16 Likes
Oddball also was able to “capture” a Tiger and bring it back for testing.
5 Likes
Yeah, I don’t think he handed it over for testing. I think he found a new place to hide and parked it under a net.
6 Likes
Oddball had a great dog impression.
6 Likes
Wardaddy got involved with Lara Croft, which I think impacted his capabilities.
10 Likes
“Always with the negative waves Moriarity….always with the negative waves.” One of the classic lines in film history…….
9 Likes
Well I’ll play devil’s advocate, which one was more realistic. War Daddy. Why, because my dad was blown out of 3 Sherman tanks and was the only survivor of one. So yeah war daddy seemed more realistic and true to the time period whereas oddball was just comic relief but it may typical tank commander in the fact that he just didn’t give a f
5 Likes
.
.
1 Like
3 Likes
I think you have to look at the times that the films were made. “Kelly’s Heroes” was made in 1970, when the anti-Vietnam War protests were at their height. “Oddball” was probably far more representative of a Vietnam War TC if anything, rather than WW2. The “druggy, hippy” tone of him and his crew were out of time IMHO, albeit added to the comic tone of what was after all a heist movie with tanks. But there is a gritty realism to “Kelly’s Heroes” and not just in the fear of Tigers (it was the first post-war film to actually try to depict something that actually looked like a Tiger). “Fury” is much more modern and there was a genuine attempt at realism, particularly with the war weariness of the “Fury” crew led by “War Daddy”. But it seems unlikely that the SS battalion would have self-immolated itself the way it did in the end scenes, they would just have gone around the obviously immobilised tank. Also the scene of the Sherman attack across an open field where the entrenched German AT guns consistently miss seems unlikely… But Hollywood consistently fails to represent the “all arms” aspect of modern war; they are always making films about odd units wandering around behind the lines without putting them into a larger unit concept.
5 Likes
Kelly’s Heroes is an odd film - you’re absolutely right about the grittiness mixed with the comedy. It’s like they had to check off all the character tropes, so you had Don Rickles’ shyster and Clint Eastwood’s courageous leader and Donald Sutherland’s manic but shell shocked tanker.
2 Likes
It would’ve been a very short movie if any of the scenes would’ve been historically accurate.
My biggest gripe about the movie is the fact that a lone Tiger took on 4 Shermans. Despite having the firepower advantage, a German main battle tank, such as a Tiger, would’ve never engaged a numerically superior force without infantry support. Also, the Tiger gave up its main tactical advantage, which was distance. A Tiger’s 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 main gun would’ve easily taken out all four Shermans at a range that was beyond the capabilities of any of the four Sherman, including “FURY” and “Old Phyllis”, which were both armed with the 76.2mm M1A1 main gun.
2 Likes
Wittman took out a whole British column at Villers Bocage with his lone Tiger, so the attack itself has precedence. But you’re right about the range as there was enough visibility to hit the Shermans from a much longer distance. But they needed to squeeze the action into a filmable space, and include the “it takes five Shermans to knock out a Tiger” trope all in one scene.
1 Like
I’ve heard that one before. But they don’t tell you is “How many of those Shermans you lose in order to take out a single Tiger Tank”.
Like i said. If they would’ve followed proper German doctrine. The movie would’ve been much shorter. But I digress. The movie had to have FURY end on top while the other tanks ended up destroyed, so that the crew had their “Blaze of Glory” moment at the crossroads.
2 Likes
That’s the point - the trope is based on losses in Tiger engagements. But it isn’t really a case that you stalk the Tiger with five Shermans, and only one survives to get into a kill position - the reality is some of those five fall foul of panzerfausts etc and aren’t part of the melee. But crews knew that a Tiger was invulnerable from the front so they manoeuvred around the sides or back as soon as they could. I doubt they’d have all reversed into the same field like ships in a line, to then head-on charge a Tiger!
3 Likes
The life of a movie script writer is tough enough as it is without having to worry about facts, physics, real life, proper tactics et.c
In many cases they have problems with magazine capacity …
exactly how many bullets are there in a revolver?
2 Likes
That’s a fact. 
1 Like
I just started watching Homeland last week. It reminded me once again a lesson I learned years ago - you have to suspend belief and just enjoy it for what it is. That way your wife can enjoy it too. but if you absolutely hafta - save the comments for the end. One of the worst researched and unrealistic shows I’ve seen in a while, and yet it ran for eight seasons.
3 Likes
Da truth!
1 Like