Malden and Scott in the Field

One is only left to wonder how the invasion of Normandy might have turned out under Patton's command vs. Bradley. Even after the defeat of Germany, Patton saw a strategic need to push into Communist Russia. Without the Cold War, there would have been no conflicts in Korea or Vietnam (assuming we had prevailed against the USSR). There would have been no arms race, no space race, etc. Cooler heads prevailed, and the only test against the USSR turned out to be a protracted cold war and proxy wars carried out in foreign lands.

Old "Blood and Guts"

Scott in the Field
Scott in the Field

Patton was painted as a madman to have these thoughts -- but were they truly mad? These foresights were regarded as insane for his time, but in actuality may have averted a multi-level conflict between the world's two super-powers. All of this and more is hinted at in the film, displaying verisimilitudes of a highly complex general's thinking and potential foresight. Patton loved war -- not the loss of life -- but the gamemanship, and his strategic knowledge of warfare probably helped end the war earlier rather than later.

Movie Trailer

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)