Peter Swanson
I've always enjoyed this film, but in viewing it yesterday a couple of things bothered me which I had not previously noticed. 1) For about half of the movie John Wayne's character acts not just inexperienced, but downright childish, very unlike any other character of his with which I'm familiar. 2) I found the musical background to be very obtrusive. I expect overwrought patriotism from any 1940s war movie, but this one went overboard. Every few minutes, especially when action is happening, they gave us a taste of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, The Navy Hymn, or even a few bars of the national anthem. They were more such intrusions, but I didn't write them down.I appreciate Robert Montgomery's acting, and contributions to the production, as he actually did serve on PT boats during the war.
Ronnie Spencer
this is an unexpected treat especially if seen projected. one of the best combat films shot during world war two. Robert Montgomery and duke Morrison give memorable performances as PT boat captains doing battle in and around the former US colony known as the Philippine islands. rear screen projection is only reverted to, well, when there's a close shot of either the duke or bob. other than that, the boats and the camera are in the water. john ford produced this minor classic for MGM. as in all ford films there is a dance sequence. here it's shot in shadow time. very evocative. did Gregg Toland lens the picture? Donna Reed, Ward Bond Jack Holt, Cameron Mitchell and Louis Jean Heydt offer support.
The Mick 7 Yankee Fan
This is a great character study of those who were basically in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's all about a PT Boat squadron in the South Pacific at the outbreak of WWII. John Wayne, Robert Montgomery and Donna Reed head a great cast in this moving drama. This is about what war can do to people lives, people like you and me and the drastic decisions that have to be made in order to survive. It's about the military chain of command and what it's like to be near the bottom of that chain. Finally it has everything to do with how terrible war is and the ultimate price that must be paid for freedom.The Duke, as always, leads the charge while Ward Bond and the usual John Wayne crew fill in the balance of the story. Then of course there is Donna Reed, the Duke's love interest. She is beautiful, strong willed and a reminder that even in war everyone is expendable.This is without a doubt a great movie.
screenman
Big John Wayne gets second-billing to Robert Montgomery in this early stage of his career. There's no particularly dominant theme other than that things are going pear-shaped.It's life in the Pacific theatre during WW2. American forces are going about their jobs and facing the apparently unstoppable juggernaut of Imperial Japan after it more-or-less rolled-up the British like a cheap carpet. Now it's the Yanks turn. This is not a full in-yer-face set-piece war movie, but rather about the gradual disintegration of mounting reversals largely out of view, and how they impact upon people at a local level. It's very personal. Relationships feature as much as conflict. The vagaries of war are brought into sudden and sharp focus by local attacks and the immediacy of death. Retreat becomes fractious and confused. Not everyone is gonna get away.Most of the action turns around a squad of American PT boats. And here the movie excels in its depiction of these splendid vessels powering through the seas. There's some really nice sequences and it's well worth a watch for PT boat fans. We get to see "I shall return" General McArthur doing a runner with surprising egg-suck frankness, considering how America never liked to advertise its military failures.Acting is believable by all concerned. Editing & other technical issues are all of the standard that gave John Ford his reputation. It's a long movie at over 130mins, but seldom drags on account of its good mix of action and story. Filmed in B&W.I'm surprised this work doesn't feature more highly in popularity lists. It's got a helluva lot going for it in an understated, almost British-like stiff-upper-lip way.
AD
