They Were Expendable (1945)

Director:

John Ford
(more)

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 | Battle | Ship

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Feb. 17

3:30 PM

TCM

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'
Alex Havier	...	'Benny' Lecoco ST 3c
Charles Trowbridge	...	Admiral Blackwell
Robert Barrat	...	The General
Bruce Kellogg	...	Elder Tompkins M.M. 2c
Tim Murdock	...	Ens. Brant
Louis Jean Heydt	...	'Ohio'
Russell Simpson	...	'Dad' Knowland
Vernon Steele	...	Army Doctor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Priest (scenes deleted)
Philip Ahn	...	Army Orderly (uncredited)
Steve Barclay	...	Naval Officer (uncredited)
Bill Barnum	...	Boat Crew Member (uncredited)
Betty Blythe	...	Officer's Wife (uncredited)
Danny Borzage	...	Boat Crew Member (uncredited)
Al Bridge	...	Lieutenant Colonel (uncredited)
George Bruggeman	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Charles Calhoun	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
James Carlisle	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
John Carlyle	...	Lt. James (uncredited)
Jack Carrington	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
Bruce Carruthers	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Tony Carson	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Jack Cheatham	...	Commander (uncredited)
Fred Coby	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
Roger Cole	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
Jane Crowley	...	Officer's Wife (uncredited)
Henry H. Daniels Jr.	...	Sailor (uncredited)
William B. Davidson	...	Hotel Manager (uncredited)
Marjorie Davies	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Patrick Davis	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Gary Delmar	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Larry Dods	...	Boat Crew Member (uncredited)
Ernest Dominguez	...	Filipino Boy (uncredited)
Frank Donahue	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
William 'Red' Donahue	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
George Economides	...	Bartender's Child (uncredited)
Michael Economides	...	Bartender's Child (uncredited)
Blake Edwards	...	Boat Crewman (uncredited)
Frank Eldredge	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
John Epper	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
Jim Farley	...	(uncredited)
Charles Ferguson	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
Leonard Fisher	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Lee Tung Foo	...	Asian Bartender (uncredited)
Wallace Ford	...	(uncredited)
Art Foster	...	Boat Crew Member (uncredited)
Almeda Fowler	...	Officer's Wife (uncredited)
Mary Jane French	...	Lost Nurse (uncredited)
Jon Gilbreath	...	Submarine Commander (uncredited)
Duke Green	...	PT-41 Boat Starboard Torpedoman (uncredited)
Sherry Hall	...	Marine Major (uncredited)
Del Hill	...	Boat Crew Member (uncredited)
Robert Homans	...	Bartender at Manila Hotel (uncredited)
Vincent Isla	...	Filipino Schoolteacher (uncredited)
Dick Karl	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Michael Kirby	...	Boat Crewman (uncredited)
Michael Kostrick	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Paul Kruger	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Stubby Kruger	...	Boat Crewman (uncredited)
Jack Lee	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Donald S. Lewis	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
Jack Lorenz	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Leota Lorraine	...	Officer's Wife (uncredited)
Trina Lowe	...	Gardner's Girlfriend (uncredited)
Jack Luden	...	Naval Air Captain (uncredited)
Ted Lundigan	...	Boat Crew Member (uncredited)
James Magill	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
George Magrill	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Eve March	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Kermit Maynard	...	Airport Officer (uncredited)
Merrill McCormick	...	Wounded Officer at Airport (uncredited)
Frank McGrath	...	Slim Bearded CPO (uncredited)
Leonard Mellin	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Karl Miller	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Henry Mirelez	...	Filipino Boy (uncredited)
Margaret Morton	...	Bartender's Wife (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Officer (uncredited)
Forbes Murray	...	Navy Captain (uncredited)
Charles Murray Jr.	...	Jeep Driver (uncredited)
Bill Neff	...	Submarine Skipper / Boat Crew Member (uncredited)
Bill Nind	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
Wedgwood Nowell	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Silver Dollar Bartender (uncredited)
Max Ong	...	Mayor of Cebu (uncredited)
Franklin Parker	...	Naval Officer (uncredited)
Frank Pershing	...	Boat Crew Member (uncredited)
Nino Pipitone Jr.	...	Bartender's Child (uncredited)
Dan Quigg	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Robert Shelby Randall	...	Boat Crew Member (uncredited)
Clifford Rathjen	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Joey Ray	...	Boat Crew Member (uncredited)
William McKeever Riley	...	Boat Crew Member (uncredited)
Jack Ross	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
John Roy	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Harold Schlickenmayer	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Phil Schumacher	...	Boat Crew Member (uncredited)
Ernest Seftig	...	Naval Officer (uncredited)
Jack Semple	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Brent Shugar	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
Sam Simone	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Reginald Simpson	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Leslie Sketchley	...	Marine Orderly (uncredited)
Ralph Soncuya	...	Filipino Orderly (uncredited)
Leonard Stanford	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Larry Steers	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Sammy Stein	...	Sammy - Boat Crewman (uncredited)
Jack Stoney	...	Boat Crew Member (uncredited)
Robert Strong	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
Roy Thomas	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Bob Thom	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Richard Thorne	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Pacita Tod-Tod	...	Nightclub Singer (uncredited)
Brad Towne	...	Man in Admiral's Office (uncredited)
Jack Trent	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
Tom Tyler	...	Captain at Airport (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan	...	Naval Doctor (uncredited)
Eleanore Vogel	...	Officer's Wife (uncredited)
Hansel Warner	...	Officer at Airport (uncredited)
Billy Wilkerson	...	Sgt. Smith (uncredited)
Roque Ybarra Jr.	...	Bartender's Child (uncredited)

Directed by
John Ford		(as John Ford Captain U.S.N.R.)
Robert Montgomery		(uncredited)

Writing credits
William L. White		(book)
Frank Wead		(screenplay) (as Frank Wead Comdr. U.S.N. [Ret])

Produced by
Cliff Reid	....	associate producer
John Ford	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Herbert Stothart

Cinematography by
Joseph H. August		(as Joseph H. August Lt. Comdr. U.S.N.R.)

Film Editing by
Douglass Biggs
Frank E. Hull

Art Direction by
Malcolm Brown
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Yvonne Wood		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Jack Dawn	....	makeup designer

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Curtis Havens	....	second unit director (as James C. Havens Captain U.S.M.C.R.)
Edward O'Fearna	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ralph S. Hurst	....	associate set decorator

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
Michael Steinore	....	sound effects (uncredited)

Special Effects by
A. Arnold Gillespie	....	special effects
Donald Jahraus	....	special effects (uncredited)
R.A. MacDonald	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Jack Stoney	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Harold Byrns	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Alberto Colombo	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Murray Cutter	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Wally Heglin	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Eric Zeisl	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Robert Montgomery	....	director: rear projection plates (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1945) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1945) (UK) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1949) (France) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• United States Navy, The  appreciation
• U.S. Army  appreciation
• United States Coast Guard  appreciation
• Office of Strategic Services (OSS)  appreciation

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:

This is one of a handful of feature film movies that have featured the story of the World War II Battle of Bataan. They include Bataan (1943), So Proudly We Hail! (1943); They Were Expendable (1945) and Back to Bataan (1945).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: By the time this movie was made, the class of PT boat used in the Philippine Islands was not available. They substituted 80-foot ELCOs for the 78-foot ELCOs actually used in Manila Bay.

Quotes:

Lt. 'Rusty' Ryan: Are you kidding, Brick?
Lt. John Brickley: Theirs not to reason why. Theirs but to do...
Lt. 'Rusty' Ryan: And die... but I don't want to be bored to death running messages!
Lt. John Brickley: I'll see that you get the more intriguing ones.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mister Roberts (1955)

A film about following orders no matter how painful

One reveiwer critices this film about lack of action he misses the point,all the characters are well developed which makes the ending so painfull. The acting is first rate every part is played with a great belief,,there are so many great scenes that touch the heart.The men are bonded together by their actions and when the bonds are broken through death or orders it hurts us all. Donna Reed is gorgeous to look at ,only a small role but well acted. At the end of the film you feel a lump in your throat and a tear forms in your eye,I love this movie.9/10