Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)

A dramatization of the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima.

Director:

Allan Dwan

Writers:

Harry Brown (screenplay), James Edward Grant (screenplay)

Stars:

John Wayne, John Agar, Adele Mara

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Wayne	...	Sgt. John M. Stryker
John Agar	...	Pfc. Peter Conway
Adele Mara	...	Allison Bromley
Forrest Tucker	...	Pfc. Al Thomas
Wally Cassell	...	Pfc. Benny Regazzi
James Brown	...	Pfc. Charlie Bass
Richard Webb	...	Pfc. 'Handsome' Dan Shipley
Arthur Franz	...	Cpl. Robert Dunne / Narrator
Julie Bishop	...	Mary
James Holden	...	Pfc. Soames
Peter Coe	...	Pfc. George Hellenpolis
Richard Jaeckel	...	Pfc. Frank Flynn
William Murphy	...	Pfc. Eddie Flynn (as Bill Murphy)
George Tyne	...	Pfc. Harris
Hal Baylor	...	Pvt. 'Sky' Choynski (as Hal Fieberling)

Storyline

After his wife takes their son and leaves him, Sgt. John Stryker is an embittered man who takes his misery out on the men under his command. They're a bunch of green recruits who have a hard time dealing with Stryker's tough drills and thicker skin. Even his old friends start to wonder if he's gone from being the epitome of a tough Marine Sergeant to a man over the edge.

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Plot Keywords:

battle | sergeant | combat | tarawa | heroic military | 

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Taglines:

A great human story... makes a mighty motion picture. A Great Human Story... Makes A Mighty Motion Picture.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

Universal Studios

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 March 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Du warst unser Kamerad

Filming Locations:

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Oceanside, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 109 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Prior to the assault at Tarawa, Sgt. Stryker (John Wayne) is at the rail of a ship with his squad around him. A young Marine standing next to him has his helmet strap secured under his chin, while Stryker's, as well as those of other Marines, has its straps unfastened. Stryker motions for the young Marine to unfasten his strap, a reference to the common belief that the concussion from an explosion would rip off a helmet, killing or wounding the wearer. However, later in the movie, while the squad is aboard an LVT preparing to hit the beach on, all helmets, including Stryker's, are fastened. When a Marine tells Stryker that he's scared, and Stryker replies that he is too, you can clearly see their chin straps. If Stryker was convinced it was so dangerous to fasten a helmet, and taught his subordinates the same, it's unlikely he would change the habit. Straps were fastened when boarding landing craft to prevent the helmets from falling off and striking another Marine.

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Goofs

As Stryker and his men are approaching the beach the navy ships and aircraft are still attacking the beach. A Japanese pill box is shown shooting at the beach. Why? No troops have landed therefore no need to be using the machine guns.

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Quotes

Sergeant Stryker: Well I guess, into each life a little rain must fall.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits Historical note- The first American flag was raised on Mount Suribachi by the late Sgt. 'Ernest I. Thomas, Jr.', U.S.M.C. on the morning of February 23,1945.

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Connections

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005)

User Reviews

The first film I remember

I first saw this film at the age of 5 and it has been my favourite ever since. This led to my following of the greatest actor of all time JOHN WAYNE. The film follows Sgt John M Stryker, taking a platoon of mostly raw recruits and training them to be mean, tough, and ready for anything Marines, by any way possible, loathed by the squad but by the end of the picture admired by them as they realise what and why he is the way he is.

The film mixes battle scenes with actual footage from the landings and allows for character development instead of just a bunch of guy's grouped together. Wayne deserved his Oscar nomination for his role but you cant leave out the supporting cast. John Agar in possibly his best role and Forrest Tucker as his old adversary also Cassell/Brown and Webb proving equally up to the rolls and a young Richard Jaeckel all playing there parts with zest.

When you look at the events it was based on, the Island hopping of hard bitter fighting the slaughter of both sides on Iwo Jima its self 4,000+ U.S. casualties and 21,000 Japanise you can see why this film is compulsory viewing for all new Marine recruits.

I also believe that this film would have been a masterpiece had it been made without the restrictions of the time compared with the films of today like "Saving Private Ryan".

Whatever your own thoughts are on the film when you next watch it just remember those who fought there and REMAIN there................