Halls of Montezuma (1951)

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

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writer:

Michael Blankfort

Stars:

Richard Widmark, Jack Palance, Reginald Gardiner

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Widmark	...	Lt. Anderson
Jack Palance	...	Pigeon Lane (as Walter {Jack} Palance)
Reginald Gardiner	...	Sgt. Johnson
Robert Wagner	...	Private Coffman
Karl Malden	...	Doc
Richard Hylton	...	Conroy
Richard Boone	...	Lt. Col. Gilfillan
Skip Homeier	...	Pretty Boy
Don Hicks	...	Lt. Butterfield
Jack Webb	...	Correspondent Dickerman
Bert Freed	...	Slattery
Neville Brand	...	Sgt. Zelenko
Martin Milner	...	Whitney
Philip Ahn	...	Nomura

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

u.s. soldier | pacific theater | pacific war | american soldier | heroic military | 

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Taglines:

The everlasting story of the everlasting glory of the UNITED STATES MARINES!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The meaning and relevance of this movie's title Halls of Montezuma (1951) is that it represents the first line of the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps which is known as the Marine's Hymn. This song is the oldest official song in the United States military. The first few lines go like this: "From the Halls of Montezuma, To the shores of Tripoli; We fight our country's battles In the air, on land, and sea; First to fight for right and freedom And to keep our honor clean; We are proud to claim the title Of United States Marine." The second line, To the Shores of Tripoli (1942) is also an American military movie as well.

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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.

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Quotes

Sgt. Zelenko: Now listen to me! You new men! Step up here! Don't let Slattery give ya a snow job and get ya into trouble. He's got no more sense that a... sittin' hen in a hurricane. That's why he's been a private longer'n any man in the Marine Corps. And he'll *die* a private. Don't have a thing to do with him! 'Cept when things get tough. Stick to him like plaster. Best fightin' man I know. But before and after, he's a no good money burnin', gin drinkin', horse head!

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Connections

Referenced in MASH (1970)

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Soundtracks

One-Eyed Riley
(uncredited)
aka "Riley's Daughter"
Traditional
Sung by Slattery

User Reviews

Strangely intimate war movie

Halls Of Montezuma is a busy, Technicolored war film circa 1950, and was a big hit in its day. The story-line, such as it is, is convoluted and not really worth going into. Basically the film is about the psychology of war and its effect on human relations, especially those created by the war itself. A good deal of the film, as I recall, takes place in caves, ditches and deserted buildings. Unlike most war films this one emphasizes the fact the most soldiers, even Marines, are made, not born; they all come from someplace and would like to return there, preferably in one piece. Lewis Milestone directed the picture, and while it is a far cry from his classic All Quiet On the Western Front, this film is no shabby piece of work. Richard Widmark heads a cast of future stars, and they all perform well, if a bit too strenuously at times. The actors tend to be grouped together a good deal, maybe to ensure that no one can outshine anyone else, and this, plus the emphasis on isolated settings, succeeds in making the film strangely intimate. The color is bright and often glaring, and the Pacific island setting well-rendered. It's worth mentioning as a footnote that the studio that made the picture, 20th Century-Fox, would soon be switching over to making almost exclusively CinemaScope films, and would also soon be dropping Technicolor for the cheaper De Luxe color. Their post CinemaScope product is for the most part vastly inferior than what they previously had been doing, and Halls Of Montezuma, while not a great film, shows, even today, just how beautiful Technicolor could be. This, plus the use of the square, tidy space movies were limited to in those pre-wide screen days, makes for a depth in perspective that is at times almost seductive, even in so grim a film as this.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

22 March 1951 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Halls of Montezuma

Filming Locations:

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1