They Were Expendable

Watch: They Were Expendable

12/19/19452h 15m

Premiere Release (US)

~ A Tribute to Those Who Did So Much... With So Little! ~

Overview:

After a demonstration of new PT boats, navy brass are still unconvinced of their viability in combat, leaving Lt. "Rusty" Ryan frustrated. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, Ryan and his buddy Lt. Brickley are told they can finally take their squadron into battle. The PT boats quickly prove their worth, successfully shooting down Japanese planes, relaying messages between islands, and picking off a multitude of enemy ships.

Director:

John Ford

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

navy
based on novel or book
world war ii
pearl harbor
philippines
pacific war
pacific theater
bataan
1940s
corregidor

Cast

Robert Montgomery

~ as ~

Lt. John Brickley

John Wayne

~ as ~

Lt. (J.G.) 'Rusty' Ryan

Donna Reed

~ as ~

Lt. Sandy Davyss

Jack Holt

~ as ~

General Martin

Ward Bond

~ as ~

"Boats" Mulcahey, Chief Boatswain's Mate

Marshall Thompson

~ as ~

Ens. 'Snake' Gardner

Paul Langton

~ as ~

Ens. 'Andy' Andrews

Leon Ames

~ as ~

Major James Morton

Arthur Walsh

~ as ~

Seaman Jones

Donald Curtis

~ as ~

Lt. (J.G.) 'Shorty' Long

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 11 month(s) ago
7
"Brick" (Robert Montgomery) is an US Navy lieutenant desperate to prove that his motorised torpedo boats can do more for the war effort than deliver the mail. Luckily, he's got "Rusty" (John Wayne) as his number two and plenty of opportunity to test their theories against the advancing Japanese as with things looking terrible for the Americans in Manila, they have their work cut out for them. Even though things are relentless and perilous, "Rusty" still finds time for a little romance with nurse "Sandy" (Donna Reed) and we've also got Ward Bond and a lively few scenes from "Dad" (Russell Simpson) to help keep the adventure focused. The film was co-written by "Spig" Wead - a man whom Wayne played in another John Ford feature "The Wings of Eagles" (1957) - so the narrative has a degree of authenticity as their forces are forced to retreat towards Australia. There are also some decent visual effects with plenty of action, (not so) near misses as Ford allows his three stars to tell this story in a far less jingoistic fashion than some of the more propagandist efforts made to bolster public support during WWII. Wayne turns on the charm here - with Reed and with the audience, and this works well.