Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Allan Dwan

Writers:

Harry Brown (screenplay) &
James Edward Grant (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

1 March 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War | Romance

Tagline:

Fightin' . . Laughin' . . Lovin' !

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Marine | Iwo Jima | Tarawa | Sergeant | Soldier

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 win

Cast

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)
John McGuire	...	Capt. Joyce
Martin Milner	...	Pvt. Mike McHugh
Leonard Gumley	...	Pvt. Sid Stein
William Self	...	Pvt. L.D. Fowler Jr.
David M. Shoup	...	Himself (as Col. D.M. Shoup, U.S.M.C.)
H.P. Crowe	...	Himself (as Lt. Col. H.P. Crowe, U.S.M.C.)
Harold G. Schrier	...	Himself (as Capt. Harold G. Schrier, U.S.M.C.)
Rene A. Gagnon	...	Himself (as Pfc. Rene A. Gagnon)
Ira H. Hayes	...	Himself (as Pfc. Ira H. Hayes)
John H. Bradley	...	Himself (as PM 3/c John H. Bradley)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Conrad Binyon	...	Marine (uncredited)
David Clarke	...	Wounded Marine (uncredited)
Fred Datig Jr.	...	Marine (uncredited)
Bruce Edwards	...	Marine (uncredited)
Dorothy Ford	...	Tall girl (uncredited)
Carole Gallagher	...	USO Woman (uncredited)
Fred Graham	...	Officer (uncredited)
Don Haggerty	...	Colonel in staff car (uncredited)
Gil Herman	...	Lt. Baker (uncredited)
William Hudson	...	Marine (uncredited)
I. Stanford Jolley	...	Forrestal (uncredited)
Dickie Jones	...	Scared Marine (uncredited)
Billy Lechner	...	Marine (uncredited)
Mickey McCardle	...	Marine (uncredited)
Roger McGee	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Al Murphy	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Waiter in Bar (uncredited)
Judy Sochor	...	USO Woman (uncredited)
Glen Vernon	...	Marine (uncredited)
Steve Wayne	...	Marine (uncredited)
Dick Wessel	...	Grenade instructor (uncredited)
John Whitney	...	Lt. Thompson (uncredited)
Joy Windsor	...	USO Woman (uncredited)

Directed by
Allan Dwan

Writing credits
Harry Brown		(screenplay) &
James Edward Grant		(screenplay)
Harry Brown		(story)

Produced by
Edmund Grainger	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Victor Young

Cinematography by
Reggie Lanning		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Richard L. Van Enger

Art Direction by
James W. Sullivan		(as James Sullivan)

Set Decoration by
John McCarthy Jr.
Otto Siegel

Makeup Department
Peggy Gray	....	hair stylist
Bob Mark	....	makeup supervisor
Vern Murdock	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Lee Lukather	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nathan Barrager	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
T.A. Carman	....	sound
Howard Wilson	....	sound

Special Effects by
Howard Lydecker	....	special effects
Theodore Lydecker	....	special effects
Jack Caffee	....	special effects (uncredited)
The United States Marine Corps	....	demolition effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Fred Graham	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Don Nagel	....	stunts (uncredited)
Terry Wilson	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Donald Biddle Keyes	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Herbert Kirkpatrick	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Nels Mathias	....	grip (uncredited)
Sid Swaney	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Adele Palmer	....	costume supervisor

Music Department
Victor Young	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
David O. Selznick	....	John Agar by arrangement with
Ernest I. Thomas Jr.	....	historical note (as Sgt. Ernest I. Thomas Jr. U.S.M.C.)
Herbert J. Yates	....	presenter
Sid Davis	....	stand-in: John Wayne (uncredited)
Leonard Friebourg	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Jack Lewis	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Holland M. Smith	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Robert Walker	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Republic Pictures (I) (as A Republic Production)
• Universal Studios

Distributors

• Republic Pictures (I) (1949) (USA) (theatrical)
• Republic Pictures (I) (1954) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Republic Pictures (1950) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• British Lion Film Corporation (1950) (UK) (theatrical)
• Gloria (1952) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Les Films Fernand Rivers (1950) (France) (theatrical)
• Artisan Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Emerald (200?) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Maple Pictures (2006) (Canada) (DVD)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1981) (USA) (VHS)
• Republic Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Consolidated Film Industries (CFI) (optical effects)

Other Companies

• United States Marine Corps  grateful acknowledgement

Runtime:

100 min | Germany:97 min | USA:109 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #14111) | West Germany:12 (f) | UK:PG | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Argentina:16 | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

The three men who were part of the flag raising (made famous by the photograph Joe Rosenthal had taken) and survived the battle for Iwo Jima, appear in the movie. Rene A. Gagnon, Ira H. Hayes and John H. Bradley are seen with with John Wayne as he instructs them to hoist the flag. (Wayne gives the folded flag to Gagnon). The flag used to recreate the incident is the actual flag that was raised on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945. It was loaned to the movie by the US Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia.

Goofs:

Factual errors: 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. That was a 1st Marine Division show. Though not impossible, it's highly unlikely for a junior NCO to have served with three different divisions in the Pacific.

Quotes:

Sergeant Stryker: SADDLE UP.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Thank You for Smoking (2005)

Fantastic

According to IMDb director Dwan directed 323 movies! DVD review.

Wayne is the unpopular leader of a group of soldiers in WW2. After attacking a Japanese island they must go again on the sands of Iwo Jima.

Really good war movie intercut with actual footage of the real battles. The soldiers all talk too much and there's much conflict between them and tough Wayne. The best parts of the movie were the actual battles and it was great seeing soldiers and tanks using flame throwers on the Japs. Like other similar movies such as Guadacanal Diary there's a wide variety of marine from New York to the rural South. But unlike that movie there's little racism aimed at the enemy. The title song was again used in Halls Of Montezuma. One great stand-out scene involved Wayne visiting a woman and discovering her baby. He leaves a changed man. There's a rival soldier (Agar) who prefers books and intellect to Wayne's brawn and discipline. But the war was won by men like Wayne not wimpy nerds like Agar.

The best war movies were all made in the '40s and '50s and Sands of Iwo Jima is one of the best.