Anzio (1968)

Interesting facts

Anzio is a 1968 war film directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Dino De Laurentiis. It depicts Operation Shingle, the 1944 Allied seaborne assault on the Italian port of Anzio during World War II. The screenplay was adapted from the book Anzio by Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, who had covered the battle as a BBC war correspondent.

Production

Originally, Italian director Duilio Coletti was attached to helm the film. He was replaced during pre-production by Edward Dmytryk, but remained on-board as a second unit director. In Italian prints of the film, Coletti is credited as a director, due to the film's status as an Italian-American co-production.

Shooting took place on-location in Anzio, Taranto, and Rome. A scene shot in the Colosseum was reported as "the biggest scene ever shot in Rome," involving some 3000 actors. Luigi Scaccianoce was the production designer.

Peter Falk thought that the script he read was clichéd and wanted off the film. At the last minute, Dino De Laurentiis put Falk's name above the title billing and gave him his choice of writer for his character's dialogue. Falk stayed and wrote his lines himself.

Rabinoff is based on a real 1st Special Service Force soldier, Sgt John L. "Jake" Walkmeister, who ran an illegal brothel of Italian prostitutes in a stolen ambulance. Walkmeister was killed by shrapnel at Port Cros during Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France.

In the English-language version, Italian characters speak in Italian, while German commanders are depicted speaking English.

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