A remarkable film, typical of its director John Ford, who did "noble defeat" better than anyone else. It's the story of a squadron of PT boats based out of Manila during the Battle of the Philippines, beautifully understated and excellently done. There's no ra-ra or broad comic drunk Irishmen, just lots of professionalism and respect for the armed services.
This has a lot in common with the "calvary post" westerns Ford later made like Fort Apache in its depiction of the rituals and characters at a military outpost - singing songs, gentle romance with the nurses (a sweet Donna Reed), sitting around listening to the radio, multi generations. It's full of lovely little touches - turning off the radio before the news of Pearl Harbour, gentle banter between the men, a sailor asking Douglas MacArthur for his autograph, a makeshift funeral service in an island chapel, Robert Montgomery asking the old soldiers to look after the kids (sob), the agonising ending where people think they're going to be flown home but aren't.
It continually undercuts expectations - the final talk between John Wayne and Reed is literally cut off (we never find out for sure what happened to her). The battle scenes are extremely well done and feel realistic - they are almost beautiful in a way (wide expanses of oceans, clouds of explosions, the waving palms).
To be honest this is overlong - it felt as though a half hour could be cut out of it, no matter how poetic; a lot of it is repetitive (someone doing something brave, poetic and elegiac) and I would have preferred it if either John Wayne and Robert Montgomery had died. Occasionally it fell into Hollywood mode too - like the dying soldier going "tell me straight" after everyone leaves and Wayne trying to stay at the end. But these were small lapses. It's an incredibly fine, moving film, a tribute to the best of the American armed services and everyone who worked on it should be very proud.
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