Pride of the Marines (1945)

Marine hero Al Schmid is blinded in battle and returns home to be rehabilitated. He readjusts to his civilian life with the help of his wife.

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers:

Albert Maltz (screen play), Marvin Borowsky (adaptation),

Stars:

John Garfield, Eleanor Parker, Dane Clark

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Garfield	...	Al Schmid
Eleanor Parker	...	Ruth Hartley
Dane Clark	...	Lee Diamond
John Ridgely	...	Jim Merchant
Rosemary DeCamp	...	Virginia Pfeiffer
Ann Doran	...	Ella Mae Merchant
Ann E. Todd	...	Loretta Merchant (as Ann Todd)
Warren Douglas	...	Kebabian
Don McGuire	...	Bill aka Irish
Tom D'Andrea	...	Tom
Rory Mallinson	...	Doctor
Mark Stevens	...	Ainslee (as Stephen Richards)
Anthony Caruso	...	Johnny Rivers
Moroni Olsen	...	Capt. Burroughs

Storyline

Married couple Jim & Ella Merchant set up their single friend Al Schmid on a blind date with Ruth Hartley. The two hit it off and begin dating. A welder, one day at the workplace, Al learns of a friend's enlistment in the Marine Corps and decides to join himself. Al and Ruth have a last date, with Al insisting that she forget about him as he is about to go into combat. However, when Ruth goes to meet his departure train, he is overjoyed and gives her an engagement ring. Assigned to Guadalcanal, Al and his squad are tasked with preventing the Japanese from breaching their line. During a night attack, many of his fellow Marines are slain, but Al ends up single-handedly saving the day, killing scores of Japanese. However, he is wounded by a suicide bomber near the end of the the battle. At the hospital, Al learns that he is blind, a condition that persists even after surgery. Feeling sorry for himself, he dictates a letter to a nurse, informing Ruth that he is relieving her of any ...

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Plot Keywords:

hospital | engagement ring | guadalcanal | hero | bowling | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

24 August 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Uma Luz nas Trevas

Filming Locations:

San Diego Naval Hospital, San Diego, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On the train to Philadelphia, Al (John Garfield) talks to Lee (Dane Clark) about the difficulty he anticipates in getting a job for a blind man. Lee responds that because he, Lee, is Jewish, he has trouble finding a job as well and the wax philosophic about a day when people are discriminated against for any reason. But in real life, it was Garfield who was Jewish.

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Goofs

When Al and the Merchants are gathered around the radio listening to the news flash about Pearl Harbor, none of the tubes in the radio are lit up - the radio is obviously not turned on and nothing would be heard.

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Quotes

Lee Diamond: No, no, this is their chance. They've been gettin' reinforcements/ We haven't. They'll come sooner or later.
Johnny Rivers: I'll take sooner.
Al Schmid: I'll take later.

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Connections

Featured in The John Garfield Story (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Semper Fidelis"
(1888) (uncredited)
Music by John Philip Sousa
Played at the medal ceremony

User Reviews

surprisingly good and accurate war flick

Most war films made in the US during WWII were great fun to watch but suffered from severe gaps in realism because they were being produced more for propaganda value to raise the spirits at home than anything else. I am not knocking these films as many of them are still very watchable. However, because they so often lack realism they are prevented from being truly great films. A perfect example was the John Garfield film Air Force--in which a B-17 nearly single-handedly takes out half the Japanese air force! However, Pride Of The Marines is a welcome departure--scoring high marks for portraying a true story in a reasonably accurate manner. When I first saw this film, I thought it was NOT a true story as it seemed way too improbable to be true. However, after researching further I found that it was in fact rather true to the amazing story of two men who did so much to earn the Medal of Honor. This is one case where real life seemed too incredible to be true!