'' Fireball Forward'' is a 1972 American TV movie. It was directed by

Marvin J. Chomsky Marvin Joseph Chomsky (May 23, 1929 – March 28, 2022) was an American director and producer who worked both in television and film. Early life and career Chomsky born in the Bronx and raised in Brooklyn. He attended Stuyvesant High School i ...

and written by Edmund H. North. It was produced by Frank McCarthy who called it "son of ''

Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

''": it follows a hard luck Army division in 1944 France, and the General who must lick it into shape. The film was a pilot for a proposed TV series.Fireball' With a Touch of 'Patton' Smith, Cecil. Los Angeles Times 29 Feb 1972: g12.

Plot

After

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

the Maj. General Joe Barret (

Ben Gazzara Biagio Anthony Gazzara (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012) was an American actor and director of film, stage, and television. He received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, in addition to nominatio ...

), was decorated with

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

medal, after that, Gen.

Omar Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893April 8, 1981) was a senior officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army. Bradley was the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and over ...

transfers him to 14th Division due to poor performance in battle. Barret found the 14th Division with a bad combat record, lack of morale and discipline. After two disastrous battles against the

German army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

, Barret discovers that he has a mole who turns out to be the head of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

, Jean Duval (

Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...

), Barret learned through Sgt. Collins (

Morgan Paull Morgan Paull (December 15, 1944 – July 17, 2012) was an American actor most notable for playing Dave Holden in the Ridley Scott film ''Blade Runner''. Early life Morgan Paull was born to a wealthy family in Wheeling, West Virginia and ...

), that before each battle the enemy knew their strategy. Once Barret discovered the spy, the 14th Division won the next battle and clean all the way to Gen.

to Berlin. Except for the fact that U.S. Forces only went to the Elbe river. Everything East of the Elbe was left for the Russians. Only after the surrender did the Western Allied forces enter Berlin per the Potsdam Declaration.

Cast

as Maj. Gen. Joe Barret *

Ricardo Montalban Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name *Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...

as Jean Duval *

Anne Francis Anne Francis (also known as Anne Lloyd Francis; September 16, 1930 – January 2, 2011) was an American actress known for her ground-breaking roles in the science-fiction film ''Forbidden Planet'' (1956) and the television action-drama seri ...

as Helen Sawyer *

Dana Elcar Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as on the 1980s and 1990s television series ''MacGyver'' as Peter Thornton, MacGyver's immediate ...

as Col. Talbot *

Edward Binns Edward Binns (September 12, 1916 – December 4, 1990) was an American actor. He had a wide-spanning career in film and television, often portraying competent, hard working and purposeful characters in his various roles. He is best known for hi ...

as Corps. Commander *

as Sgt. Andrew Collins *

Curt Lowens Curt Lowens (17 November 1925 – 8 May 2017) was a German actor of the stage and in feature films and television, as well as a Holocaust survivor and a rescuer who saved about 150 Jewish children during the Holocaust. Life and career Born Curt ...

as Capt. Bauer *

L.Q. Jones Justus Ellis McQueen Jr. (August 19, 1927 – July 9, 2022), known professionally as L.Q. Jones, was an American actor and director. He appeared in Sam Peckinpah's films ''Ride the High Country'' (1962), '' Major Dundee'' (1965), ''The Wild Bun ...

as Maj. Larkin *

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

as Col. Douglas Graham *

Richard Yniguez Richard Yniguez (born December 8, 1946) is an American actor and director mainly known for ''Boulevard Nights'', ''What's Cooking?'' and ''The Deadly Tower ''The Deadly Tower'' (also known as ''Sniper'') is a 1975 American made-for-television ...

as Capt. Tony Sánchez

References

External links

Fireball Forward
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

1972 television films 1972 films American television films Films directed by Marvin J. Chomsky {{US-tv-film-stub