The movie opens with Patton in full dress uniform standing in front of a huge American flag addressing his troops. After that we see Patton arriving at Kasserine to take command of the American 2nd Corps, demoralized after a defeat by the Germans. Patton proceeds to whip the 2nd Corps into shape and win battle after battle. Then Patton was sent to Sicily to command the 7th Army where his rivalry with British General and fellow prima donna Sir Bernard Law Montgomery wa

There are other historical facts laced through out the movie as well. Things such as Patton always getting in trouble for his remarks to the press and most especially his error in omitting the Russians from his speech at Knutsford in England. (Finke, 13-14) These problems with his remarks and the press were well documented in historical accounts as well as in the Movie tone newsreels in the film itself.

The military disciplinarian side of Patton was shown just as well as the others. The director clearly demonstrates this when Patton takes over II Corps after the Kasserine battle. Patton insists that all soldiers wear a helmet and leggings and that all officers wear a tie. (Hatch, 114) His reasoning is that a well-disciplined army will fight better and more effectively and he is proven right through out the movie.

The most ironical thing in the movie however, is the end, in which Patton is nearly killed by a run away ox cart; he laughed it off after General Bradley pushes him out of the way. Then Patton walks off into the sunset with his beloved dog Willy. I honestly feel that the movie was ended here to preserve an American hero, because in real life General George S. Patton Jr. was killed as a result of a traffic accident on the Autobahn, a sad way for a true American hero to die. (Finke, 19-20)

At no other time is Patton’s penchant for discipline as well as honor more evident than in the hospital scene where Patton comes upon a crying and shaking soldier during a tour of a field hospital. This scene is very well documented in real life. Patton, upon learning from the soldier that his nerves are shot and that he “just can’t take the shelling anymore”, slaps the soldier and calls him a “coward” and a “yellow belly” then orders the soldier back to the front. After this display he announces that he “will not tolerate cowards in his army.”

Do films about American history depict what actually happened or are they distorted versions of the truth? In relation to the movie Patton I would have to say that all things considered, yes. While certain things in the movie were slightly distorted or fictionalized, such as dialog and some mundane every day occurrences, the entire movie was really quite accurate in its portrayal of what really took place. This can be seen in the very beginning of the movie where Patton stands before his troops in front of the American flag and gives a speech. After comparing the speech given in the film to the real address given by Patton himself, I feel some of the words were changed in the film to keep a PG ra

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