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 | Romance | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Universal Studios

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 1950 (France)

Also Known As:

Iwo Jima

Filming Locations:

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, 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

A number of actual military personnel portrayed themselves. These included retired Lt. Gen. Holland M. Smith, who was the 5th Amphibious Corps commander and who also acted as a technical advisor; Col. David M. Shoup, U.S.M.C., who received the Medal of Honor; Capt. Harold G. Schrier, U.S.M.C., who commanded the Marines on the Suribachi slopes; Lt. Col. H.P. Crowe, U.S.M.C., who was a battalion commander on Tarawa; Pfc. Rene A. Gagnon; Pfc. Ira H. Hayes; and PM 3/c John H. Bradley.

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Goofs

The first battle the movie's unit participates in is Tarawa. Tarawa was assaulted by the 2nd Marine Division. The same unit is then engaged in the Iwo Jima campaign. Iwo Jima was invaded by the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions. It's very unlikely that Stryker's whole squad would have been transferred to another division. Furthermore, earlier in the film Stryker refers to his involvement in the Guadalcanal assault. The assault on Guadalcanal was conducted by both the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions, so it is plausible for Stryker to have served with two marine divisions.

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Quotes

[During the night the squad is guarding a trenchline amid word that the Japanese may launch an attack. From out of the night a faint voice can be heard calling "Corpsman."]
Pfc. Benny Regazzi: [his voice hushed] Stryker!
Sgt. Stryker: [hushed] Get down! Stay down! You have your orders, don't move!
Pfc. Peter Conway: [hushed] There's somebody wounded out there. Let's go get him!
Sgt. Stryker: Stay down, it might be a Jap trick, they pulled it off plenty of times at Guadalcanal.
Pfc. Peter Conway: That doesn't sound like a Jap to me!
Sgt. Stryker: I don't care what it sounds like to you! You stick ...
[...]

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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

Referenced in Créatures célestes (1994)

User Reviews

A Great Classic triumphs over age and minor flaws.

Yes, today some of it seems campy and jingoistic, but Sands of Iwo Jima, is such a classic that it can't help being a worthy way to spend 100 minutes.

First of all, there is John Wayne as Sergeant Stryker. Stryker was the model on which virtually every screen portrayal of a tough sergeant is based. The character's angst and intensity also give us a rare glimpse of John Wayne's true acting ability. In most movies he just portrayed himself, but there is no swagger in Stryker, just loneliness, fear, and hope. He is by far the most convincing character in this movie, and one of the top from any war movie, period.

Next: the history. Ok, the actual characters have no basis in fact, but the battles certainly do. The battles for Tarawa and Iwo Jima were very important to the war and tragically costly in lives. They deserve to be remembered. The production mixed a lot of actual footage taken at the actual battles and mixed it in with the regular film. The two look fairly similar since both are black and white, but you can tell what is real and what was shot for the movie. One's first reaction to this might be that the production went cheapskate, but, in a way, the use of real stock battle footage was more moving than an epic legion of extras like in The Longest Day. You just can't beat reality for realism, and seeing the real islands and the real marines is an eerie reminder of how many men died in those horrific battles.

Finally: the supporting cast. Ok, I can't rave about them all, but most were entertaining, especially Wally Cassell. Also, Forrest Tucker puts in a fine performance, the only one remotely close to Wayne's in its depth.

Some of the anachronisms are a bit funny, but my only real complaint in the whole movie was John Agar's character Peter Conway. I don't know who was at fault for it, Agar or the writers, but his character is hard to take. I think we are meant to like him, but for about the first 90 minutes that is pretty much impossible.

Otherwise, it's a great movie. See it!