Johnny goes to war

The 17-year-old baker Johnny volunteers for the US Army after the outbreak of World War I. In the field, he is hit by a grenade and is almost completely torn apart. Out of medical curiosity, the doctors keep him artificially alive: a torso without arms, legs, or a face. Yet Johnny feels, thinks, and lives. Only a sensitive nurse gradually understands what he is trying to communicate to her through his rhythmic head movements. She is his only hope and wants to fulfill his last wish. Secretly, she plans to turn off the machines.

This American anti-war film from 1971, directed by Dalton Trumbo, is an adaptation of his own 1939 novel. Both the book and the film depict the fate of 21-year-old Joe (Johnny) Bonham, who voluntarily enlists for the USA in World War I and is severely wounded. The black-and-white hospital scenes emphasize the documentary intent to portray the effects of war without pathos. The color dream and memory sequences of Johnny are more carried by the performances than by Trumbo's directorial choices.