They Were Expendable
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| They Were Expendable | |
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| Directed by | John Ford |
| Produced by | John Ford |
| Written by | William L. White (book) Frank Wead (screenplay) |
| Starring | Robert Montgomery John Wayne Donna Reed Jack Holt Ward Bond |
| Music by | Herbert Stothart |
| Cinematography | Joseph H. August |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | December 20, 1945 |
| Running time | 135 min |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
They Were Expendable is a war film released in 1945. It was directed by John Ford and starred John Wayne and Robert Montgomery. Montgomery directed a number of the PT boat scenes (without credit) when Ford was unavailable for health reasons.
The film is based on the book by William L. White, relating the story of the exploits of John D. Bulkeley, a motor torpedo boat squadron commander, and Robert Kelly, a skipper, during the World War II Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1941–1942. The characters of John Brickley (Robert Montgomery) and Rusty Ryan (John Wayne) are fictionalized name changes of the actual subjects. While both book and film depict actions which did not occur in fact, they were believed as fact during the war and the film is noted for its verisimilitude.
The film opens with a demonstration of the capabilities of PT boats in Manila Bay on the day Pearl Harbor is bombed. Ryan becomes disgusted when the his superiors refuse to see them as viable naval craft and is in the process of writing his request for a transfer when the word of war comes.
Ryan and Brickley's demands for combat assignments for their squadron are frustrated for a time, but they are eventually allowed to show their capabilities. From there on, there are mostly 'action' scenes, with the exception of Ryan's romantic interlude with nurse Sandy Davis (Donna Reed). With the mounting Japanese onslaught against the doomed American garrisons at Bataan and Corregidor, the Torpedo Squadron is sent to evacuate General MacArthur and a party of VIP's (for which Bulkeley received the Medal of Honor). This done, they resume their attacks against the Japanese, who gradually whittle the squadron down to a handful of men and a single boat. The film ends with their imminent surrender and the grim fate the defenders face. This film is considered by some to be Wayne's best performance.
One of the best scenes of demoralized, defeated faces in the movie industry comes after the squadrons' last PT boat is machine gunned by a Japanese aircraft and explodes on the beach, after a long struggle to get back to land. The crew heads to a bar (in the middle of a deserted beach!), nothing to do but wait, sits down and orders liquor.
