Third of four pairings for William Holden and Nancy Olson after they clicked in SUNSET BOULEVARD/’50 which was only her second film, None competes with that Billy Wilder classic (but try UNION STATION: https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2011/04/union-station-1950.html), while this WWII romance, set around the lethal Battle of SAN PIETRO (infamously faked as a documentary by John Huston in ‘45) is solidly unexceptional. On loan from Paramount, Holden/Olson are at Warners where a still lively Michael Curtiz directs and, with cinematographer Ted McCord and editor Owen Marks, does a bang-up job integrating real war footage from Italy with studio mock ups. Interesting story, too, as Holden & company, on a brief leave from the front, dive in to all the Italian specialties: food, vino, girls. All but Holden, blindsided after an ill-tempered encounter with Stateside WAC Lt. Olson goes nowhere fast as she’s still recovering from the death of her last attachment. Naturally, the bickering hides a mutual attraction. And when called back early, he’s lost his edge; the built up calloused edge he gets from not really caring about anything. Love can be a danger to your health. The script can’t quite live up to the concept, but you fill in enough of what’s missing to make it worth your time.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: The combination of post-WWII frankness and a still enforced Hollywood Production Code bowdlerizes cuss words so that, for example, FUCK becomes FLUFF. As in: Situation Normal All Fluffed Up. When Olson says it, FLUFF sounds, if anything, dirtier than FUCK. Downright pornographic.
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