Marine Raiders

I was bored during the watching of this film, because it remains a propaganda war film from Hollywood and destined to promote the US Army. You have Robert Ryan and Pat O'Brien, so it's not totally useless and I expected far far more footage stock shots in this war fikm, totally predictable. I sometimes used the fast forward button on my VCR - yes I only got it in my library in VHS, from the late eighties, and I totally forgotten it. I can understand why now. Harold Schuster is also a director from whom I tracked the movies down. But he made more interesting films: DRAGONWELLS MASSACRE or LOOPHOLE for instance or JACK SLADE and RETURN OF JACK SLADE. His last part of career, I ignored his first one, including some FLICKA adventures. Rubbish....

War soft drama directed by Harold Schuster (On the Sunny Side) featuring the US Marine Corps during the Pacific War against Japan. In the fall of 1942 at Guadalcanal, a kind of Stalingrad-like battle in South Pacific, the Marine Raiders led by the major Steve (Pat O'Brien, The Navy comes through) with the help of his captain Dan (Robert Ryan, Behind the Rising Sun) fight at night the Japanese in the jungle. As lieutenant Tony (Russell Wade, The Ghost Ship) is found "horribly mutilated" by the enemy, a hot-tempered Dan avenges him, but Steve rebukes him for being too imprudent: the reasonable way of acting is thus opposed to the impulsive one. In the meanwhile, the sergents Louie (Frank McHugh, A Medal for Benny) and Maguire (Barton MacLane, Bombardier) argue about the way of putting pepper in the soup, making the comic counterpoint of the two main characters.

As they now rest in their rear camp in Australia, Dan meets Ellen (Ruth Hussey, Tender Comrade), a woman auxiliary in the Australian Air Force, and they fall in love. They plan to get married quick, but as Dan is injured in a Japanese bombing, Steve objects to the impatient and sudden decision of his friend and he makes him sent back with him to the San Diego Marine camp in California. Here they train the new recruits to join the rising corps of the Marines, but Dan, without any news from Ellen, longs to go back for action in the Pacific.

As the camp commander (Edward Fielding, Pacific Rendezvous) hesitates to send Dan back to fighting, Steve talks in his favor and they both go to take part, one year after their previous battle, in the liberation campaign of the strategic Bougainville island in the Australian mandated Territory of New Guinea. Will Dan be able to retrieve his beloved Ellen and shall they manage to carry on their goals? Will Dan and Steve find the right way to fight alongside in spite of their sharply different attitudes within this "largest invading force in the history of the Pacific area"? The plot follows the becoming of the characters in this film dedicated to the Marine Corps efforts to win the war.

Great movie, true to history as I have read. I am a history buff and have read World War II history. We need more movies of this value today. We need more praise of military today. I feel pride while watching this movie. Alway enjoy Pat O'Brien movies. The music score was a plus to this movie. History was followed to the true events. See the website for Marine Raiders. We must be proud of our Marine Raiders. Truly enjoyed this type of movies. Hollywood doesn't seem to produce this type of movie today. Maybe Hollywood should view the movies of the 1930's and 1940's. I enjoyed watching AMC and TBS for the old movies. Movies like Marine Raiders makes my Day.

The jungle battle scenes in opening of this film incorporate an atmosphere one usually finds in film noir. The portrayal of Guadalcanal and the related background music tend in this direction, which was not found in many of the war movies of 1944. Special credit should be given to the director of lighting, especially relative to the deep three-dimensional effect created with the interplay of light and dark.

A group of Marines fights the Japanese in Guadalcanal. Maj. Steve Lockhart (Pat O'Brien) tries to guide Capt. Dan Craig (Robert Ryan) through the difficult times. While on leave, Craig meets Lt. Ellen Foster (Ruth Hussey).

This was released a year before the end of the war in the Pacific. It is light at times with the comedy and the romance. There is war footage but it seems intent on rounding out the story with romantic melodrama and comedic scenes. The actors do get an action-packed ending although the miniatures do look fake next to the real thing. The studio set is fine for what it is. This is fine war melodrama.