Story of G.I. Joe (1945)

War correspondent Ernie Pyle joins Company C, 18th Infantry as this American army unit fights its way across North Africa in World War II. He comes to know the soldiers and finds much human... See full summary »

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Leopold Atlas (screenplay), Guy Endore (screenplay),

Stars:

Burgess Meredith, Robert Mitchum, Freddie Steele

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 5 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Burgess Meredith	...	Ernie Pyle - Scripps-Howard War Correspondent
Robert Mitchum	...	Lt. Walker
Freddie Steele	...	Sgt. Warnicki
Wally Cassell	...	Pvt. Dondaro
Jimmy Lloyd	...	Pvt. Spencer
John R. Reilly	...	Pvt. Murphy (as John Reilly)
William Murphy	...	Pvt. Mew (as Bill Murphy)
Sicily and Italy Combat Veterans of the Campaigns in Africa	...	Themselves

Storyline

War correspondent Ernie Pyle joins Company C, 18th Infantry as this American army unit fights its way across North Africa in World War II. He comes to know the soldiers and finds much human interest material for his readers back in the States. Later, he catches up with the unit in Italy and accompanies it through the battles of San Vittorio and Cassino. He learns from its commanding officer, Lt. (later Capt.) Bill Walker of the loneliness of command, and from the individual G.I.'s of the human capacity to survive drudgery, discomfort, and the terror of combat.

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Plot Keywords:

combat | infantry | soldier | war correspondent | battle | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

13 July 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ernie Pyle's Story of G.I. Joe

Filming Locations:

Selznick International Studios - 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lester Cowan Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The extras in the film were real American GIs, in the process of being transferred from the war in Europe to the Pacific. Many of them were killed in the fighting on Okinawa - the same battle in which Ernie Pyle was killed by a Japanese machine gunner - never having seen the movie in which they appeared.

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Goofs

In a night battle scene of US soldiers advancing, it is lit only by artillery explosions, a cameraman in visible in the middle distance pointing a hand=held camera back towards the men.

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Quotes

Pvt. Dondaro: Tonight, boy, tonight I dream in Technicolor.

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Crazy Credits

There are absolutely no credits at the end of the film, not even the words "The End".

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Connections

Spoofed in NCIS: Thirst (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Linda"
(uncredited)
Written by Ann Ronell

User Reviews

The film is now available after years of litigation.

I found this to be a particularly poignant film about WWII - no heroics, just the simple getting through the day & night of a company of US infantry. Much like Ernie Pyle humanized the 'G. I.' in his written pieces, Wellman does the same on film. The heat, dirt, cold, mud, rain...fear, uncertainty, waste - it's all here without the bombast and manipulation of "Saving Private Ryan'. The performances are wonderful - most of the performances were given not by professionals but by the soldiers themselves. There is one scene between Mitchum and Meredith that was apparently an audition film

• it was so right, it was simply inserted into the film. There are human

touches throughout, as well as the insanity of war. I would strongly recommend this film to anyone who has an appreciation for the director, actors, theme. It's not a grisly film, and it is slow, but overall well worth watching.