Halls of Montezuma (1950)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writer:

Michael Blankfort (written by)

Release Date:

December 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | War | Drama | Action

Tagline:

Action with the Battling Leathernecks!

Plot:

A company of Marines races against the clock to find a Japanese rocket base.

Plot Keywords:

Sergeant | Marine Corps US | Katana Sword

Cast

Richard Widmark	...	Lt. Carl Anderson
Jack Palance	...	Pigeon Lane (as Walter {Jack} Palance)
Reginald Gardiner	...	Sgt. Randolph Johnson
Robert Wagner	...	Pvt. Coffman
Karl Malden	...	PHM2 C.E. 'Doc' Jones
Richard Hylton	...	Cpl. Stuart Conroy
Richard Boone	...	Lt. Col. Gilfillan
Skip Homeier	...	Pvt. 'Pretty Boy' Riley
Don Hicks	...	Lt. Butterfield
Jack Webb	...	Correspondent Dickerman
Bert Freed	...	Pvt. Slattery
Neville Brand	...	Sgt. Zelenko
Martin Milner	...	Pvt. Whitney
Philip Ahn	...	Nomura

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | Netherlands:12 | West Germany:12 (f) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #14626)

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Richard Boone's film debut.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): While speaking to his superiors on his walkie-talkie, Lt Anderson twice closes his conversation with "Over and out." This is incorrect. He should have said either "Over" (if he was turning the conversation over to the other speaker), or "Out" (if he was ending the talk). Interestingly, Anderson uses the correct term "Out" later in the film.

Quotes:

Sgt. Randolph Johnson: Wasn't there a comment by your General Sherman about war?
Lt. Butterfield: Yeah, he said, "War is Hell." What did he know, that eight-ball never left the States.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Semper Fidelis

An excellent and underrated war film

I first saw "Halls of Montezuma" on television when I was a kid, and even now, I think it is one of the best war films ever made. All of the actors were perfectly cast and each man gives an outstanding performance. Richard Widmark is particularly good in his role as Lt. Anderson, a tough Marine who is respected by his men, but who also has to suppress his own fear with pills. My favorite scene in the film is where the men are in their foxholes at night, listening to the taunts of the Japanese soldiers. Their faces are briefly illuminated by parachute flares floating in the sky as they talk to each other, waiting for the enemy to do something. It's one of the most realistic scenes I have ever seen in a war film. I think this was one of the first post-WWII films that actually portrayed Japanese soldiers as real human beings, not just simple-minded brutes. You can see some similarities with the combat scenes of "All Quiet on the Western Front", which Lewis Milestone directed 20 years earlier. Anyone who is interested in WWII films should also check out "A Walk in the Sun", another excellent war film directed by Milestone. Simply put, "Halls of Montezuma" is an excellent war film that is underrated by most critics. It should not be missed.