Wake Island (1942)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

John Farrow

Writers:

W.R. Burnett (screenplay)
Frank Butler (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 August 1942 (USA)

Genre:

War | Drama

Tagline:

Tougher than Leather . . . Harder to Kill! Daring Americans Fighting Against All Odds!

Plot:

December, 1941. With no hope of relief or re-supply, a small band of United States Marines try to keep the Japanese Navy from capturing their island base.

Plot Keywords:

Siege | Marine Hymn | Marine Corps US | WWII

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 win

Cast

Brian Donlevy	...	Maj. Geoffrey Caton
Macdonald Carey	...	Lt. Bruce Cameron
Robert Preston	...	Pvt. Joe Doyle
William Bendix	...	Pvt. Aloysius K. 'Smacksie' Randall
Albert Dekker	...	Shad McClosky
Walter Abel	...	Cmdr. Roberts
Mikhail Rasumny	...	Ivan Probenzky
Rod Cameron	...	Capt. Pete Lewis
Bill Goodwin	...	Sgt. Higbee
Damian O'Flynn	...	Capt. Bill Patrick
Frank Albertson	...	Johnny Rudd
Barbara Britton	...	Sally Cameron
Phillip Terry	...	Pvt. 'Cookie' Warren
Don Castle	...	Pvt. Cunkle

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | Finland:(Banned) (1943-1944) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Salton Sea, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The scene showing a Japanese aircraft doing a recon of the island, has sharply tapered wing tips and fixed landing gear. However, the shadow of the aircraft has rounded wing tips.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Best of Film Noir (1999) (V)

It Actually Happened

"Wake Island" is one of those movies that cannot be dismissed as mere World War Two propaganda. The fact is that the battle for Wake Island actually happened, which is what this movie is about. Okay, some of the characterizations are pure Hollywood and the conflict between the military and civilian personnel is contrived, yet what is NOT contrived is the event itself. A small detachment of Marines and civilian contractors did hold the Japanese at bay for about two weeks and did this knowing that they were on their own and that there would be no reinforcements. So let's give credit where credit is due, and take the time to watch this movie. The men on Wake Island were heroes and this movie does them credit.