The Naked and the Dead (1958)

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:

Colonel | Fragging | Fascism | Playboy | Anti Semitism

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:

If I Could Be with You

Very different, surprising non Hollywood movie way better than book

This movie seems like one made because of a much hailed and overrated author, in which the director has the nerve to actually make changes to give a novel look at war and life.

The book is exactly like a Hollywood movie. Bullets cannot find bad guys, and if you're evil enough, you live forever. We get this from 99% of films. No wonder Americans bend over backwards to be sadistic. In short, that's about all the book is. Very Hollywood.

This movie gives a fresh look for the viewer. Instead of the mass depression we're used to, we get an intelligent look at war. The hero is caught between two equally vicious men, one higher in rank, and one lower. Much of the rest of the movie deals with the characters, like in the older war movies.

Not to give away the ending, but you will be shocked and surprised. The film still shows the horror and depravity of war without getting preachy, as many later films did.