They Were Expendable (1945)
I can’t recommend They Were Expendable highly enough, for those who want to watch an excellent WWII movie. There have been enough lousy ones made throughout the years, but this is one of the very best. Made during the war, each of the actors and filmmakers who had military ranks were listed as such during the opening credits. Realistic and dismal, this movie still has an element of fear crowding in on it: with the wrong luck, we might all be expendable and we might lose the war. In fact, there’s one scene where one man literally loses his life because he was one row lower on a rescue plane’s list than another.
There’s a fantastic scene where Robert Montgomery receives his orders from Charles Trowbridge. Charles doesn’t actually use the title phrase, but he uses a baseball metaphor that makes everything clear: “If the manager says ‘Sacrifice,’ we lay down a bunt and let somebody else hit the home run.” Not only are his words effective, but the look in Bob’s eyes when he accepts his fate is priceless. A soldier in the war, taking time off to make this movie (along with director John Ford), he not only was able to do much of the water stunts himself, but he also was able to transfer his war experience into his acting. He knew what it was like to lose men, carry out difficult orders, and it shows during several scenes throughout the movie.
Singling out that one scene doesn’t really do the film justice, however. There are so many other scenes that deserve singling out. In another, a group of men try to cheer up an ailing soldier in the hospital, though they all know he’s not going to make it. There’s incredible tension when two boats head off in different directions and lose track of each other. When Donna Reed comes to dinner and the men all appreciate seeing a woman at the table, it’s very cute. She’s a nurse, but she lets her hair down and tries to forget about the war for a couple of hours. While she’s not usually a very good actress, she was believable in this movie as an experienced nurse. She was hard and efficient, and there were times when she looked exhausted but knew she had to keep going. In one scene, she assists in a surgery during an air raid while the power goes out.
The acting in this film was top-notch even though it didn’t have to be. With John Ford’s direction (assisted by an uncredited Robert Montgomery when Ford was incapacitated) during the battle scenes, there was more than enough excitement for the rest of the movie to have lousy performances. During the scenes without battling, the use of natural (and natural looking) lighting was very effective. You felt like you were right there in the tents and barracks, rather than at a Hollywood studio. But add in an incredibly realistic performance from Robert Montgomery, an unusually emotional monologue from John Wayne, and the warmth, experience, and support from Ward Bond, and you’ve got a film worthy of winning Best Picture. The chemistry between the three leads couldn’t have been better. You really believed that they’d been fighting alongside each other for years and that they loved and respected each other. You knew Ward Bond would lay down his life for Bob. Bob’s “liquid fire” he usually held in his eyes was still seen in this movie, but it was repurposed. He channeled his intense energy into his work as a soldier, and you could sense both his disappointment that the war had lasted so long and his determination to see it through to the end. He was probably a young man when he enlisted, but the years took his youth away. When he steps back and lets John have all the dances with Donna, you see so many different expressions in his eyes, and all without him saying a word.
It was a highly contentious year at the Hot Toasty Rags, and unfortunately They Were Expendable didn’t win any category. But it was absolutely one of the best pictures of 1945, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you owe it to our soldiers to get yourself a copy.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thank "Welcome to the Movies and Television" for posting!
More Donna Reed movies here!
There’s a fantastic scene where Robert Montgomery receives his orders from Charles Trowbridge. Charles doesn’t actually use the title phrase, but he uses a baseball metaphor that makes everything clear: “If the manager says ‘Sacrifice,’ we lay down a bunt and let somebody else hit the home run.” Not only are his words effective, but the look in Bob’s eyes when he accepts his fate is priceless. A soldier in the war, taking time off to make this movie (along with director John Ford), he not only was able to do much of the water stunts himself, but he also was able to transfer his war experience into his acting. He knew what it was like to lose men, carry out difficult orders, and it shows during several scenes throughout the movie.
Singling out that one scene doesn’t really do the film justice, however. There are so many other scenes that deserve singling out. In another, a group of men try to cheer up an ailing soldier in the hospital, though they all know he’s not going to make it. There’s incredible tension when two boats head off in different directions and lose track of each other. When Donna Reed comes to dinner and the men all appreciate seeing a woman at the table, it’s very cute. She’s a nurse, but she lets her hair down and tries to forget about the war for a couple of hours. While she’s not usually a very good actress, she was believable in this movie as an experienced nurse. She was hard and efficient, and there were times when she looked exhausted but knew she had to keep going. In one scene, she assists in a surgery during an air raid while the power goes out.
The acting in this film was top-notch even though it didn’t have to be. With John Ford’s direction (assisted by an uncredited Robert Montgomery when Ford was incapacitated) during the battle scenes, there was more than enough excitement for the rest of the movie to have lousy performances. During the scenes without battling, the use of natural (and natural looking) lighting was very effective. You felt like you were right there in the tents and barracks, rather than at a Hollywood studio. But add in an incredibly realistic performance from Robert Montgomery, an unusually emotional monologue from John Wayne, and the warmth, experience, and support from Ward Bond, and you’ve got a film worthy of winning Best Picture. The chemistry between the three leads couldn’t have been better. You really believed that they’d been fighting alongside each other for years and that they loved and respected each other. You knew Ward Bond would lay down his life for Bob. Bob’s “liquid fire” he usually held in his eyes was still seen in this movie, but it was repurposed. He channeled his intense energy into his work as a soldier, and you could sense both his disappointment that the war had lasted so long and his determination to see it through to the end. He was probably a young man when he enlisted, but the years took his youth away. When he steps back and lets John have all the dances with Donna, you see so many different expressions in his eyes, and all without him saying a word.
It was a highly contentious year at the Hot Toasty Rags, and unfortunately They Were Expendable didn’t win any category. But it was absolutely one of the best pictures of 1945, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you owe it to our soldiers to get yourself a copy.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thank "Welcome to the Movies and Television" for posting!
More Donna Reed movies here!
Hot Toasty Rag Nominations:
Best Picture of 1945
Best Director: John Ford
Best Actor: Robert Montgomery