Johnny Got His Gun (1971)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Dalton Trumbo

Writers:

Dalton Trumbo (novel)
Dalton Trumbo (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

14 August 1972 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

The most shattering experience you'll ever live.

Plot:

Joe, a young American soldier, is hit by a mortar shell on the last day of World War I. He lies in a hospital bed in a fate worse than death...

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Hospital | Eyes | Mouth | Dream

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Don 'Red' Barry	...	Jody Simmons (as Donald Barry)
Timothy Bottoms	...	Joe Bonham
Craig Bovia	...	Little Guy
Peter Brocco	...	Ancient Prelate
Judy Howard Chaikin	...	Bakery Girl
Kendell Clarke	...	Hospital Offical
Eric Christmas	...	Corporal Timlon
Dalton Trumbo	...	Orator (as Robert Cole)
Maurice Dallimore	...	British Colonel
Robert Easton	...	Third Doctor
Kathy Fields	...	Kareen
Larry Fleischman	...	Russ
Eduard Franz	...	Col. / Gen. Tillery
Anthony Geary	...	Redhead (as Tony Geary)
Ed Gilbert	...	Priest (as Edmund Gilbert)
Ben Hammer	...	Second Doctor
Milton Barnes	...	First Reader
Lynn Hanratty	...	Elisabeth Age 6
Wayne Heffley	...	Captain
Marsha Hunt	...	Joe's Mother
Ernestine Johnston	...	Farm Woman
Joseph Kaufmann	...	Rudy (as Joseph Kaufman)
Mike Lee	...	Bill Harper
Kerry MacLane	...	Joe Age 10
Charles McGraw	...	Mike Burkeman
William Mims	...	Gentleman
Byron Morrow	...	Brigadier General
Alice Nunn	...	Third Nurse
Marge Redmond	...	First Nurse
Jason Robards	...	Joe's Father
Jodean Lawrence	...	Second Nurse (as Jodean Russo)
David Soul	...	Swede
Donald Sutherland	...	Christ
Diane Varsi	...	Fourth Nurse
Peter Virgo Jr.	...	Attendant
Gigi Vorgan	...	Catherine Age 13
Jeffrey Walker	...	Fifth Guy (as Jeff Walker)
Bruce Watson	...	Technician
Sandy Brown Wyeth	...	Lucky
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Xus Estruch	...	(uncredited)
Ken Globus	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Margaret Pellegrini	...	(uncredited)
Pepe Serna	...	Jose (uncredited)
Tom Tryon	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Dalton Trumbo

Writing credits
Dalton Trumbo		(novel)
Dalton Trumbo		(screenplay)
Luis Buñuel		uncredited

Produced by
Bruce Campbell	....	producer
Tony Monaco	....	associate producer
Christopher Trumbo	....	associate producer
Tom Tryon	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Jerry Fielding

Cinematography by
Jules Brenner

Film Editing by
Millie Moore

Casting by
Tony Monaco

Production Design by
Harold Michelson

Art Direction by
Jeremy Kay
Harold Michelson

Set Decoration by
George R. Nelson
Bob Signorelli		(as Robert Signorelli)

Costume Design by
Theadora Van Runkle

Makeup Department
Phil Rhodes	....	makeup artist (as Phillip Rhodes)
Lorraine Roberson	....	hair stylist

Production Management
James F. Sommers	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christopher Trumbo	....	assistant director

Art Department
James Martin Bachman	....	assistant art director (as James Bachman)
Stephen R. Ferry	....	property master (as Stephen Ferry)

Sound Department
Samuel M. Annis	....	looping editor
Harold M. Etherington	....	sound mixer (as Hal Etherington)
Bob Minkler	....	sound effects mixer (as Robert Minkler)
James Nelson	....	sound effects editor (as Jim Nelson)
Howard S. Wollman	....	dialogue mixer (as Howard Wollman)

Special Effects by
Dick Williams	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Melissa Campbell	....	still photographer
Dick Colean	....	first assistant camera
George Rumanes	....	lighting director
Bud Schindler	....	key grip (as Bud Shindler)
Robert Touyarot	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Marsha Kleinman	....	assistant to casting director

Costume and Wardrobe Department
James Kessler	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Elizabeth H. Buxton	....	assistant editor (as Elizabeth Buxton)
William Paul Dornisch	....	supervising editor (as William P. Dornisch)
June Gilham	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Jerry Fielding	....	conductor
Erma E. Levin	....	music editor (as Erma Levin)
Don Minkler	....	music mixer (as Donald Minkler)

Transportation Department
Elmore Adams	....	transportation director

Other crew
Deanna Beeler	....	secretary to the director
Milton Birnbaum	....	medical advisor (as Dr. Milton Birnbaum)
John Bright	....	production associate
Dorothea Campbell	....	production associate
Madeline Colie	....	production secretary (as Madeline Oolie)
Aubrey Finn	....	attorney
Eugene Frenke	....	production associate (as Gene Frenke)
Robert Haggiag	....	production associate
Simon Lazarus	....	production associate
Clarke Lindsley	....	assistant to producer
John Lott	....	production coordinator
Bob Milford	....	production consultant
Carolyn Newman	....	production secretary
Roy Silver	....	production associate
Dale Strange	....	set operator
Pamela H. Vanneck	....	assistant to producer
Marvin Weldon	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• World Entertainment

Distributors

• Cinemation Industries (1971) (USA) (theatrical)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1983) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• KinoVista (2007) (Russia) (TV)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Media Home Entertainment (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• New Cinema Enterprises (Canada)
• Orovídeo (Brazil) (video)
• Rosebud (Greece)
• Shout! Factory (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2003) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Normand Houle's Design Arts  set construction
• Glen Glenn Sound  sound recording (as Glen Glenn Sound Company)
• Producers' Sound Services  sound recording (as Producers' Sound Service, Inc.)
• Kaleidoscope Productions Inc.  post-production coordinating
• Pacific Title  main titles
• International Producers Services  production managment
• International Producers Services  consultation

Also Known As:

Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun (USA) (complete title)
Johnny s'en va-t-en guerre (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
E Deram-lhe Uma Espingarda... (Portugal) [pt]
E Johnny prese il fucile (Italy) [it]
Johnny Vai à Guerra (Brazil) [pt]
Johnny cogió su fusil (Spain) [es]
Johnny poszedl na wojne (Poland) [pl]
Johnny zieht in den Krieg (West Germany) [de]
O Johnny pire t' oplo tou (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
O Johnny pire to oplo tou (Greece) [el]
Sotilaspoika (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | USA:R (original rating) | Norway:18

Company:

World Entertainment

Trivia:

The "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" at the end of the film means, "It is sweet and proper to die for one's country."

Quotes:

Hospital Offical: He won't wait for an answer. All he says is kill me, kill me , kill me.
Third Doctor: Don't you have some message for him, Padre?
Priest: Shakes his head and looks to the floor.
Third Doctor: You could at least tell him to put his faith in god couldn't you?
Priest: I'll pray for him for the rest of my days.But I will not risk testing his faith against your stupidity.
Third Doctor: Well you're a hell of a priest, aren't you?
Priest: He's the product of your profession, not mine.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Last Picture Show: A Look Back (1999) (V)

A fate worse than death

Johnny awakes in a hospital to gradually find that he has lost his limbs and most of his sensory organs. He is being kept alive in a bizarre experiment to see just how long a torso can live in sensory deprivation. The doctors are convinced he has no real feeling, but he has dreams and memories and slowly pieces together what has happened to him. In his desperation he finds a way to communicate with a young nurse who cares for him and though she has been told he has no feeling; she finds otherwise, and tries to make the doctors aware. Johnny wants the world to know what has happened to him, what the war has done to him. Will they heed his plea or will they leave him in the living nightmare of isolation? This may be, on the surface, an anti war film, but underlying it all is a deep anti-establishment theme, for it is the politicians, the establishment who don't want to recognise this young man as a real person with feelings. He has no arms, you see, no eyes, no ears. His plight could not have been worse if he had dark skin or lacked external genitalia. He is a symbol of the ignorance of the establishment and though there is a possibility this story could be literally true, it is equally possible that Johnny could represent every single one of us, trapped in a place where we do not want to be, and no-one will listen...

LLB