They Were Expendable (1945)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

William L. White (book)
Frank Wead (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 December 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

A Spine-Tingling Thundering Saga Of The Sea!

Plot:

A dramatized account of the role of the American PT Boats in the defense of the Philippines in World War II.

Plot Keywords:

P.t. Boat | Philippines | Pearl Harbor | Ship | General

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Robert Montgomery	...	Lt. John Brickley (as Robert Montgomery Comdr. U.S.N.R.)
John Wayne	...	Lt. (J.G.) 'Rusty' Ryan
Donna Reed	...	Lt. Sandy Davyss
Jack Holt	...	General Martin
Ward Bond	...	'Boats' Mulcahey C.B.M.
Marshall Thompson	...	Ens. 'Snake' Gardner
Paul Langton	...	Ens. 'Andy' Andrews
Leon Ames	...	Major James Morton
Arthur Walsh	...	Seaman Jones
Donald Curtis	...	Lt. (J.G.) 'Shorty' Long
Cameron Mitchell	...	Ens. George Cross
Jeff York	...	Ens. Tony Aiken
Murray Alper	...	'Slug' Mahan T.M. 1c
Harry Tenbrook	...	'Squarehead' Larsen SC 2c
Jack Pennick	...	'Doc'

Runtime:

135 min | West Germany:107 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Canada:G (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 (1964) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #11113)

Filming Locations:

Florida Keys, Florida, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

During the shooting of this movie, John Ford had put John Wayne down every chance he got, because Wayne had not enlisted to fight in World War II. Ford commanded a naval photographic unit during the war rising to the rank of captain and thought Wayne a coward for staying behind. After months of heaping insults on Wayne's head, costar Robert Montgomery finally approached the director and told him that if he was putting Wayne down for Montgomery's benefit (Montgomery had served in the war), that he needed to stop immediately. This brought the tough-as-nails director to tears and he stopped abusing Wayne.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Both American aircraft shown in the film (a Piper J5A observation plane and a Douglas C-47 transport) carry the national insignia markings of a white star in a blue roundel, which was authorized on August 18, 1942. This is incorrect for the period depicted in the film (early December 1941 through late April 1942), when U.S. insignia was a white star inside a blue roundel with a red ball in the middle of the white star.

Quotes:

Lt. John Brickley: Oh, Snuffy... how about getting some torpedoes from you?
Submarine commander: For those cracker boxes of yours? No telling when we'll see a mother ship again.
Lt. John Brickley: How long have you been on patrol?
Submarine commander: Since the day the war started.
Lt. 'Rusty' Ryan: What did you get?
Submarine commander: Two small freighters. We had hard luck.
Lt. John Brickley: Well, while you've been cruising around the Pacific, those 'cracker boxes' have sunk two converted cruisers, an auxiliary aircraft carrier, a 10,000-ton tanker, a large freighter, a flock of barges and numerous sons of Nippon!
Lt. 'Rusty' Ryan: And also in our brief career, we've carried more messages than Western Union!
Submarine commander: Well, if...
Lt. John Brickley: Snuffy... who played the leading lady in "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" in 1932 at the Academy?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mister Roberts (1955)

perhaps the best of the American war flicks made during the war

This movie is so exceptionally well-written, acted and directed. Although I am a big fan of some of John Wayne's other war pictures such as The Flying Tigers and The Fighting Sea Bees, these films are not exactly realistic and make it look like Wayne and his friends could have almost single-handedly beaten the Japanese! But, with They Were Expendible, the over-the-top heroism and exploits are instead replaced with grim determination against the odds and a quiet dignity. Because of that, to me, the impact of this film was much more lasting and heart-felt. Realism is key to this picture.

Oh, and by the way, Robert Montgomery gets top billing because when the film was made he was the bigger star--Wayne's rise to the top in Hollywood was still to come. I really see this more as Wayne's film as his part seemed BIGGER and he seemed to get at least as much screen time as Montgomery.

This would be an excellent film for teens, as it focuses on glory and heroism without glorifying death or trivializing our sacrifices.