History vs. Hollywood: Patton
History vs. Hollywood: Patton (1996) Part of a fascinating History Channel series, Patton tells, with varying degrees of accuracy, the story of one of America's most controversial generals. The fact that General Omar Bradley, who loathed Patton, was a film advisor certainly affected at least the Sicilian portion of the movie. Paul Fussell, in Mark Carnes' Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies(1996) believes that the film depicts "with remarkable fidelity" Patton's public behavior between February 1943 and October 1945. It skips over his long-time affair with his cousin, a disastrous attempt to rescue his son-in-law from a prisoner-of-war camp, and his characterization of General Eisenhower 's conduct as simply "yellow." The film and George Scott both won Oscars. Because of this film, in a recent Gallup Poll George Patton received a robust vote as America's 'best general.'
