Tuesday Tally

World War II Movie Edition

After last week's Pearl Harbor commemoration and after seeing a flurry of WWII era films on TV, I thought a tally of my favorite such films was in order.

Here they are.

They Were Expendable: A John Ford classic with Robert Montgomery and John Wayne and a host of vets from what would become known jokingly as John Ford's Production Company. We see the men of a PT squadron fight and gradually die as the Japanese gradually ware down and ware out the Philippine garrison. They die slowly. John Wayne, who was harassed continuously by Ford, plays his man with energy and anger. Robert Montgomery is the straight and steady man. The movie doesn't end so much as gradually fade away.

Back to Bataan: Edward Dmytryk directs this one. This time John Wayne as Colonel Madden is the steady, while his friend and subordinate, Anthony Quin is the tense and angry man. As Andres Bonofocio, grandson of a Filipino revolutionary, Quin is torn between the war and his people and dying inside because he thinks the woman he loves is spouting radio propaganda for the Japanese. A nice bonus is Ms. Barnes, the Americans school teacher who is the heart of Madden's little rebel group. She's an old Philippine hand who just isn't impressed by all these army types or 'popinjay in uniform' as she calls Madden. This movie isn't just about the Yanks. Frankly Madden, Barnes and company are just backdrop. Back to Bataan is about the Filipino People and their courage in the face of Japanese occupation. A nice bonus here is some of the combat sequences, a Japanese attack in the opener, and the final battle for a crossroads at the end. Both are well done.

Air Force: Of course there was no air force, only the Army Air Corps. Air Force here means a force from the air.  Imagine the title was Ground Force. Or Tank Force. There you go. I absolutely love this Howard Hawks picture. Its a well crafted movie. I mean, it looks good. Great plot about a B-17 (Mary-Ann) crew that flies into the war, first Pearl Harbor, then Wake Island and finally the Philippines. We have an all American multi-ethnic crew. The all American Captain 'Irish' Quincannon, baby-faced lead pilot, the cynical Winacki who washed out of flight school, a grizzled old mechanic who just wants to see his boy whose a pursuit pilot in the Philippines, Tex Raider, another pursuit pilot who hitches along for the ride, Munk Howser the Navigator whose father was a WWI, Weinberg the street smart New Yorker, a young radio operator whose mother sees him off, a Minnesota Farm Boy...you get the gist. The crew of the Mary-Ann fly from one adventure to another, emergency landings, Japanese air attacks, repairing the Mary-Ann as Japanese troops close in, etc etc. Just a wonderful and fun movie. My favorite. Modern special effects aficionados might laugh at the all the warship miniatures but they're well done and capture a boys imagination. The musical score is wonderful.

Notice a theme? They all take place in the Philippines and are loaded with Yanks in khaki and fry pan helmets. Men who are on their way to their doom