Death of a Soldier (1986) on Netflix
In 1942, American Private Eddie Leonski is posted to Camp Pell in Melbourne, where the troops' presence strains the city. Major Patrick Dannenberg defends him against a murder charge.
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Plot summary
In early 1942, US Army Private Eddie Leonski is deployed to Camp Pell in Melbourne, part of an American military presence that the city's residents resent, and the servicemen's rowdy nights out add to the friction between the allies. Leonski murders women, driven by a psychotic urge to take their voices, and the nightly brownouts hide his crimes, earning him the name The Brownout Killer. He confesses, and the case falls to US military authorities rather than Australian civil courts. Major Patrick Dannenberg is assigned to his defense and weighs an insanity argument, while US high command presses for a death sentence to protect the fragile US-Australian alliance.
Cast
- Belinda Daveyas Margot Saunders
- Jon Sidneyas Gen. DouglMacArthur
- Nell Johnsonas Maisie
- Pippa Wilsonas Singer in Boomerang Bar
- Kim Rushworthas Band in Bar
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Death of a Soldier (1986)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The budget was meant to be $3 million but proved inadequate during shooting, so the schedule was cut back and extra funds had to be raised. Complaints from crew to the Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees' Association led to a black ban that delayed the film's Australian release by a year.
SPOILER
The film drew controversy over its claim that Douglas MacArthur had directly interceded to ensure Leonski's hanging in order to preserve US-Australian relations. Rothgerber told the Los Angeles Times that MacArthur could have stopped the hanging and didn't, though he doubted MacArthur was as active in the case as the film depicts.- The film dramatizes the case of Eddie Leonski, an American soldier stationed in Australia who committed a string of serial killings in May 1942. Leonski's investigation and trial, run by U.S. military authorities rather than Australian civil ones, contributed to the development of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and inflamed Australian-American relations during the war.
- One of the film's most controversial scenes shows a rifle battle between American and Australian servicemen on adjacent platforms at Flinders Street station, Melbourne's main transport hub. The real Battle of Brisbane, a riot involving American servicemen and Australian servicemen and civilians, caused one casualty and hundreds of injuries, and news of it was suppressed by both countries.
- James Coburn's Major Dannenberg is largely based on Leonski's real defense attorney, Ira C. Rothgerber, who was "a short 29-year-old second lieutenant in the Army" at the time of the real trial. A character named "Sgt. Rothberger" was added to the film as a nod to him.
SPOILER
Filming took place on location in Melbourne, and the producers were able to film the trial and hanging scenes in the real locations where they occurred.- Mora and the producers wanted to import American actors for three roles, Leonski, his best friend Gallo and lawyer Danneberg, but Actors Equity agreed to only two.
