Guadalcanal Diary (1943)

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

Also Known As:

Richard Tregaskis' Guadalcanal Diary (USA) (poster title)

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:

Marine Corps Capt. Marion Carl, a multi-ace (18.5 air victories), makes an appearance as a Marine Corps pilot. Capt. Carl wears his baseball cap with the bill pointed skyward and makes the comment, "Don't look now, fellas, but a truck of gas just came on the field." Capt. Carl was a survivor of the Battle of Midway and the air campaign for Guadalcanal in 1942. He was awarded 2 Navy Crosses for his actions at Midway and Guadalcanal. Sadly, on June 28, 1998, he was murdered in his Oregon home by a home intruder.

Goofs:

Factual errors: One of the Japanese soldiers is carrying a US Krag rifle from 1892.

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:

Referenced in Indie Sex: Censored (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Rock of Ages

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.