Okinawa : Le Verdun du Pacifique

Arguably, it's one of the three or four best WWII movies ever made. A group of U.S. Marines race against the clock to find the source of enemy rockets that prevent them from taking control of a Japanese-held Pacific island. It's certainly a patriotic film. But there is also an undercurrent of despair, based on the human toll that war inevitably takes.

These Leathernecks are tough, but they are also subject to death from enemy fire. And the screen story puts a lot of emphasis on individual characterization. I don't recall a film that did such a good job of combining scene transitions with flashbacks to help viewers understand the motivations of the main characters.

Lt. Anderson (Richard Widmark) is the leader; he suffers from debilitating migraine headaches, but nevertheless pushes on to fulfill whatever dangerous mission he's assigned. One of his men is Conroy (Richard Hylton) who used to stutter, until Anderson helped cure him of it years earlier. Slattery (Bert Freed) is your typical Marine toughie, but he's got a sense of humor and conceals a portable still to make booze. Pretty Boy (Skip Homeier) is a pistol packing dude with a chip on his shoulder. Through the screen story's deep characterizations, viewers naturally become attached to these guys, and root for them as they enter into their dangerous mission. Of the dozen or so men Anderson leads, not all will make it out alive.

As in other battle films, viewers learn the importance of quick decisions, teamwork, effective communication, and keen awareness of one's surroundings. Life occurs moment by moment, in the here and now. Make a plan; execute it; dodge a problem; ignore pain and fatigue; persist. These are lessons applicable to anyone at any time, not just warriors on the battlefield.

"Halls Of Montezuma" is a quality production all the way. The color cinematography is fine, despite the fact that some of the techniques are dated. The ensemble acting is credible. The editing and scene transitions are just terrific. And, as the film's bookends, that rousing theme song: "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli" gets the viewer in the right frame of mind.

I normally don't care for movies in this genre. Even this film, like other WWII films, is a tad too predictable, slightly manipulative, and contains some outdated assumptions. Nevertheless, as war movies go, "Halls Of Montezuma" is one of the best.

When it was released in 1950, "Halls of Montezuma" was one of the most realistic and ambitious war movies yet made. Today its strengths still outweigh its unfortunate flaws. The flaws are an all-too-familiar sentimental streak, an absurd "revelation" about Japanese tactics, an unconvincing psycho in a clumsy explanatory flashback, and the unlikely presence, in Lt. Anderson's platoon, of a replacement who just happened to have been one of his high-school students in civilian life.

Many viewers will find such flaws even more annoying because they detract from the good things about this movie, including some solid performances (Widmark, Palance, Boone, Webb) a realistic plot, an unusually authentic look--including some (mostly) well integrated combat footage--and a spectacular scope. Until "The Longest Day" (1961), the beach landing here(with flame-throwing tanks)and the later assault on the Japanese were more impressive than any other screen depictions of a large military operation. (BTW, the failure of the Japanese to oppose the landing itself isn't a Hollywood howler; the movie accurately reflects the Japanese defense strategy on Okinawa in 1945.) Milestone's directorial masterpiece, "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930), expresses revulsion at the slaughter of World War I. "Halls of Montezuma" affords a more complex view of men in World War II. The hero is a high-school chemistry teacher whose migraines have addicted him to painkillers; he doesn't care because he assumes he's going to be killed. One character is blinded and another killed by accident. By modern standards such incidents may seem relatively mild, but during the war such troubling images were thought to be too disturbing for film-goers. Even in 1950 they were strong stuff for a movie.

Made at a time when the Cold War was heating up dangerously in Korea, "Halls of Montezuma" is still a revealing postwar response to World War II in the Pacific.

The interesting and uncharacteristic film is a gripping war story from Lewis Milestone in that's all patriotic and all flag-waving with valiant US soldiers facing on Japanese enemy in the Pacific Basin . The Marines assault a strongly held enemy island in the Pacific to track down a Japanese rocket base . We follow them from the beach to a Japanese rocket site throughout enemy infested jungle , being commanded Lt. Anderson , an ex-school teacher (Richard Widmark) along with his old pupil Conroy (Richard Hylton) and other Privates as Coffman (Robert Wagner) , Pretty Boy (Skip Homeier) , Whitney (Martin Milner) , Slattery (Bert Freed) ; furtermore , a Sgt. called Zelenko (Neville Brand) , Sgt. Johnson (Reginald Gardiner) , Doc (Karl Malden) and a War Correspondent named Dickerman (Jack Webb) . Along the way , all of them are transformed into battle veterans.

This thrilling , large WWII yarn capably put together by a good filmmaker , concerns a company of Marines led by a two-fisted Lieutenant whose squad becomes a tight fighting unit , while races against the clock by hunt down a Japanese rocket base . Being a fast-moving , rather thoughtful little film about battles between Marines and Japanese and their strong resistance to the invasion , though some feats are hard to believe . It is all plenty with glory-glory , propaganda and martial music in the background , being compellingly made by the same man who 21 years earlier directed the landmark anti-war film ¨All quiet on the Western Front¨. This unnerving epic depicts the war horror , including atrocities by both sides while happen attacks during the invasion . Thought-provoking screenplay , including dramatic scenes in overall effects , also has moments of astounding power with some overwhelming war images . It is competently acted by a strong cast which plus stars Richard Widmark , there are Karl Malden , Skip Homeier , Robert Wagner and Jack Palance . In addition , Richard Boone as tough Lt. Col. Gilfillan , Reginald Gardner in a rare dramatic character and Jack Webb as a war correspondent.

The motion picture was well and powerfully directed by Lewis Milestone, who cut in actual combat footage along with the mock-up set-pieces filmed in the United States at Camp Pendleton . Lewis was born in the Ukraine , but emigrated to America at 18 and he served in WWI . He often made chronicles of wartime conflicts and persisted in showing horror war from the point of view of the ordinary soldier , providing a grimmer stuff as well as quieter moments . As he showed WWI (All quiet on the western front) , WWII (A walk in the sun , Purple heart , Halls of Motzuma , Edge and darkness) and Korean war (Pork Chop Hill) ; and directed several other excellent movies in different fields , drama (Of mice and men , Strange love of Martha Ivers) , adventures (Mutiny on the Bounty) and heist-comedy (Ocean's eleven) , among others . Rating : Better than average , 7/10 . Well worth watching .

Many war movies just following WWII were of the John Wayne tough guy type. However, Halls of Montezuma, is refreshing in that it looks in depth at the psychology of the soldier. Really at how men change when laying there lives on the line. The cinematography was also well done when you consider this movie was made half a century ago. You won't see the blood and guts as in a Saving Private Ryan, but the movie may make you think twice before signing up for active duty.