By the time "They Were Expendable" opened in late 1945, the guns had gone silent. They were capable of speeds of up to 40 knots (46 mph). They Were Expendable is a product of its time. Bulkeley received the Medal of Honor for actions in the Pacific Theater during… 5 stars Movie review : After a stilted romance between Wayne and an army nurse, the boats are destroyed in battles with the… According to the book "They Were Expendable," the cook on a PT Boat was also responsible for supervising the boat motors, manning a machine gun along with cooking on an electric hot plate. ... “They Were Expendable” is laudably free of many of the old-school clichés movies made during this period are noted for. "They Were Expendable" remains a genuine Hollywood classic because of its ability to transcend being merely a World War II action movie. (1943); They Were Expendable (1945) and Back to Bataan (1945). They had won everywhere. Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die. In They Were Expendable Ford is careful to add plenty of detail about life on the small, fast plywood boats that were equipped with machine guns to battle aircraft and torpedoes to launch from the deck at heavier ships. We see the crew patching it up, dealing with boring assignments, and yes, mixing it up with the enemy. By Ron Shirtz. They Were Expendable by M. Bouffant at 19:42. Feeding the Addiction, One Movie at a Time. There is no happy ending. The movie in this case is They were Expendable,directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. Defeat of the Americans by the Japanese in the early days of World War ll and the disintegration of Motor Torpedo Squadron Three (MTB-3). Images from They Were Expendable (John Ford, 1945). One needs historical context to fully appreciate, "They Were Expendable." And the Japanese felt very filled with the spirit of winning. They still were active duty soldiers. The men now sensed that with him gone, they were expendable. Cut Autograph of actor Robert Montgomery who co-starred with John Wayne in the role of Lt. John "Brick" Brickley on index card laid-into book. SYNOPSIS They Were Expendable is based on the real-life heroics of PT Boat squadron leader John Bulkeley, and the defense of the Philippines from December 1941 through April 1942. The criticism was cruel, but it was true that McArthur had visited Bataan from Corregidor only once during the fighting, on January 10. Monday, April 20, 2009. Young. Actor Ian Keith was offered the role of General MacArthur, but declined the part. The films are being shown at the Hudson Institute, 1015 15th Street N.W., Suite 600, and you can go to the EPPC or Hudson websites for details or to register to attend. They Were Expendable How Many Remember Watching John Wayne In The Movie "They Were Expendable" Although a work of fiction the screenplay was loosely based in fact: John D. Bulkeley was one of the most decorated naval officers of World War Two. When I went through some tough times, the story and its lessons were part of what got me through them. Released only a few months after the Japanese surrender in 1945, They Were Expendable is a film about American sailors, particularly PT boat crews during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, having to face down their gradual but assured defeat in the losing campaign. In the dark early days of World War II, the United States was far from being prepared for World War II. Donate. It's the true story of John D. Bulkelley and the men of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3. A national bestseller when it was originally published in 1942 and the subject of a 1945 John Ford film featuring John Wayne, They Were Expendable offers an account of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three's heroic actions during the disastrous Philippine campaign early in World War II. Bataan is a region of central Luzon province on Luzon Island and occupies the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on the island. They Were Expendable. , without affect to titles. They were made of mahogany plywood and powered by three 12-cylinder gasoline-fueled Packard 4M-2500 (and later 3M-2500, 4M-2500, and 5M-250) engines. His story was made into a book and a film in 1945, “They Were Expendable” starring Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, and Donna Reed. Orange hue on spine of DJ. It is not only an engaging story, it gets some very good points across about life in general. During World War II, Lt. Brickley and Lt. Ryan put on a demonstration of PT Boat speed and maneuverability in … In John Ford's 1945 war film, They Were Expendable, two 80-foot Elcos were used during filming along with four former RON 14 78-foot Huckins. At the beginning of the film some Navy Brass, after watching a demonstration of the boats, decide to pass on them. White's They Were Expendable is a good book and an equally good movie. Nor could White, even if he had wanted to, have gotten away with criticizing Douglas MacArthur or any Washington bigwigs who were in part responsible for the Philippines disaster. It was a joy to reread this book. I first read it when I was 11. Then the war begins and it turns out that they … THEY WERE EXPENDABLE (Book) - Part 6: Two Tense Nights: General MacArthur is Delivered: ... to discover just in time that the strange pursuing craft was the 41 boat—their own flagship with General MacArthur aboard. They carried four Mark 8 torpedoes, two twin M2 .50-cal. Japan had– everything they touched at that point in time had turned to gold. The series continued on Wednesday, June 26th with a screening of They Were Expendable (1945) by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed, Ward Bond, Jack But during the period of the war depicted in “They Were Expendable” their abilities in combat were largely untested; the film dramatizes how that quickly came to change. Made near the end of WWII in 1945, They were Expendable, tells the story of how PT boats came to be used by the United States Navy. PT boat - Wikipedia She was in The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) and played a nurse in John Ford's They Were Expendable (1945), the love interest of John Wayne . Wed. 11 March 1942 Pacific Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur and Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell depart Luzon, with their respective staffs, in motor torpedo boats PT-32, PT-34, PT-35 and PT-41, bound for Mindanao. “So here they were—loaded down to the water line with seasick and puzzled generals. They Were Expendable: A Critique of John Ford's 1945 War Film by David M. Cross THEY WERE EXPENDABLE is a story of defeat. It is about a PT boat squadron,during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.Great action,a love story thrown in for good measure and a memorable ending.One of John Ford's best films. A national bestseller when it was originally published in 1942 and the subject of a 1945 John Ford film featuring John Wayne, this book offers a thrilling account of the role of the U.S. Navy's Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three during the disastrous Philippine campaign early in World War II. They Were Expendable is a story about PT boats in WWII. But the forward that Gen. Douglas MacArthur wrote for the film resonated: "A great tragedy has ended. They mistreated every prisoner they ever laid … According to an Oct 1944 HR news item, They Were Expendable was taken off the "inactive" list following a revival of military action in the Philippines. Their feeling was summed up well by Frank Hewlett, the only US war correspondent left in the islands: We’re the battling bastards of Bataan. They Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford and starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne and featuring Donna Reed. : Near fine in very good+ dust jacket. AbeBooks.com: THEY WERE EXPENDABLE. ... MacArthur forces suffer heavy casualties and hastily withdraw en masse under circumstances reminiscent of Napoleons' infamous retreat from Moscow. (Couple tiny nicks at top edge. They Were Expendable Mildly faded. MacArthur is presented reverentially with no hint that many soldiers were at this point calling him “Dugout Doug” for his rare appearances at the front. Our forces were woe- fully inadequate. The film is based on the 1942 book by William L. White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a … Since the US forces were mechanized, they were dependent on traveling on the roads. Chipping at spine ends on DJ. They Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne, and ... the squadron is assigned to evacuate General Douglas MacArthur, his family, and others to Mindanao, where an airplane will take them to Australia. And they were acting out. 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