Attack (1956) in Color — Starring Jack Palance & Eddie Albert

Attack (1956) – Buy This Classic War Film in Color

Experience the devastating Attack (1956) in stunning colorized HD. Directed by Robert Aldrich, this powerful and unflinching war film stars Jack Palance as a battle-hardened infantry lieutenant who knows that his commanding officer — the cowardly, politically connected Captain Cooney (Eddie Albert) — will get his men killed through incompetence and fear. When Cooney’s cowardice during a crucial assault leaves Palance’s platoon stranded without the promised reinforcement, the survivors must fight their way through a German counterattack while Palance — wounded, enraged, and driven by a terrible vow of vengeance — drags himself back to headquarters to confront the man responsible. With ferocious performances, unflinching combat sequences, and a script that attacks the moral corruption of military careerism with savage honesty, this is one of the most powerful and disturbing American war films ever made. Now available as a premium digital download for just €15.00 — DRM-free and yours to keep forever.

Plot Summary

Somewhere in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, Lieutenant Joe Costa (Jack Palance) leads a platoon of exhausted infantrymen who have already suffered too many casualties from unnecessary risks taken on orders from Captain Erskine Cooney (Eddie Albert). Cooney is a disaster — a weak, frightened man whose wealthy father pulled political strings to get him a position of command that he is utterly unqualified to hold. Cooney freezes under fire, makes catastrophic tactical decisions, and consistently fails to provide the support his men depend on to survive.

Colonel Bartlett (Lee Marvin), the battalion commander, knows that Cooney is incompetent but protects him because Cooney’s politically powerful father can be useful for Bartlett’s postwar ambitions. The corruption is complete: men are dying because a colonel wants a political career and a captain’s father has influence in the right places.

Costa has watched his men die one by one as a result of Cooney’s incompetence, and he has reached the breaking point. He tells Cooney — and Bartlett — that if he is betrayed one more time, if Cooney’s cowardice costs one more life, Costa will come back and kill him. It is not a bluff.

The crisis arrives during a critical attack on a German-held town. Costa’s platoon is ordered to lead the assault, with Cooney’s company providing covering fire and immediate reinforcement. The attack goes in, Costa’s men take terrible losses fighting through the German defences — and when they need Cooney’s reinforcement to hold their position, there is only silence. Cooney has frozen again, paralysed by the fear that makes him unfit for the command he holds.

Stranded, outnumbered, and under counterattack by German armour, Costa’s surviving men fight with desperate courage. Costa himself is grievously wounded but refuses to die — driven by the vow he made, he drags his shattered body back through the combat zone, dragging himself toward Cooney with a terrible, implacable determination that transcends mere survival.

Cast & Crew

Director: Robert Aldrich
Stars: Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, William Smithers, Buddy Ebsen

Jack Palance gives one of the most intense performances in war-film history — raw, physical, and seething with righteous fury. Eddie Albert is devastating as Cooney, creating not a cartoon coward but a genuinely pathetic human being destroyed by responsibilities he never should have been given. Lee Marvin is ice-cold as the morally bankrupt colonel who sacrifices his men for political advantage.

Why Buy This Classic in Color?

The brutal reality of winter combat — the grey, frozen Belgian landscape, the rubble-strewn streets of contested towns, the grim interiors of command posts where fatal decisions are made, the blood and mud of the battlefield — is powerfully enhanced through expert colorization. The visual harshness of the combat environment and the contrast between the relative safety of headquarters and the hell of the front lines becomes viscerally immediate in full colour. Now also available in colour. Own this powerful war film for just €15.00 — where courage meets corruption.

Historical Significance

Attack was so controversial that the U.S. Department of Defense refused to cooperate with its production — an unprecedented action that only confirmed the film’s devastating accuracy in depicting military careerism and political corruption within the chain of command. Robert Aldrich’s unflinching direction and Norman Brooks’s screenplay created one of the first American war films to directly confront the reality that soldiers sometimes die not because of the enemy but because of the incompetence and corruption of their own officers. The film’s influence on subsequent anti-war cinema — from Paths of Glory to Platoon — is significant. Jack Palance’s performance remains one of the most physically and emotionally powerful in the history of the war film genre. Through colorization, this landmark war film has been preserved for modern audiences.

Technical Details

• Format: MP4 digital download
• Resolution: HD 720p
• Colorized: Yes – professionally colorized from the original black-and-white
• Audio: Original English mono soundtrack
• Runtime: Approximately 107 minutes
• DRM-free: Yes – no restrictions on playback
• Instant download: Available immediately after purchase
• Price: €15.00

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Movie-Specific Questions

Q: Is this an anti-war film?
A: It is anti-corruption rather than anti-war. The film does not question the necessity of fighting — it questions the moral bankruptcy of a system that allows political connections to override military competence, putting soldiers’ lives at risk for personal ambition.

Q: How intense are the combat scenes?
A: Extremely intense and brutally realistic for the era. Aldrich’s direction creates combat sequences that are chaotic, terrifying, and physically punishing. This is not sanitised Hollywood warfare — it is raw, visceral, and emotionally devastating.

Q: Is Jack Palance really that good?
A: His performance is extraordinary — perhaps the most physically committed performance in war-film history. The sequence where the wounded Costa drags himself across the battlefield is one of cinema’s most unforgettable images of determination and fury.

Digital Download Questions

Q: What format is the download?
A: The film is delivered as a high-quality MP4 file in 720p HD resolution, compatible with all major devices and media players.

Q: Is there DRM on this download?
A: No. The download is completely DRM-free, meaning you can watch it on any device without restrictions or expiration dates.

Q: How quickly can I watch after purchasing?
A: Your download link is available immediately after payment. You can start watching within minutes of completing your purchase.

Related Colorized Classics

• Paths of Glory (1957)
• The Steel Helmet (1951)
• Once a Thief (1965)
• A Walk in the Sun (1945)
• Ten Seconds to Hell (1959)