Guadalcanal Diary (1943)

Concentrating on the personal lives of those involved, a war correspondent takes us through the preparations, landing and initial campaign on Guadalcanal during WWII.

Director:

Lewis Seiler

Writers:

Lamar Trotti (screenplay), Jerome Cady (adaptation),

Stars:

Preston Foster, Lloyd Nolan, William Bendix

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Preston Foster	...	Father Donnelly
Lloyd Nolan	...	Sgt. Hook Malone
William Bendix	...	Cpl. Aloysius 'Taxi' Potts
Richard Conte	...	Capt. Davis
Anthony Quinn	...	Jesus ('Soose') Alvarez
Richard Jaeckel	...	Pvt. Johnny ('Chicken') Anderson
Roy Roberts	...	Capt. James Cross
Minor Watson	...	Col. Wallace E. Grayson
Ralph Byrd	...	Ned Rowman
Lionel Stander	...	Sgt. Butch
Reed Hadley	...	War correspondent / Narrator
John Archer	...	Lt. Thurmond

Storyline

Concentrating on the personal lives of those involved, a war correspondent takes us through the preparations, landing and initial campaign on Guadalcanal during WWII.

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Plot Keywords:

war correspondent | guadalcanal | jungle warfare | bombardment | island | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Richard Tregaskis' Guadalcanal Diary

Filming Locations:

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Oceanside, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the first time that Richard Conte was credited under that name. This was his second feature film. In his first, Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence, he had been billed as Nicholas Conte.

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Goofs

Chicken Anderson is shot and reappears later in the movie looking perfectly healthy.

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Quotes

Cpl. Aloysius T. 'Taxi' Potts: Maybe if we keep digging we'll come up someplace around Ebbets Field.
Pvt. Johnny 'Chicken' Anderson: Yeah, I'm practically standing on second base right now.

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Connections

References Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

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Soundtracks

"Marine Hymn"
(uncredited)
Music by Jacques Offenbach from "Geneviève de Brabant"
Played during the opening credits and occasionally in the score

User Reviews

This is a little gem of a movie with a fine ensemble cast!

This is a tremendous World War II film with amazing performances. The director, Lewis Seiler, and the writer of the screenplay, Lamar Trotti, must have really been on their toes to come up with this little gem from a book by Richard Tregaskis. The quality of "Guadalcanal" is amazing from the special effects and location shots to the cinematography and the dialogue. Sometimes less is more and this movie demonstrates that in portraying the violence of war realistically without being extremely graphic. The only minor flaw I saw in the special effects was when a few soldiers were killed by grenades or bombs and they seemed to fall over from the blast a tad bit too quickly. This movie uses an ensemble cast of actors to tell the story of a platoon of U.S. marines sent to Guadalcanal to fight the Japanese in the South Pacific Ocean. The focus is not as much on the fighting and battles as it is on the men themselves in the context of war, although there are several terrific scenes of fighting and skirmishes that propel the movie along at an excellent pace. "Guadalcanal" is in glorious black and white film and is crisp and clear. Many scenes from the movie are so vivid that they have lingered in my mind long after watching the movie. I can recall vividly the palm trees on the beach, the sound of the men singing, the men lounging on the deck of the ship, Japanese soldiers being blown up in a cave and falling out of trees, the faces and expressions of the men and on and on. This movie not only stood up to a second viewing but also seemed even better the second time around. I can't praise the actors enough who breathe life into this movie and who make their characters so easy to get to know that this sixty year old movie seems like it was made yesterday. Watch this movie and see how these men respond to battle in "Guadalcanal." It's an experience not to be missed. I highly recommend it and give it a 92/100. I purchased the DVD for my collection.