Les sacrifiés

Stirring WWII film, directed by John Ford, about the contributions of the Navy torpedo boat squadron to the war effort. In addition to the action and wartime heroics, there are subplots about the rivalry between Navy lieutenant Robert Montgomery and frustrated subordinate John Wayne, and a romance that blossoms between Wayne and nurse Donna Reed.

Montgomery, a gleeful ham when the role calls for it, offers one of his most subtle and successful performances as the sober squadron commander. Wayne does a great job, as well, playing a character with more layers to him than just a gung-ho war hero. His character is brave, to be sure, but he's also ambitious to rise in rank and a little petulant. Not attributes one immediately thinks of when they think John Wayne. Reed is lovely and charming as ever.

It's a little overlong, as many movies over two hours seem to be (then and especially now), but Ford makes the most of it and it never feels padded. Definitely worth a look for Ford and Wayne fans, or anyone who enjoys World War II films. It's one of the best.

Very few, if any, WW2 films are better than this. I first saw it several years ago on a wet miserable Saturday afternoon in winter and subsequently taped it at the next showing. I have seen it several times since then.

Despite not living through this difficult time I can imagine it capturing how the US forces felt in the early days of the Pacific war. As the film states, these are the men who laid down the initial sacrifice that others built on. They were no doubt aware of this, and that escape before the Japanese arrived was their only real chance of survival.

John Ford created a basically solemn film in keeping with the times. Action is pretty minimal but this does not detract from the film at all. Solid performances from all the caste and one of John Wayne's best performances. Some of the action sequences could have been better (but it was made over 50 years ago), a bit too much of men jumping on and off MTB's, and the dinner scene between Wayne and Donna Reed did nothing for me. A downbeat ending with some crew going off to help plan for later battles and others marching off to almost certain death, but it is in keeping with what the US forces faced at the time.

Recent good WW2 films such as Saving Private Ryan and Thin Red Line show what can be achieved now with a big budget and huge technical advances, but it doesn't make them any better than this film.

I only hope it comes out in DVD in the UK. 9 out of 10.

They Were Expendable is John Ford's first Hollywood feature since his discharge from the U.S. Navy and the same can be said for Robert Montgomery. Both had served in the Navy and Montgomery in fact on P.T. Boats. From the last presidential election we now know them as Swift Boats.

It's an unusual John Ford film because the usual heavy comedic monkeyshines are rather subdued here. I'm thinking that John Ford wisely decided that World War II being recently over, the country's mood was joyous, but somber in terms of the heavy human cost.

They Were Expendable has the benefit though of the American audience knowing the ultimate victory. The story begins in the Phillipines in 1941 with Robert Montgomery as real life naval hero John Bulkeley, renamed Brickley for the film, trying to convince the brass of the usefulness of the P.T. Boat in combat, not just for scouting and courier duty. Of course that experiment is cut short and the P.T. Boats and their crews are rushed into some on the job experience.

During the film MacArthur, you might recall Gregory Peck saying that he was going to be evacuated from Corregidor by "one of Johnny Bulkeley's torpedo boats." That scene is dramatized as a wordless Robert Barrat plays MacArthur traveling on the boat commanded by John Wayne.

Wayne is Montgomery's second in command of the P.T. boat squadron who is not thrilled to be there. He'd like to be on at least a destroyer. He gradually comes around though. He also gets a fling in the romance department with Navy nurse Donna Reed.

During that interlude John Ford had some of the crew outside singing Dear Old Girl in a comic vein. Ford was never one to not let a good bit of business die with one film. You might remember in Fort Apache and Rio Grande there was some serenading done. And Donna Reed got serenaded on her "Hawaiian" honeymoon with James Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life with Ward Bond once again being one of the serenaders. I'm sure Frank Capra would have conceded he stole that from Ford.

The story is first and foremost about some very desperate American armed forces who after Pearl Harbor were at the Japanese mercy. Pearl Harbor had totalled our Pacific fleet and no supplies could get through. Still the troops there fought on bravely, they were in fact by geography expendable.

Wayne and Montgomery give good but subdued performances. No do or die heroics here, just a sobering reminder of a terrible beginning for the Americans in the Pacific theater of World War II.

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.

This is a memorable war film. Unlike other war films which depict glamorous battles, brutal campaigns and heroic exploits, this film focuses on average sailors who are merely doing a job. This often touching story is sandwiched around the real life escape of General and Mrs. McArthur from Corregidor at the beginning of World War II. The film does a good job portraying the collapse of American and Fillipino resistance in late 1941 and early 1942. The war is going badly, and this film does not try to sugar coat it. General Martin's character (played by Jack Holt) articulates this well at the end of the film. "The end is near here", he says.

John Wayne plays Rusty, a somewhat disgruntled officer who is unhappy about serving on a patrol torpedo (PT) boat. "Plywood dreams", he calls them in one scene. The fortunes of war intervene and Rusty and his comrades must fight the invading Japanese. Wayne's performance is memorable here, because it is uncharacteristic of his work. Wayne is not the macho heroic fighter that we see in most of his other war films. Here he is a professional sailor doing his job the best he knows how. At the end he predictably tries to be a hero, but star Robert Montgomery polites reminds him that there are other priorities. "Who are you fighting for", he asks. Wayne's character has depth. Uncharacteristically for Wayne he is even a little unsure of himself at times. This is particularly evident in his relationship with the young nurse played by Donna Reed. This is a different Wayne.

Robert Montgomery's performance as the commander of the squadron is also first rate. Like Wayne he is a professional who wants to do his job. The burden of command falls on him as he begs, cajoles and even blackmails fellow sailors to put his PT's in the war. Montgomery's performance is understated, credible and moving. It may be his best work.

This film is a collection of images. The destruction at Subic Bay in a Japanese air strike comes the closest to graphic violence of any scene in the movie. Instead of bodies, we see fires, smoke, debris and the faces of dazed servicemen and civilians. In another scene Wayne and Montgomery stand on a long dock stretching out into an empty inlet. "Are you looking for the Arizona, too," Rusty asks. The scenes depicting the escape of the McArthur's are well staged and realistic. The scenes of the defeated American army retreating on Mindanao show graphically that the war is not going well. The last image in the film with the last American plane to leave the Phillipines flying over a tropical beach at sunset is one of the most memorable in any war film. The words "I shall return" which appear on the screen are trite and unnecessary. Director John Ford has created a collage of memorable images here.

This film is slow paced for a war film, but it works. There is sufficient action, but there are interludes of peace and tranquility. There is a candlelight dinner for Rusty and his girl. There are a few moments near the end in a bar. In another scene Wayne visits with an elderly shipwright. The journey with the McArthurs provides another appropriate interlude in the middle of the film. There are even light moments interspersed. In one of these Marshal Thompson is inspecting the galley and asks derisively "What kind of soup is this?" When told it's not soup but dishwater he goes quickly to his next stop.

This is a simple story of fighting men doing a job that isn't considered particularly important. John Ford's excellent direction turns these mundane moments into one of the most memorable war films ever. Star Robert Montgomery even had a chance to direct in this film when Ford was injured in a fall. I liked this film and would recommend it without reservations.