The Lost Battalion

In October 1918 in the Argonne Forest roughly five hundred and fifty men of the American 77th Division carry out an order to advance, pass beyond their own lines, and are surrounded inside German positions when no support arrives. Their commander, Charles Whittlesey, was a New York lawyer before the war. For five days they refuse the call to surrender, take fire from their own artillery, and send a message out with the last pigeon. Russell Mulcahy made it for television; the budget is small but the combat carries the real terror of tight ground and lost bearings. Rick Schroder plays Whittlesey. The idea is how a failure of command was converted into a story of heroism. Who it is for: viewers who like First World War stories and war films based on real events. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a large-scale production.