They Were Expendable (1945) / Flying Leathernecks (1951) (Full Screen)

Disc: FLYING LEATHERNECKS

Disc: THEY WERE EXPENDABLE

Two classic World War II films combine on this 2-Pack.

THEY WERE EXPENDABLE: John Ford's poetic adaptation of William White's book about a PT boat squadron in the South Pacific during World War II may be the best feature film on the war in that theater and is considered by some scholars, including British director Lindsay Anderson, as Ford's greatest work. Just before the outbreak of the war, Lt. John Brickley (Robert Montgomery) is assigned to take his Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron to Manila Bay to defend against a possible Japanese attack in the Philippines. Once there, he finds that the top brass, amused by the idea that the small crafts can be of use in combat, relegates the PT boat to messenger duty. Angered by that reaction, Brickley and his crew must wait for the war to begin to show what they can do. When it does, they shoot down three Japanese planes during an attack on their base, but when the base is closed Brick's squadron is reassigned to Bataan, where they once again are ordered to run messages, and Brickley's fiery executive officer, Lt. Rusty Ryan (John Wayne), fed up with such meaningless duty, asks to be transferred to a destroyer. The embodiment of Milton's tag that "they also serve who stand and wait," Ford's elegiac film pays tribute to all who donned a uniform during the war, whatever their role. Montgomery, who shared in the film's direction, gives the best noncomic performance of his career as the evenhanded CO. But in a visually arresting film that could provide a formidable emotional impact even without the use of sound, it's the eloquent compositions of director of photography Joseph H. August that resonate most powerfully.

FLYING LEATHERNECKS: Action-packed war film utilizing actual battle footage to create a tense drama. Two US Marine fighter pilots try to fight their own personal battles, while still banding together to fight the war. Wayne delivers a standard performance as the flying officer whose determination is hated by his men as well as the enemy.

They Were Expendable/Flying Leathernecks (DBFE)

John Wayne and Robert Montgomery star in and John Ford directs a resolute tale of World War II courage: They Were Expendable. The two stars portray PT-boat skippers who defend the Philippines and give the U.S. war effort time to regroup after the crippling losses at Pearl Harbor. Wayne takes to the skies with the Flying Leathernecks, leading embattled Marine fighter squadron VMF 247 at Guadalcanal and also campaigning to coordinate ground combat with low-flying aerial sorties. Nicholas Ray directs, mixing in actual battlefield and dogfight footage. Robert Ryan co-stars.

Action | Big Battles | High Flying | Suspense | Thriller | War | World War II

Genre:

• War Shows & Movies

Movie Categories:

• Action / Adventure