Halls of Montezuma

19511951
PGPG
1h 53m

Halls of Montezuma (1951)

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

Play trailer2:47

Action Adventure Drama

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

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See more at IMDbPro

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Trailer

Jack Palance and Richard Widmark in Halls of Montezuma (1951)

Jack Palance and Richard Widmark in Halls of Montezuma (1951)

Jack Palance and Richard Widmark in Halls of Montezuma (1951)

Bert Freed in Halls of Montezuma (1951)

Richard Widmark in Halls of Montezuma (1951)

Halls of Montezuma (1951)

Halls of Montezuma (1951)

Karl Malden and Richard Widmark in Halls of Montezuma (1951)

Bert Freed in Halls of Montezuma (1951)

Skip Homeier in Halls of Montezuma (1951)

Halls of Montezuma (1951)

Bert Freed in Halls of Montezuma (1951)

The Marines attack a strongly held enemy island in the Pacific. We follow them from the beach to a Japanese rocket site through enemy infested jungle as their ex-school teacher leader is transformed into a battle veteran and his squad becomes a tight fighting unit. —Derek Picken <dpicken@email.msn.com>

u.s. soldier marine rocket island beach 99 more

Taglines
- Action with the Battling Leathernecks!
Genres
Certificate
- PG
Parents guide

Trivia
Richard Boone's film debut.

Goofs
During the invasion of the enemy island, several actual World War II film clips are spliced in for realism. But in these clips, the large hull numbers on two of the ships are backwards.

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.

Connections
Featured in Hempas bar (1977)

Soundtracks
Marines' Hymn
(uncredited)
Music from the "Gendarmes' Duet" from the opera "Geneviève de Brabant"
Written by Jacques Offenbach
Sung over the opening credits
Also played during the first landing

Top review

7/10

A "Small" War Movie

Despite it's grand name, Halls of Montezuma is a small war film. What I mean is that the movie focuses more on a small group of men and their fears and problems than it does on a grand plan for Allied victory. It's a very personal movie. We get to see these men up-close and we begin to develop feelings for them. I wouldn't doubt that this is one of the first films to show a U.S. Lieutenant so battle scarred that he resorts to using pain killers just to function. Unlike other war films of this era, not all of these men are going to make it to the end. War is like that. It doesn't pick and chose people to live because we like them. So in that regard, it's also more realistic than some other war movies made in the 50s.

To succeed as a small, personal war movie as I've described, the cast has to be able to act. This cast does not disappoint. Richard Widmark, Jack Webb, and Karl Malden are all excellent in their respective roles. I was especially impressed with Webb who has an acting style that can grate on the nerves. He's more subdued here and it works. But as good as these three are, Jack Palance is the highlight of the movie for me. He was undoubtedly the most believable. I could really picture him doing the things in real life that were called for in the script.

I have no difficulty recommending Halls of Montezuma to fans of war films. It's a very welcome addition to my DVD collection.

helpful•21

2

bensonmum2
Jul 24, 2005

Release date
- March 22, 1951 (Mexico)
Country of origin
- United States
Languages
- English
- Japanese
Also known as
- Okinawa
Filming locations
- Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, USA
Production company
- Twentieth Century Fox
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Runtime
1 hour 53 minutes
Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1

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