They Were Expendable

John Ford was called back from service during World War II (he was making documentaries for the armed services) to direct this somber 1945 classic about the devastating early Pacific campaign following the declaration of war in 1941. John Wayne, a popular actor but not quite yet the superstar of American cinema, stars as Rusty Ryan, second-in-command to tough Lt. John “Brick” Brickley (Robert Montgomery, also a real-life WWII officer), the aloof, no-nonsense commander of a PT boat squadron stationed in the peacetime Pacific when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Hot-headed and emotional where Brick is calm and clear-thinking, Ryan is constantly reminded that his duty is to the unit, not his own frustrated sense of helplessness in the face of repeated defeats. Ford's reverence for the military infuses every frame, from the display of patriotism upon hearing the news of the Pearl Harbor bombing, to the military manners when Rusty brings his girl (Donna Reed as a determined nurse) to the officer's hut for dinner, to the mythic treatment of General Douglas MacArthur, whose name is spoken in hushed tones by the worshipping enlisted men. They Were Expendable is also one of Ford's most beautiful films, directed with a rich mix of documentary realism, bold expressionism, and poetic delicacy, all of which add to the poignancy and power of a film which ends not on victory but defeat. It was Ford's reminder to the American public that victory in the Pacific was only eventually reached at a tremendous cost in human life. Bowing on Blu-ray, this powerful war drama is recommended. (S. Axmaker)