The Naked and the Dead (1958)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Norman Mailer (novel)
Denis Sanders (writer)

Release Date:

28 October 1958 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

In the Pacific during World War 2, the officers live a comfortable life with good food, good drink and good quarters...

Plot Keywords:

First Lieutenant | Island | Grenade | Raft | WWII

Cast

Aldo Ray	...	Sgt. Sam Croft
Cliff Robertson	...	Lt. Robert Hearn
Raymond Massey	...	Gen. Cummings
Lili St. Cyr	...	Willa Mae aka Lily
Barbara Nichols	...	Mildred Croft
William Campbell	...	Brown
Richard Jaeckel	...	Gallagher
James Best	...	Rhidges
Joey Bishop	...	Roth
Jerry Paris	...	Goldstein
Robert Gist	...	Red
L.Q. Jones	...	Woodrow 'Woody' Wilson
Max Showalter	...	Col. Dalleson (as Casey Adams)
John Beradino	...	Capt. Mantelli
Edward McNally	...	Cohn

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | West Germany:18 (f) | Norway:16 | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Panama

Company:

Paul Gregory Productions

Trivia:

This film was originally to be released by RKO Pictures, but by the time it was ready for release, that studio had closed down and the film was distributed by Warner Bros. It may be the only instance where the logos of both companies appear on the same film

Goofs:

Anachronisms: About 26 minutes into the film, as the sergeant is begging the lieutenant for more replacements, a mixed race combat unit walks by in the background. The armed forces did not integrate until after WWII.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "St. Elsewhere: The Naked and the Dead (#4.4)" (1985)

Soundtrack:

Some Sunday Morning

A poor Hollywood remake of a classic novel.

I saw this movie on a local PBS station about the same time I was writing a Term Paper on the novel. I have already read the novel several times, but I still thought that the movie perspective might be helpful. Needless to say I was wrong. The movie turns a book about the futility of the individual's role in war into a boiler plate feel good war movie w/ a happy ending. One of the most important parts of the novel, where Hearn is betrayed despite his best efforts to be a "good" leader, is scrapped. Hearn not only survives, but the movie goes on the kill the ass hole, Sgt Croft. In the book we see a group of individuals who all want to singlehandedly make a difference and who all end up failing because modern war has grown beyond the control of the individual. In the movie we see a division of good guys and bad guys where where good guys win and the bad guys get what's coming. Finally I would like to point out that this movie is a waste of time or unpleasant to watch. If its going to be on TV by all means watch it, but if you've read the book brace yourself to be VERY disappointed.