Guadalcanal Diary (1943) User Reviews

Terse and violent, close in atmosphere and technique to "Wake Island".

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 7/10 · 10 September 2000]

Guadalcanal is the second largest island (after Bougainville) of the Solomons and largest of the Solomon Islands Protectorate southwest Pacific...

During World War II it was the scene of bitter land and sea fighting between U. S. and Japanese forces...

On August 1942, the U.S. Marines, in the Allies' first major offensive in the Pacific, seized a Japanese airfield, Henderson Field, on the island...

On November, in a naval engagement, the Allies prevented the Japanese from landing reinforcements... By February 1943 the Japanese, badly outnumbered, were forced to evacuate Guadalcanal and by the end of the year they were on the defensive in their last stronghold in the Solomons, Bougainville Island...

"Guadalcanal Diary" is based on the best-selling book by war correspondent Richard Tregaskis... It follows the career of a platoon of Marines from Pre-landing shipboard briefings through two months slow murderous fighting in the taking of the South Sea jungles...

The film gives a realistic view of the hardships of war, and has its moments... Perhaps the most touching scene is at the climax when the tired veterans watch the fresh, green troops marching past them... The feeling is one of a continuous hard effort... The impudent newcomers have yet to face the revolting horrors that an American soldier is subjected to... Certainly, they will fight as well as those before them, however, we cannot but help feeling sad for those who will never return...

The film reveals the hard life in camps, shelters, patrols, hospitals, beaches and jungles in absolute reality... It is terse, violent, close in atmosphere and technique to "Wake Island" (1942).

A story of brave men who fought on a shoestring in tropical purgatory, and won!

[smiley-39 · 8/10 · 1 March 2001]

The island this film is named after is not big as islands go. Ninety miles long by roughly, twenty-odd miles wide, it lay roughly, north west by south east. The high point of Guadalcanal rose up to about 8000 feet; covered with low cloud and forest.

This film then, based on the book of the same name, and written by the war correspondent, Richard Tregaskis is, in my opinion, a better movie than, "The Sands of Iwo Jima", when it comes to paying tribute to the war record of the U.S. Marine Corps in World War Two.

I liked the opening scenes aboard the troop transport. A pleasant, and lazy Sunday morning. A religious service and hymn singing held on deck. Navy Chaplain, Father Donnelly (Preston Foster), presiding. Lloyd Nolan, as Sergeant Malone, an often under-rated actor in my opinion, wisecracking with 'Taxi' Potts, a Dodgers fanatic played by the always-likable. William Bendix. There is Richard Conte as Captain Davis. Anthony Quinn, forever a Latin-type character, Private Alvarez. Schoolboy-faced Richard Jeackel in his first-ever role, after being hoisted up from the studio mail room at Twentieth Fox. Minor Watson as Colonel Grayson, was always a reliable father-like figure who, when he landed on the beach, said this operation was unlikely to be any picnic. How right he would turn out to be. What added a shine to this film from the opening scenes was Reed Hadley narrating the story of the campaign as it unfolded, as if it was Richard Tregaskis himself. Hadley's narration seems to make the atmosphere of the film gel perfectly. A king of semi-documentary realism, if you will.

The first prisoners to be brought in are trembling, half starved in appearance, and in fear of their lives. 'Are these the monkeys were fighting?' asks Lionel Stander, as Sergeant Butch. This is the first impression they get of what passes to the marines as Japanese soldiers. It will turn out to be a false impression, soon enough. As they push further inland, the realisation soon grows that occupying this far from small, God-forsaken island is going to be no pushover. Colonel Grayson's 'no picnic' turns out to be an ugly truism.

With the Matanikau expedition a tragic failure, after landing from the sea, the realisation they're up against a determined and ferocious enemy, sinks deeper. Private Alvarez is the sole survivor from Matinikau, making it back to his own lines. Shaking with a combination of shock and vengeful anger, he recalls the other marines being picked off and bayoneted as he heads back and dives into the surf to escape.

With the second assault on Matinikau, the marine's blood is up, and they're out for blood. The Jap is taken on at his own game. The gloves are off and the chips down. They fight ruthlessness and cunning with same. And overwhelm a fanatical enemy.

In the closing scenes, the marines are relieved by fresh but yet-to-be-tried army infantrymen straight off a troop transport. One of the GI's calls out to the blooded veterans, 'What's it like?' A tired-looking Sergeant Malone answers, 'Pretty rugged, son'. For Malone, like the rest of the marines who entered the jaws of conflict and survived, they look older, and wiser. And were not found wanting. There it is then, a film that grandly commemorates the old, young men of a single platoon of the 1st Marine Division. Names on a map unknown, now entered into the history books, and the Marine Corps Hall of Fame. Matanikau, Lunga Point, Tenaru River, Bloody Ridge, Point Cruz. All fought over for a airstrip; named after Lofton Henderson, a distinguished marine pilot from the Battle of Midway.

Guadalcanal is not a name, but an emotion. So said Professor Samual Elliot Morison, the U.S. Naval Historian. How true. The Japanese were not the only enemy. There was dengue fever, malarial swamp, and humidity to sap the energy, all wrapped around with a foul-smelling jungle. There was a epitaph found at the Marine Cemetery at Lunga Point. It would have been appropriate to have displayed it along with the end credits of this film. It goes:-

That when he goes to heaven./ To Saint Peter he will tell./ Another marine reporting Sir./ I have served my time in hell.

How truthfull that piece of poetry turned out to be.

That's one you taught me Tojo!

[sol-kay · 8/10 · 13 November 2005]

Hard hitting war movie about the first land offensive by the US in the Pacific Theater of War. Linking up with a US Navy battle task force in the South Pacific, in late July 1942, a US Marine troop ship gets the word that it's men are to be part of the invasion of the Japanese held Solomon Islands landing at a place called Gudalcanal.

Heading the invasion force is Marine Col.Wallace Grayson, Minor Watson, of the 1st. Marine Div. who's told to expect stiff resistance when his men hit the beach. As D-Day, August 7, 1942, approaches there's an eerie feeling among the Marines on deck that this first land battle is going to be a lot different then any thing that they could possibly imagined, they were right.

Powerhouse cast headed by Marine Chaplin Father Donnelly, Preston Foster, with tough as nails Marine Sgt. Hook Malone, Llyod Noland, and young 17 year old Richard Jackel as the baby-face and non-shaving Pvt. Johnny "Chicken" Anderson storm ashore on Gaudalcanal only to find that the Japanese are nowhere to be found and the "stiff resistance" that they expected was almost non-existent. Caught off guard and by surprise the Japanese defenders took off in the jungles and caves on the island. It's there that they waited to be reinforces by fresh Nippon army and marine units from the neighboring Japanese-held islands of Rabaul and Bouganinvillea.

With the US Marines capturing the Japanese air-field on the island, renaming it Henderson Field, and having much needed supplies flown in everything look up for the leathernecks and the battle of Guadalcanal seems just about over. The truth later turned out to be that the battle only began and would last some eight months. In the end Gaudalcanal would cost the US Marines Army and Navy some 20,000 casualties by the time it was over.

Far more realistic then most of the movies made by Hollywood in WWII about WWII "Guadalcanal Diary" keeps the action up and the the false heroics down. Making the Marines in the movie more human with real emotions and feeling about surviving the battle and coming back home when the war's finally over.

We also see the Japanese as both tough and effective, as well as cunning,soldiers not the wild-eyed and mindless fanatics were used to seeing, in the many war movies released back then. Thus giving the American public a better idea of what the men in both the US Marines and Army were fighting in the war in the Pacific.

The US Marines at first being told by a captured Japanese soldier that his unit is ready to surrender send a patrol to the off-shore island village of Matanikau only to find that the Japanese troops waiting for them. In an ambush the Japanese wiped out the entire Marine patrol, including it's commanding officer Capt. Cross ,Roy Roberts. Cpt. Alvarez, Anthony Quinn, was the only survivor who escapes by swimming out at sea. It now becomes apparent that the Japanese are not giving up that easily and the Maines dig in for the major battles that are soon to come.

In a tough sea air and land campaign the US and Japanese forces slug it out as the Japanese Navy tries to cut off reinforcements to the Marines on the Island. Leaving them isolated and sitting ducks for their massive naval and air attacks. The fighting goes on unabated until the US finally breaks through the Japanese blockade. As new Army as well as Marine unites land on the Island, and on Novermber 11, 1942 launch a major counter-attack that clears Gudalcanal of Japanese troops. The Japanese, unlike in the movie, were successfully evacuated by sea not massacred on the beaches by the Marines and GI's. Still the battle of Gudalcanal was the first of many Japanese held island taken by US forces that eventually lead to the defeat of Japan in the late summer of 1945.

With all the action and heroics in the movie the most moving scene in the film is when the Marines, underground in their bunker, are being hit by a nerve wracking and murderous Japanese naval and air bombardment. The Marines acted like you would expect to act under the same circumstances, scared and afraid. Cpl. Aloysius "Taxi" Potts, William Bendix, put it best when he says "I'm no hero I'm just a guy I've come out her because somebody had to come, I don't want no medals I just want to get this over with and go back home".

Probably about as good a war movie as you were gonna get back then

[KUAlum26 · 7/10 · 9 May 2007]

Considering that this was a WWII movie released in 1943,while the war was still going and a ways from being resolved,this movie was probably as effective and convincing as you were going to get for the period. Certainly,given the state of the nation's need to keep the national morale up for the war effort,anything too graphic or too gritty would(besides probably raise the dander of the censorship standards of the day)probably would've deflated the efforts to get stateside citizenry to buying war bonds,cutting usage of certain products(metals come first to mind)and probably would've helped undercut the Roosevelt administrations efforts to keep the war push at the rate it was going. If it's too soft,it becomes mostly jingoistic and loses just about all of the entertainment value it could possibly have. Fortunately(perhaps by design,maybe not),the makers of this movie were able to strike the right--if perhaps unremarkable--balance.

Being a grandchild of the generations being showcased here(erstwhile known by some as "The Greatest Generation"),I have only stories told or written about the two theaters of war effort,not to mention the movies. Of course,as more years would pass between the conclusion of that war,the movies that would be made(many of them sprung from books)would become grittier,harsher,a little less glossy or idealistic,and ultimately,more graphically violent. THerefore,I(And I'm guessing many of my generation)could view this movie somewhat jadedly: the dialog is so simple and full of gaps that it almost feels like it could be parodied on Mystery Science Theatre 3000,add in the fact that many of the "kills" and soldiers dropping dead are noticeably staged and forced looking and you have a film that might have a hard time being instantly compelling to people who've seen things ranging from The Great EScape to Saving Private Ryan. Still,there ARE saving graces to this movie that make it stand the test of time:

--The earnest and no-nonsense portrayal of battle and the basic emotions between MArines,from deployment aboard a battleship carrier,right on through the two month battle to claim and seal off the island,is honest enough that anyone who's been through battle,known someone who has been(or still is)at war can feel some common relationship with the characters in the film. Some poignant lines are spoken by the perceived comic relief of the film(a brash,slightly dense private from Brooklyn played by luggish William Bendix)and the wise yet quietly strong chaplain(Preston Brooks),among others,to give this film some heft and

--The battle scenes are concise and tight,showcasing plenty of gunfire,explosions,bombings and other various forms of combat violence WITHOUT being tedious or trivial. They are not neat,pretty or always with the desirable outcomes,but they are neither futile nor random.

MOst of the characters here seem like composites,no doubt probably an amalgam of (Mostly)young MArines and Army men that script co-writer(with Lamar Trotti) and book source writer Richard Tregaskis met while covering the Pacific Theatre of Operations in the war. I imagine there was pressure on the studio and director Lewis Seiler to crank out this film as fast as possible to stoke the fires of stateside interest in the war effort,so if the finished product doesn't exactly shine,I think he and the people making this movie can be forgiven. All in all,this is a film to recommend for those who are curious about movies set around WWII,particularly films about it that are IN the moment,when America was only able to have so much perspective on it.

Gripping war film was another morale booster during World War II...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 8 October 2006]

Like BATAAN and WAKE ISLAND, GUADALCANAL DIARY is another of the many gripping war films that captured attention during WWII, complete with narration by Reed Hadley as the war correspondent telling the story of how U.S. Marines fought and died at Guadalcanal. At first, the marines met no resistance since the Japanese had scattered, but soon the battles became fierce and the war drama deepens.

A stalwart cast of players gives life to the many characters, some stereotypes to be sure, but vivid, nonetheless. Interesting how RICHARD JAECKEL managed to be in just about every war film ever made during the '40s and well into future decades, still keeping his fresh-faced appeal as a baby-faced Marine. PRESTON FOSTER is the leader here, filling the sort of role usually held by Brian Donlevy, and the assorted cast members include ANTHONY QUINN, LLOYD NOLAN, RICHARD CONTE, RALPH BYRD and the ever present WILLIAM BENDIX as the guy from Brooklyn.

There's plenty to admire about the gritty and realistic battles and the overall quality of the performances, and sure, it's propaganda, the kind America needed at the time to keep morale high during the war, but it's well worth watching as a reminder of the sacrifices all these men made on behalf of our freedom today.

Trivia note: Just read Christopher Mulrooney's review of this film and you have to wonder what planet he's coming from.

GUADALCANAL DIARY (Lewis Seiler, 1943) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 18 July 2007]

This is one of the better (and most topical) of Hollywood’s wartime efforts, but which seems to have been largely overlooked among the surplus of such films – possibly because it was helmed by journeyman director Seiler.

Still, the handling is entirely professional and the film makes the most of a good script by Lamar Trotti – peopled with believable characters ably portrayed by a fine cast (Preston Foster, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte, Anthony Quinn, Richard Jaeckel). The requisite comic relief provided by William Bendix and Lionel Stander is slightly overstated…but, then, Bendix delivers the film’s most moving speech towards the end.

The film – unavoidably jingoistic but, at the same time, realistic i.e. thankfully free of gung-ho heroics – balances taut action sequences (culminating in the so-called “Great Offensive”) with a handful of undeniably powerful, lingering images (particularly the line-up of dead U.S. marines ambushed on a beach by the devious Japanese forces). I’ll be following this with Cornel Wilde’s well-regarded BEACH RED (1967), which also deals with WWII combat in the Pacific; besides, I also own – but have yet to watch – the R2 DVD of Lewis Milestone’s contemporaneous THE PURPLE HEART (1944), which tackles similar events from a unique perspective.

A fairly decent war film with solid performance and spectacular battle sequences

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 18 March 2022]

An exciting and vintage story of a large invasion , this is an ultapatriotic war film that has its outrageous and interesting moments. It displays a typical crew of Marines battling the "Yellow Menace" over an important base on the famous Pacific atoll, Guadalcanal . Share the laughs a fighting man lives by.. the loves he dreams of..the things he fights for...in the screen's first great victory picture !

A moving , flag-waver and breathtaking warfare movie that must have been a real booster for filmgoers in America. This is one of the best American movies about the Pacific , conflict in World War Two , and in places , very stirring too . However, today it 's almost dated , including some violent images , particularly during the scene in which Anthony Quinn shoots in cold blood an enemy because he exacts a revenge and hates Japanese. Being well based on writer Richard Tregaskis' first-hand account . It suffers on television because of the small screen hurts the epic scale and adding some ordinary stock footage . Main and support cast are frankly notable, all of them are firmly characterized , such as : Lloyd Nolan, Preston Foster , Anthony Quinn, Richard Conte , Lionel Stander, William Bendix , Ralph Byrd, Minor Watson, Roy Roberts , Miles Mander, John Archer , and special mention for Richard Jaeckel , the little blond two-fisted guy whose screen credits spands over 30 years to The Dirty Dozen , as he was working as a delivery boy in the 20th Century Fox mail room when at almost 18 was spotted and signed for the character of Baby Marine .

It provides an atmospheric cinematography in black and white by cameraman Charles Clarke . As well as a thrilling and emotive musical score by composer David Buttolph. This ultrajingoist but immensely attractive motion picture was well directed by Lewis Seiler (Breakthrough, Battle Stations , You're in the Army now, South of Suez, Flight Angels , Hell's Kitchen, Heart of the North , Doll Face, King of the Underworld). Rating : 6.5/10 . Better than average . The flick will appeal to WWII aficionados.

This is a little gem of a movie with a fine ensemble cast!

[marxsarx · 9/10 · 18 February 2003]

This is a tremendous World War II film with amazing performances. The director, Lewis Seiler, and the writer of the screenplay, Lamar Trotti, must have really been on their toes to come up with this little gem from a book by Richard Tregaskis. The quality of "Guadalcanal" is amazing from the special effects and location shots to the cinematography and the dialogue. Sometimes less is more and this movie demonstrates that in portraying the violence of war realistically without being extremely graphic. The only minor flaw I saw in the special effects was when a few soldiers were killed by grenades or bombs and they seemed to fall over from the blast a tad bit too quickly. This movie uses an ensemble cast of actors to tell the story of a platoon of U.S. marines sent to Guadalcanal to fight the Japanese in the South Pacific Ocean. The focus is not as much on the fighting and battles as it is on the men themselves in the context of war, although there are several terrific scenes of fighting and skirmishes that propel the movie along at an excellent pace. "Guadalcanal" is in glorious black and white film and is crisp and clear. Many scenes from the movie are so vivid that they have lingered in my mind long after watching the movie. I can recall vividly the palm trees on the beach, the sound of the men singing, the men lounging on the deck of the ship, Japanese soldiers being blown up in a cave and falling out of trees, the faces and expressions of the men and on and on. This movie not only stood up to a second viewing but also seemed even better the second time around. I can't praise the actors enough who breathe life into this movie and who make their characters so easy to get to know that this sixty year old movie seems like it was made yesterday. Watch this movie and see how these men respond to battle in "Guadalcanal." It's an experience not to be missed. I highly recommend it and give it a 92/100. I purchased the DVD for my collection.

Great movie

[pastyboyz · 21 September 2003]

I grew up watching World War 2 movies with my Father (WW 2 US Army Combat engineer), so I can say that I know a lot about the genre. This movie is one of the better ones. I rate it a 7 on a 10 point scale. Some people think that the "gee-wheez" dialog is not real of what the soldiers would say. They are right, however we must keep in mind that this movie was made in the 40's for people living in the 1940's and not the 2000's. In the 1940's swearing and tough real talk was just as common as it is today, but there was no need for them fill a movie up with such talk. The movies were made to stand on it's story merit and not be just a swear fest based "roller coaster ride" we have today. Taken in context, the movie hits home a very common point for movie made during the war. The point is that our boys who are like all of us in America (1940's view on the world) have it rough, they need our support, but they will win. Note movies made after the war have a different viewpoint.

Movie Went From Bad To Good

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 6 September 2007]

This wasn't bad, when you compare it to the average World War II film made back in the 1940s. In the first half, it had too many of the same negative aspects that many of its contemporary war movies had at the time. The narration was corny and the dialog by the GIs here is so dated and so racist it's embarrassing. Hey, I am the first to acknowledge how political correctness has run amok in recent years and, in fact, is out of control, but, still, hearing "Jap" yelled out every third sentence, and guys making slant-eyed "jokes" all the time is offensive, even for me.

In that 40 minutes, we had the normal William Bendix-role of playing--a-clown-from- Brooklyn, the priest who is a good guy but too often indistinguishable from the soldiers, the young kid who looks and acts about 15, and most of the other cliché characters you see in this old movies. However, part of this was for a purpose: to show how these guys went from cocky, almost- ignorant soldiers who underestimated their foes, to veterans who calmed down and had their arrogant attitude kicked out of them. In fact, Bendix wound up making some very profound statements about 20 minutes from the end when things really looked bad. There's a lot of honesty in this movie, as it turned out.

But, despite that first 40 minutes of mostly-inane chatter which took away from the sense of the guys being in a brutal situation, which these GIs were in - the second half made up for it. It had tons of drama, suspense and action, plus a plea or two to the folks back home in the USA watching this film. I have no problem with that. Why not? Our soldiers should always be given whatever they need since they're putting their lives on the line for us back here. Some people didn't like those, nor the prayers or the religious angle in here, but that's today's secular-progressives who have no tolerance. I read one big-city critic who objected to the scene showing the soldier disappointed he didn't get any mail! Give me a break. Sorry, but sometimes it's good to see a war movie with some old fashioned patriotism, "religion" and sentimentality.

Overall, however, these 60-some-year-old movies just can't stack up to the realistic ones made today, and that's understandable. But, credit this film with having easily more actual war action than the average movie of its day and totally switched from dumb to pretty intelligent the last half of the movie.

These guys got pummeled from the land, the sea and the air. It would be interesting to see this movie re-made today. It might be tough to watch with all the carnage, but I'd like to see it with a appropriate tribute to these brave men.

The DVD sports a good transfer. "Fox War Classics" always look pretty sharp.

Guadalcanal Diary

[henry8-3 · 5/10 · 21 May 2023]

Made about a year after the events depicted, the film looks at the battle with the Japanese in the Solomon Islands through the eyes of a group of US marines.

A film of two distinct elements for me. There is the character study following the lives of a group of marines, some who are clearly not going to make it and which is handled well enough with balanced humour and drama plus the many battle scenes they engage in. These are impressively staged and crucially the film doesn't shy away from the Americans returning with equal brutality that which is dished out to them by the enemy at the beginning of the film. The film was clearly intended to send a message of patriotism and hope to the folks back home during the war and this is the other element which is a little less comfortable to sit through today. Piled high with no doubt realistically discriminatory language the film is extremely patriotic even jingoistic in its portrayal of apple pie loving, god fearing marines supported by sickly sweet narration and every popular American patriotic song every written. This element seems over engineered, presumably a requirement for American audiences and that spoiled it a little for me, although I fully appreciate that this was of its time.

One note - a young Richard Jaeckel appears to be mortally wounded at one point and then seems to fully recover by the next scene?

Great movie

[PWNYCNY · 10/10 · 26 March 2006]

This is one of the all-time great classic movies of its genre. Unlike most Hollywood movies that use historical events as backgrounds for sappy and insipid love stories, the main "character" of this movie is the event itself. For the Battle of Guadalcanal is one of the key battles in all of history. This momentous event, which took place at the same time the Soviet Union was battling the Germans at Stalingrad, marked the end of Japanese expansion in the south Pacific and the beginning of the process that would lead to Japan's ultimate defeat. It should also be noted that the Battle for Guadalcanal was entirely an American operation, fought several thousands miles away from home and against an implacable enemy that had months, if not years, to prepare their defenses. Moreover, this battle took place just months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The acting is great, the story compelling and is all-in-all a movie that is definitely worth watching.

The Battle For Guadalcanal

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 29 October 2007]

War correspondent Richard Tregaskis's memoir of the battle for the strategic island of Guadalcanal provides the basis of this film with a solid cast of players. Tregaskis himself is played unnamed in the film by Reed Hadley, who's rich narrative voice greatly enhances the film.

Guadalcanal Diary unfortunately has not aged well. It was made the year after Guadalcanal, together with its key airfield Henderson Field was finally cleared of Japanese. It was a slow, steady war of attrition, on both land and sea. While this film concerns the Marines on the island, at sea our navy was battling with the Japanese Navy in what was euphemistically called 'the slot' which was a channel that bisected the Solomon chain neatly in half. Our Marines dealt not only with the Japanese on the ground, but from Naval bombardment from the Japanese Fleet whenever they snuck in. The Japanese positions were in the jungle and further in land and were less affected by off shore shelling from us.

All the types you expect from World War II are there, the tough Marine sergeant Lloyd Nolan, the Marine from Brooklyn, where else, William Bendix, the young recruit, Richard Jaeckel in his first film playing a teenager when he actually was one. Preston Foster plays the Catholic chaplain, a wise and compassionate fellow who once played football for Notre Dame. It's a page out of Pat O'Brien's Father Duffy portrayal from The Fighting 69th and Foster is the best one in the film.

Sad to say that the Marines do refer to the Japanese as less than human on a few occasions. It's why the film doesn't age well, especially after Clint Eastwood's latest films about the Pacific Theater.

Guadalcanal Diary still is a good film for those who are fans of World War II films made in the World War II years.

Don't waste your time

[mfaber007 · 1/10 · 19 June 2023]

This film was one of the worst films I have ever viewed regarding WWII! The depictions of battle are atrocious, from the start. If you have read anything about the battle of Guadalcanal, you know the taking of the airfield was hard fought. The depiction here is a joke and a disgrace to the men who died fighting to take the airfield. Move on and find something worthy of the sacrifices made by the 1st Marine Division. If the film is this bad, I can only imagine how horrible the book must be. The end of this film could not have come soon enough, as I watched it I continued to drop my rating further and further.

Racist perhaps, but true

[eronavbj-1 · 6/10 · 26 May 2008]

I can't be offended by the truth, and the truth is, GIs called the enemy in the South Pacific "Japs," "Slant-eyes," and a lot worse. If that offends anyone, then why watch a film that you know is about a bloody WWII battle, where passions were running high? After the Marine shoots the Japanese sniper out of the tree, would it have been less offensive if he would have said, "Well, I just dispatched another one of the Asian enemy." Really! I can just imagine what someone would say in the heat of battle. It'd be a hell of a lot more descriptive than "Slant-eye."

As for the nameless reviewer who criticized the scene wherein the GI did not get mail, I can tell you first hand, that there were fewer sights more pathetic than the guys standing there after mailcall without a single letter in their hand. It was hard to watch. We all felt for those guys. You knew what they were going through, yet you couldn't do a damn thing to help them. I know how I felt when days went by without a letter from home--from ANYONE. Being in combat in a foreign land must have made it exponentially worse. I would bet that the reviewer who made that criticism never spent one day in his country's service.

Rallying the Homefront

[dougdoepke · 20 July 2009]

The war's outcome was still much in doubt at the time of the movie's release, which accounts for the overriding air of grim confidence in our fighting men to turn things around. That's the movie's main message. At the same time, you can go down the list of popular clichés from WWII and find just about every one of them here— from the fresh-faced kid, to the hardened sergeant, to the amusing roughneck, along with various shades of meaningful banter and a "regular guy" priest. It's all very entertaining even if highly idealized. I'm sure it did what it was supposed to do-- provide rays of light during a dark period.

TCF was a big-budget studio and they don't disappoint. It's a very well-mounted production with an authentic Pacific-island look. If there's a process shot anywhere, I couldn't spot it. Even the difficult submarine barrage looks real. Combine that with a winning bunch of actors, and the result is a super-slick production that continues to impress. Note, however, how the combat sequences become less and less realistic as fighting across the island progresses. Those sequences culminate in a final victory sweep where shooting is done from the hip, out in the open, and "Japs" die by the hundreds before backing into the surf for a final round of annihilation. It's like a climax to a dramatic piece of music, and I expect audiences were thinking payback for Pearl Harbor.

The movie is very much a product of time and place. There are scattered stabs at combat realism; however, these are clearly secondary to the main morale-boosting function. I know some people object to anything smacking of propaganda in connection with patriotic themes. Nonetheless, all developed countries use forms of manipulation to rally their populations, including our own. The important point is that the rightness or wrongness of a war has to be decided apart from what is seen on the popular movie screen. Now, I think a convincing case can be made for the rightness of our war with Japan. In that sense, I can sit back and enjoy much of this movie, no matter how obvious the contrivances. But I try not to confuse the idealized images of a film like this with the real thing, no matter how well produced or how entertaining. To do that, I think, would demean the anguish of real battle. In my view, the manipulative nature of movies can provide illumination, but manipulation can never provide a source of legitimation or proof. Only reality can do that.

Somewhere in the South Pacific

[richardchatten · 6/10 · 4 June 2022]

Richard Conte makes the first of many appearances in combat as part of the usual assortment of GIs in Fox's major contribution to the war effort; which begins with the usual shot of a book opening to remind you that it's based on a best-seller.

It paints a rather rosy picture of frontline combat, especially as nothing once they land at Guadalcanal could be more shocking than the earlier sight on board ship of William Bendix dancing a hula-hula.

Kill or be killed

[AAdaSC · 7/10 · 9 June 2016]

The film starts with a ship full of marines in the South Pacific. They are bonding and joking around and you may well feel that this is a film about homosexuality and that it's actually called GuadalAnal Diary. Well, after the scene has been set, it actually turns into a war film. The cast of characters are assigned a mission and attack a Japanese occupied island. What lies ahead of them? This is based on a campaign that happened for real.

It's a good film with memorable scenes including a platoon's total annihilation bar one soldier – Anthony Quinn (Soose) – who literally runs for his life. The most memorable character is probably William Bendix (Taxi), possibly because he is the loudest, but he provides an effective everyman speech as the end looks imminent for him and his comrades as they are holed up sheltering from a bombing campaign. The words are simple and they are followed by an "Amen" that is said by Lloyd Nolan (Hook) . I think it's Nolan – I can't remember. Someone says it though. It switches the scene from being potentially corny to being a moving episode.

Definitely one of the best war films of this year (1943) along with "Hostages", "A Guy Named Joe", "Bataan", "The Adventures of Tartu", "Five Graves To Cairo", "The Strange Death of Adolph Hitler" and "The Silver Fleet". Check them out.

Overly sentimental by today's standards

[mrdweb · 6/10 · 10 September 2007]

This actually was the first war movie I ever saw; would have been in about 1957, on t.v., when I was 5 yr. old., and had scarcely any idea about war, Marines, Guadalcanal, WWII, and so forth. At the time, I loved it. Saw it this weekend on DVD...oh, my word, what a different response I had! This movie does have a number of very compelling images and well-done scenes. Two of the latter include: Wm. Bendix's solo hula dance that turns into an Irish jig with Preston Foster; and A. Quinn, Roy Roberts and a third Marine, sole survivors of an ambush, passing one last cigaret hand to hand to take last puffs before attempting to vacate their besieged position. Too much of the movie contains scenes that are embarrassing in their manipulative sentimentality. An example is the night before the "big push," the camera pans across the Marines' encampment as "Home On The Range" wells up from the soundtrack in perfect multi-part harmony. I presume this movie was designed to reinforce morale on the home front, and perhaps it did accomplish that. I found too much of the movie--the bloodless injuries, the lame jokes, the stereotypical characters, the racism--difficult to bear, however. For me, it was an exercise in nostalgia to see a movie I recall enjoying in my youth; it was not the experience of encountering a movie to which I'd attach the label "classic."

Excellent war film while the war was raging

[SimonJack · 9/10 · 7 August 2014]

"Guadalcanal Diary" came out smack dab in the middle of the U.S. fighting in WW II. It was made the year after the actual events portrayed in the film. It's based on a book by the same title, written by Richard Tregaskis. He was a war correspondent who covered the taking of Guadalcanal.

One can appreciate this film for its reality and straightforward portrayal as written by the author. This was before Hollywood began to fantasize and over dramatize many of the battles and the war action in later films. The narration is a nice touch, with an actor representing the author who tells us about the story as it unfolds.

Others have commented on the excellent cast. All actors did a superb job in portraying a bunch of American Marines who hadn't yet seen war and had no idea of what to expect. Onboard ship somewhere in the South Pacific, we see the men lying around and waiting and wondering. The usual hijinks and talk about girls back home, baseball and family take place. Finally, we see the naval bombardment, the beach landing unchallenged by the Japanese, and then the battles as the Marines move inland and route the enemy.

Some other nice touches of realism are in the lines by various actors. Lloyd Nolan as Sgt. Hook Malone cautions the men about not going after Japanese souvenirs because they could be booby-trapped. Preston Foster as the chaplain, Father Donnelly, is a paternal figure for the men who will be right beside them in the first wave to hit the beach. Col. Grayson tells the men it will be a tedious, tough job to route the enemy, because the Japanese soldiers are tough.

We see ordinary men fighting, getting wounded, and being killed – on both sides. When Army replacements arrive, the Marines welcome them. The battle action sequences are very realistic, and the movie makers must have received actual film footage of the naval bombardment from the Navy. It's very impressive. Some people quibble about racial slurs. We must remember that this film is an accurate portrayal of what really happened, and what it was like for and with our troops. Later modern sanitized films were scripted to be politically correct, but in the process they sacrificed some of the truth and realism of the times and events.

Movie companies today put disclaimers on older films for various portrayals, especially regarding race and culture. They point out the inappropriate language, behavior or treatment of some people in the older films, by today's standards. And, they note that to expunge or change the film to eliminate such material after the fact, would be a denial of the facts and truth that such things had occurred in history as portrayed. Therefore, they have significant historical value in educating society about those times and behaviors of the past.

This film is a must for any serious war film collection.

Quite impressive of its kind

[MOscarbradley · 6/10 · 6 May 2006]

This surprisingly effective tuppence-halfpenny war movie made quite a splash when it first came out and is often remembered fondly. It was made very close in time to the events it depicts and its cross-section of ordinary Joes fighting for their country obviously hit home with a national audience. There is a fresh, immediate feel to it. Lamar Trotti's script is a bit prosaic in that literate, high-toned style of his and it has an appalling narration read by Reed Hadley in the tones of a depressed speak-your-weight machine, (you pray that a sniper's bullet takes him out).

The director, Lewis Seiler, couldn't shape the material in any dramatic sense, (like history, it's one damn thing after another; it soon wears you down), but the battle scenes look authentic and there is one classic scene where an entire patrol is wiped out on a beach with only Anthony Quinn surviving by swimming into the ocean. Terrence Malick covered the same events in his own distinctive, poetic style in "The Thin Red Line" but that is about the only comparison you can make between the two films.

A World War II Classic

[hjmsia49 · 9/10 · 6 July 2006]

The ensemble cast of this film made it the fine war film it is. Most of the cast had starring roles in other films. I thought the narration of Reed Hadley was perfect in telling the story of the first American offensive against the Japanese in WWII. Guadalcanal was a turning point in the Pacific War as it ended a series of Japanese successes and began the shrinking of their Pacific conquests. Others have pointed out the historical inaccuracies including the fact that the Japanese survivors were successfully evacutated from the island and not driven into the sea as depicted in the final battle. One shocking inaccuracy I noticed took place on the second day of the Marine landing. The first night, while huddled in foxholes, they hear gunfire off shore and comments that "The Navy is busy tonight." The next morning, Col. Grayson (Minor Watson) comments, "We lost four cruisers but we beat them off good." In fact, the U.S. Navy suffered one of its worst defeats in history in the battle of Savo Island. The Japanese commander was hardly "beaten off" but decided to withdraw after sinking 4 Allied cruisers (Canberra, Astoria, Quincy and Vincennes)because he thought U.S. carriers were in the vicinity. In fact, they had departed and the Japanese commander could have destroyed the entire invasion fleet and the outcome would have been far different. What proved to be an eventual allied victory, came within a hairs-breath of being a disastrous defeat. While the Marines have received the lion's share of the glory, well deserved, Guadalcanal took the lives of many more Navy personnel than Marines. The many horrific night naval battles took a heavy toll and the waters north of Guadalcanal were aptly renamed "Ironbottom Sound." Sadly, Hollywood has never made a film about the horrors faced by sailors in achieving the victory at Guadalcanal. The movie about the five Sullivan brothers, who all died when their ship (Juneau) was sunk with only 10 survivors in the bloody waters of Guadalcanal, was just a small part of the carnage the Navy suffered there. Guadalcanal Diary is a stirring tribute to the Marine Corps and a accurate portrayal of what they endured on that wretched island.

Inspiring action in the South Pacific.

[michaelRokeefe · 7/10 · 9 August 2008]

Based on the book by Richard Tregaskis, GUADALCANAL DIARY is directed expertly by Lewis Seiler. A realistic story of U.S. Marines preparing and landing on the small island in the South Pacific; not only is there the danger of the entrenched Japanese forces, this devoted platoon battles treacherous terrain, disease and torrential weather. There is also the inner loneliness in spite of faithful camaraderie. An action-packed story told through the eyes of a war correspondent(Reed Hadley).

You can always count on the Marines. One of my favorite sequences is as the movie ends with the war tested leaving the island and passing the new green soldiers having no idea what they are in for. An all star cast makes for one of the best war movies of its era. Starring: Lloyd Nolan, William Bendix, Preston Foster, Roy Roberts, Anthony Quinn, Richard Jaeckel and Richard Conte.

powerfull all those years on (spoilers)

[toonnnnn · 11 May 2004]

This film tells the tale of a group of USA marines fighting the Japanese on Guadalcanal based on a true story,the film shows all different types of americans who have joined the marines to figfht for their country and freedom.The cast is full of great character actors and no one is really the lead actor but for me its William Bendix who steals the film with an honest portrayl of a taxi driver turned marine, who has some of the best lines in the film particularly when contemplating the dangerous situation they are placed in under fire.The slow start gives the audience a chance to bond with the characters and we feel for them when they are shot or wounded.The Japanese are rather one dimensional but in 1942 no one was interested in a more balanced view, a remake with a more realistic approach would be welcome but this is a very good war movie, well worth a look.8/10

Guadalcanal Diary

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 19 October 2021]

This would be a good companion piece to The Thin Red Line. Both films deal with the invasion of Guadalcanal in 1942 in the Solomon Islands.

Made in 1943 this was a propaganda piece. You can tell by the various insults on the Japanese.

It is about raw marines on their way to battle at an unknown destination. They broadly consist of stereotypes Corporal Potts (William Bendix) from Flatbush. Alvarez (Anthony Quinn) the Hispanic one. Chicken (Richard Jaeckel) the young soldier. After Guadalcanal they all become men.

As their ship lands at the Solomon Islands. They have to attack the Japanese position but they need to be aware that their enemy is ruthless and cunning when it comes to jungle warfare. Pretending to be dead, hiding in trees and leaving booby traps behind.

There is a docudrama slant to the movie but its too much of a patriotic propaganda piece to stir the allies. Everything is done with a broad brush.

Perversely this might be a movie that would be of interest to fans of Queer cinema as it might have different subtext.

In an early overt scene in the ship. Two men dance the Jitterbug with each other and in front of the other men. When an officer announces that it's time for lights out. One of them carries the other to bed.

How did that get past the censor!