Customer Reviews

Guadalcanal: The Island of Death [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Based on Richard Tregaskis' popular book of his account of the action at Guadalcanal, when the first detachment of U.S. Marines landed in the Solomon Islands in August of 1942, this is a tough and gritty war film with a sturdy ensemble cast, who do a wonderful job of recreating the diverse characters in the story, from Anthony Quinn who dreams of his señoritas, to the young Richard Jaeckel, who is always writing home to mom.
Preston Foster, William Bendix, Lloyd Nolan and Richard Conte are the other actors that contribute to make the film interesting, along with the narration by Reed Hadley which contrasts with the everyday speech of the dialogue and at times is quite poetic.

Enduring the humid jungle, often plagued with torrential rain, and at one point running out of food and needing reinforcements, the narrator says of October 10th, "...for we are tired, after days of heat and rain, dust and disease, mud and malnutrition, weeks of constant fighting...", the film depicts a lot of heroism, the caring for one another, and much patriotism.
The battle cinematography by Charles Clarke is visually exciting, though all very sanitized, as none of the intense fighting is graphic, and one must remember that this is a 1943 film, and the language used is far from politically correct; those who can't put it into historical perspective should avoid seeing it.
Total running time is 93 minutes.

Anthony Quinn (Pvt. Jesus "Soose" Alvarez), Preston Foster (Father Donnelly), William Bendix (Cpl. Aloysius "Taxi" Potts), Minor Watson (Col. Wallace Grayson), Lionel Stander (Sgt. Butch), Lloyd Nolan (Sgt. Hook Malone), and Richard Jaeckel (Pvt. Johnny "Chicken" Anderson) star in this fine movie about America's first amphibious assult of World war II. This movie was made just shortly after the actual capture of Guadalcanal in February of 1943.

The movie begins with the journey of the First Marine Divison across the Pacific Ocean aboard transport ships. The Marines' time was spent either lying on deck, playing cards, or shooting the bull. The journey was long and monotinous, but the Marines were finally informed of their destination and readied themselves for battle. Upon landing, the Marines set up a perimeter and set out to engage the enemy. Some of the fiercest fighting of the war occurred on Guadalcanal. Both sides were undersupplied and suffered from lack of food. However, while the Americans were hungry, the Japanese starved. Thus, the island became known to the Japanese as "the island of death".

After six months of brutal fighting, the Americans finally captured the island. The Japanese managed to remove their remaining troops under the cover of darkness using destroyers.

This movie does a very good job of describing the action which occurred during the battle from the initial landings in August until the Army relieved them in December. The performances by the cast are very good, and I especially thought that the narration added some valuable insight to the movie. Also, I was impressed by the historical accuracy of the movie. Each of the early encounters with the Japanese is described, including the battle of Teneru River to the horrible shelling of Henderson Field by the Japanese Navy. Based on the book by correspondent Richard Tregaskis, "Guadalcanal Diary" does a fine job of telling the story of the First Marine Divison and their struggles during the early days of the Guadalcanal campaign. This movie differs greatly from today's war movies such as "Saving Private Ryan". There is no blood and guts death scenes in this movie, as well as no political correctness. Routinely throughout this movie, the Americans refer to the Japanese as "monkeys" and "gooks". These terms may not be popular, but that's exactly what the Marines called them in 1942-43.

I give this movie my highest recommendation. The characters are realistic and believable, the action is very good, and the historical correctness is excellent. Watch this movie and see how two enemies fought over a strategically important island in the South Pacific for six long, brutal months in the early days of World War II.

This account of the struggle to retake the South Pacific island of Guadalcanal from the occupying Japanese army in World War two is marked by superbly staged battle sequences .It -uniquely for the period -eschews the standard gung ho flag waving that marked most Hollywood war movies of the era (understandably ,in my book given the circumstances)and depicts a very matter of fact view of the average soldier's life in combat situations.
The acting honours are stolen by the under-rated Richard Jaeckel but there is sterling support from reliable performers like William Bendix,Richard Conte ,Lloyd Nolan and the great Anthony Quinn.
A war movie showing rare honesty and integrity .

Guadalcanal Diary DVD

Guadalcanal Diary is a movie about the U. S.. Marine's invasion of the Japanese held Island of Guadalcanal in 1942 the movie was made in 1943. Before the war was over. It is based on Richard Tregarski's bestselling book. The incident with the pigs reminded me about something similar that happened to me in Viet Nam the day after a firefight. We fired about 200 rounds of 105mm artillery in the woods to discover some dead pigs, Bar-B-Que time.

Recommended for fans of the Pacific War if there are any.

Gunner April, 2008

Having seen both Guadalcanal Diary and A Thin Red Line, I must say that Guadalcanal Diary is a far better film. Having been made during the war (in 1943, barely a year after the start of the Solomons campaign) this movie goes far beyond being a propoganda film. It is a story about private lives of grunts, all coming from different places yet showing great teamwork and camaradarie. Also, there is no real "Jap bashing" even though this movie was made during the height of conflict with the Japanese. (What do the "propogandist" reviewers have to say about that?).

Also, this movie is about the Marine Corps which began the campaign at Guadalcanal. The Army (which is what The Thin Red Line was about) moved in *after* most of the hard fighting was done by the Marines. Granted, the movie does not have the special effects and cinematographic appeal as The Thin Red Line. But the movie has the best realism and cinematography available at the time.

Also, there are no "why are we here" and anti-war sentiments that were portrayed in The Thin Red Line. (In my view, The Thin Red Line might have found a better place had it been made about Vietnam). Grunts at WWII, knew very well why they were fighthing. The threat to the world by both Japan and Germany was very real. The future of world freedom (and possibly civilization) was at stake. There was a good depiction of the fear felt by the combat soldier and of the fact that death does not escape even the best. The heroism shown in this film is not just about individuals, but all the Marines collectively who accomplished their job (and duty) well.

I highly recommend this film.

Set apart by its realistic portrayal of the struggle for Guadalcanal from most other "flag-wavers" made during World War 2, this film is also most entertaining. Marines live and die in this film, and the Japanese also certainly die, as you would expect. The black and white photography and narration by Richard Tregaskis (an actor really) give the film a documentary realism. For civilian audiences, this film must have seemed absolutely real to them. However, while the Marines on the 'canal were literally starving to death for a while, the actors in this film stay remarkably healthy looking. Also, they shave every day. The cast is top notch. You'll recognize many past and future stars from it. Richard Jaeckal (the MP Sergeant in The Dirty Dozen ) started his film career in the movie. Guadalcanal Diary is a fine example of the World War 2 film, made to bolster civilian morale during the war years. It is well worth seeing and owning, as a piece of cinematic history.

Set in the early days of WWII in the Pacific, the film follows a unit of Marines as they battle everything from disease and treacherous terrain to just being tired of not being at home. The Marines go from one battle to another, fighting to stay alive and keep there hopes up. There is a rogue Sgt. (Lloyd Nolan), a simple cab driver from Brooklyn (William Bendix), and a troubled Marine (Anthony Quinn)! With well done battle's and a outstanding script, this film is considered to be one of the best films done during WWII! If you can put aside that it was made in 1943, and it is not as realistic as it would be today. It is sure to get the message across and deliver the goods. One of the best war films of all time!
Grade:A

Guadalcanal is the second largest island (after Bougainville) of the Solomons and largest of the Solomon Islands Protectorate southwest Pacific...

During World War II it was the scene of bitter land and sea fighting between U. S. and Japanese forces...

On August 1942, the U.S. Marines, in the Allies' first major offensive in the Pacific, seized a Japanese airfield, Henderson Field, on the island...

On November, in a naval engagement, the Allies prevented the Japanese from landing reinforcements... By February 1943 the Japanese, badly outnumbered, were forced to evacuate Guadalcanal and by the end of the year they were on the defensive in their last stronghold in the Solomons, Bougainville Island...

"Guadalcanal Diary" is based on the best-selling book by war correspondent Richard Tregaskis... It follows the career of a platoon of Marines from Pre-landing shipboard briefings through two months slow murderous fighting in the taking of the South Sea jungles...

The film gives a realistic view of the hardships of war, and has its moments... Perhaps the most touching scene is at the climax when the tired veterans watch the fresh, green troops marching past them... The feeling is one of a continuous hard effort... The impudent newcomers have yet to face the revolting horrors that an American soldier is subjected to... Certainly, they will fight as well as those before them, however, we cannot but help feeling sad for those who will never return...

The film reveals the hard life in camps, shelters, patrols, hospitals, beaches and jungles in absolute reality... It is terse, violent, close in atmosphere and technique to "Wake Island" (1942).

During World War II, there were a number of Hollywood movies made about what was going on the front lines. The basic purpose of these films was to boost public morale. Many of these flicks had no lasting value after the end of the war and have since been consigned to the vaults of obscurity. However, there were a few of these movies that proved to have lasting value. One such quality contemporary production from the war years is the motion picture at hand, 1943's Guadalcanal Diary.

Unlike most Second World War era morale boosting flicks, Guadalcanal Diary was based on a book of the same name by a war correspondent named Richard Tregaskis. Tregaskis was an eyewitness to the events depicted in both book and movie. This gave Guadalcanal Diary a much firmer grip on the reality of what was really happening on the front lines than most other war morale boosting flicks.

The focus of Guadalcanal Diary is on the operations of the 1st Marine Division during the 1st half of the Guadalcanal Campaign. This phase stretched from the capture of the island from the Japanese in August, 1942 to the relief of the Marines by the troops of the U.S. Army's XIV Corps in 1943.
As you can expect, the movie portrays the Marines as being the exemplar of the American fighting spirit.

Guadalcanal Diary uses an ensemble cast to tell the story of a Marine platoon. The focus of this movie, unlike the vast majority of the morale boosting flicks of WWII, is not on the fighting and battles, but on the soldiers themselves. This movie portrays the war's violence realistically without being graphic. Like most of the other wartime war movies, it was shot in beautiful black and white. Unlike what passes for war movies nowadays, this flick is not a roller coaster ride of slick action sequences coupled with pulsating music and massive vulgarity. This movie depicted the fear felt by the troops and the fact that death can come to even the bravest soldiers. The battle cinematography by Charles Clarke is visually exciting. The language used by the soldiers in this movie is reflective of how actual soldiers spoke including such notions that would strike many ivory tower types today as being politically incorrect such as referring to Japanese soldiers as "monkeys" and "monkeymen."

One notable aspect of Guadalcanal Diary is the narration of Reed Hadley who would later be known as Captain John Braddock of the 1950-1953 TV series "Racket Squad." Hadley's narration makes the film's atmosphere gel quite well. The script of Hadley's narration is quite formal and as such contrasts with the everyday language of the soldiers' dialogue.

Guadalcanal Diary is an excellent motion picture from the World War II era. It proved a hit at the box office and provided a major boost to many of the actors who appeared in it including Richard Jaeckel (who made his debut in this movie), Lloyd Nolan & Anthony Quinn.

Guadalcanal Diary is well worth your time.

Richard Trejeski ( Please forgive spelling ) was a writer who was there at Guadalcanal and is portrayed in the movie. I have read his book " Guadalcanal Diary" and found this movie to stick very close to his actual accounts. Including even personal stories of the mens lives. Even though this film was made during the war they do not lighten the fact that americans die too ( Many of the main characters die and an actualll event is shown where a whole patrol is ambushed and slowly killed over a nights time which is also in the book and a true story). I highly highly recommend this film.