Proves that MGM could do gritty (well gritty-wish) war films with the best of them - America's first six months of WW2 mostly consisted of defeats, forcing filmmakers to put highly positive spins on real life tales. There was a whole subgenre of movies based on America losing - Corregidor, Air Force, Wake Island, So Proudly We Hail, Cry Havoc, They Were Expendable and this. It actually serves to give the film extra poignancy and depth because you go in knowing most of the characters will die - and its based on a true situation.
The plot is essentially a "shooting gallery" one like The Lost Patrol or Kokoda - a small makeshift group of soldiers are ordered to defend a bridge and get picked off one by one. Lee Bowman is the officer but since he's not billed high in the credits you know he won't last long. Robert Taylor is the sergeant and other types are refreshingly varied: young naive musician (Robert Walker in one of his first big roles), crusty old timer (who else but Thomas Mitchell), murderer (Lloyd Nolan - I really enjoyed this subplot), a black soldier (Kenneth Lee Spencer, brave and tough), a Mexican American (Desi Arnaz), a pilot (George Murphy), a Philippines soldier (Roque Espiritu), a cook (Tom Dugan), an engineer (Barry Nelson).
For me this is Hollywood liberalism at it's best - great propaganda in showing the differing faces of American, and also making it easier to tell characters apart. It was made under Dore Schary's unit at the studio and he has every right to be proud of it. It is, however, very racist towards the Japanese, in common with pretty much every movie from this time, who are routinely described as "monkeys" and shown to be sneaks who fake surrendering then still attack, although their bravery is praised.)
It's well handled, with poor model work and it always feels like it's shot in a studio, but there's plenty of spookiness and effective moments - the Japanese soldiers covered in camouflage moving towards the Americans, Spencer dying in freeze frame, George Murphy flying his explosive-packed plane into a bridge Sept 11 style, Taylor going berko with the machine gun at the end (the Americans waste a lot of ammunition). This is one of Taylor's best performances - he was a much better actor with three day growth and a stern attitude.
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