User Reviews

Shot in a couple of weeks by Roger Corman, Ski Troop Attack was cobbled together in such a hurry it's a minor miracle it emerges anything other than an unmitigated disaster. At the time, Corman's brother Gene was in the process of producing Beast From Haunted Cave in some mountains in South Dakota, with Monte Hellman directing. Never one to miss the opportunity of recycling existing resources, Roger bagged the same sets (and many of the same actors) to create Ski Troop Attack - a 60 minute wartime quickie blending actual staged actors and scenes with bits of stock WWII footage. Surprisingly, given the nature of its production, the film hangs together reasonably well: it has a serviceable plot, something approaching real character dynamics, and a fairly solid structure. The acting is generally unremarkable, the editing and cinematography are entirely average, but for this brand of low-budget Corman quickie Ski Troop Attack remains a decent enough offering.

A five-man reconnaissance unit led by the young and inexperienced Lt. Factor (Michael Forrest) are on patrol in the snow-swept Ardennes Forest in the winter of 1944. Factor is endlessly at odds with his second-in-command, the older, more battle-wearied and bloodthirsty Sgt. Potter (Frank Wolff). Potter has a taste for killing Germans even though the company has strict instructions to monitor the enemy, not engage them in combat. Suddenly, the German army launches an unexpected offensive and Factor finds his small band at the forefront of the action, in a unique position to observe German movements and report back to HQ. Potter is keen to pick a fight with the enemy rather than skulking in the shadows, but Factor is determined to sneak about gathering valuable information about the enemy's strategy. Factor's small unit soon discover that the Germans are moving supplies and equipment along a vital rail route which crosses a high mountain bridge. The bridge is in a narrow mountain pass, very difficult to strike from above with airpower... but from a ground attack it may be possible to destroy it. They plan to sabotage the bridge, but the job is fraught with danger.

Early on in Ski Troop Attack, the script seems to be sowing the seeds of an interesting clash of interests between Lt. Factor and Sgt. Potter, but this character conflict sadly never evolves into anything of note. Wolff if actually quite good as the snarling, cynical Potter (he's by far the one actor who stands out above the others), but he's surrounded by otherwise mediocre performers. The WWII footage is obviously of a different stock to the dramatic scenes, but it is used sparingly and the differences in the grain never become overly distracting. At 60-ish minutes in length, the film is brief enough to keep your attention and is put together with more coherence than, say, some of the other Corman quickies from the period (such as the dire She-Gods Of Shark Reef or Attack Of The Giant Leeches). While it never ates as a first-rate Boys Own behind-enemy-lines flick, Ski Troop Attack remains competent and enjoyable in its simple, unambitious way. Basic B-movie fodder, but not entirely unenjoyable - you could do a lot worse!

Had this actually had a budget more than just a couple of bucks, I might have ranked this a 5/10. But tinny sound, grainy photography and long periods of no sound other than the winter winds makes this drive-in programmer barely passable even though the story is intriguing. While a haunting and nearly deranged version of "Silent Night" plays in the background, a group of American soldiers on skis spend Christmas trying to blow up a German bridge. B action star Michael Forest heads the cast (with a Sinatra cousin named Richard in the supporting cast), and the snowy lost horizon mountain photography adds a nice look to the action.

I'd be curious to learn how this was filmed because the icy mountains do look rather realistic. There's a good sequence where the Americans invade the mountain cabins of a German woman left alone, dealing with her quickly after she tries to poison them. There's plenty of action and intrigue, but I had a hard time getting into this until Sheila Noonan briefly came into the film. The cheapness of this film made this an obvious one time viewing, and had it been a better film technically, I could have seen myself going back to see it again. But the cheapness prevents that from being impossible because I could tolerate cheap looking film, but not sound recording that made me think my ears were clogged.

During the war in Europe a small band of allied soldiers moving through enemy territory on skis tries to steer clear of the enemy as they try to complete their mission of blowing up a train bridge.

By the numbers Roger Corman film notable for its winter setting. Its also is a minor legend in that the attacking German army was played by the local high school ski team. Its an entertaining little film that over comes its been there and done that feel simply because of its snow bound setting. Frankly I remember the film simple because of the snow. Worth seeing simply for that reason.

6 out of 10