Guadalcanal Diary (1943)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Lewis Seiler

Writers:

Lamar Trotti (screenplay)
Jerome Cady (adaptation)

Release Date:

27 October 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Plot:

Concentrating on the personal lives of those involved, a war correspondent takes us through the preparations...

Plot Keywords:

WWII | Guadalcanal | War Correspondent | War Footage | American Soldier

Cast

Preston Foster	...	Father Donnelly
Lloyd Nolan	...	Gunnery Sgt. Hook Malone
William Bendix	...	Cpl. Aloysius T. 'Taxi' Potts
Richard Conte	...	Capt. Don Davis
Anthony Quinn	...	Pvt. 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

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG | Netherlands:12 | USA:Approved | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Oceanside, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Movie accurately shows the Marines armed with bolt action rifles. While Garand rifles were available, they were just not available in numbers to issue to the Marines before setting sail.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Japanese snipers tied them selves into their positions. They did not fall out of the trees when shot.

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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Art Director (1949)

Soundtrack:

Rock of Ages

Great movie

This is one of the all-time great classic movies of its genre. Unlike most Hollywood movies that use historical events as backgrounds for sappy and insipid love stories, the main "character" of this movie is the event itself. For the Battle of Guadalcanal is one of the key battles in all of history. This momentous event, which took place at the same time the Soviet Union was battling the Germans at Stalingrad, marked the end of Japanese expansion in the south Pacific and the beginning of the process that would lead to Japan's ultimate defeat. It should also be noted that the Battle for Guadalcanal was an entirely American operation, fought several thousands miles away from home and against an implacable enemy that had months, if not years, to prepare their defenses. Moreover, this battle took place just months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The acting is great, the story compelling and is all-in-all a movie that is definitely worth watching.