Customer Reviews

They Were Expendable/Flying Leathernecks

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

THEY WERE EXPENDABLE
Maybe because I was just a little kid, and the war was still raging, (1945) but nearing an end. Maybe it was partially because my grandfather took me to see this movie as he took me to see other movies every Saturday, and maybe it was because my Polio was gone and I could walk and run again, but mostly because my uncle was the skipper of a PT boat and knew JFK. Great Direction by John Ford, with his regular crew plus Robert Montgomery, (John Wayne, Donna Reed, Ward Bond) and many other great stars gave outstanding performances in an authentic, tropic ambiance displayed convincingly, though in Black and white.

The missions, struggles, disappointments, amiable characters just doing a very tough, under-appreciated job in plywood PT boat's which the navy and marines didn't entirely trust.

The secondary question was; would Monty and The Duke bring home a winner, or switch to submarines?

This is a short intro of the coming of age of a PT boat fleet, the hopelessness that hung like a black cloud of Damocles just above the heads of the officers and grunts in what then seemed a losing effort, but one in which they kept grinding on with the stiff-upper lip, hard bitten, toughness of ordinary men and women doing extraordinary things.

At this point in the war, the US was not yet winning, and beneath the surface the fighting men and women worried, more about whose fate was unknown than themselves. The milieu and attitudes of the characters gave one a feeling of what it really must have been like in those dark times. When my uncle came back from action a year later, he said it was one of his favorite war films-authentic and revealing.

FLYING LEATHERNECKS
The second film, made in 1951, which was filmed in Technicolor, Flying Leather Necks, directed by Nicolas Ray and starring Wayne, Robert Ryan and an excellent supporting cast, was a typical fighter pilot film, well done, filled with the conflicts, misunderstandings, emotional struggles with tensions of death and mistakes and orders which are hard to follow at times. A good film but less of a classic than the Black and white above. Besides all of that, one Great film, one good film and a terrific price. By the way, this movie borrows just a bit of its plot from a 1938 Howard Hawks directed, Errol Flynn, vehicle: Dawn Patrol. The rankling relationship of Wayne with Robert Ryan, is almost parallel to Flynn's relationship to his commanding officer, Basil Rathbone. Except in this film, the roles are reversed. Here, the leading man, Wayne is the commander, and Ryan his second in command. However, in Dawn Patrol, the underling, Flynn is the leading man and co-star Rathbone his commander.

"They Were Expendable" is a true story about the first real action of PT boats in the second world war, as it occurred in the Phillipines in the early months of 1942. "The Fleet the Gods Forgot" by Winslow includes an account of Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 which closely matches the movie, and includes additional accounts of heroic action by the men who served in the squadron.

"Flying Leathernecks" is an incredible piece of history, showing F6F Hellcat fighters and F4U Corsair fighters in air operations in the Pacific and on Essex class aircraft carriers. If you enjoy seeing these historic ships and planes in real color, you should also consider "Dive Bomber" with Fred McMurray which shows air operations in 1941 on the USS Enterprise (CV-5).

These are great movies for any 2nd world war history buff.

Two of the most entertaining war films packaged into one case. Hard to go wrong with this. The film quality is clear, no issues with sound or visual. If you enjoy war films with a good storyline, ineresting characters and well-directed/acted, then I strongly suggest this double feature package.

"They Were Expendable" has to be among the most underated war movies ever!
There is little else to say except that this is an outstanding movie.
"Leathernecks" is a good one also, and provides an interesting comparison for the movie buff. Side by side like this, one can easily come to a conclusion about the repective directors. A critical look at these two together shows just how good John Ford was. Not to knock "Leathernecks", but Ford is the best director Hollywood likely ever had, and it shows in making a terrifc movie about...excuse me....but, P.T. boats??! Who else ever tried that and hit a home run?

Great epic of our fathers fight for our freedom.
We should all appreciate this vanishing breed of Americans.

Semper-Fi
USMC 1966-1973

Since I saw these when they were first released, this was a trip back down a nostalgic memory lane. Good examples of the movies of the period during WWII and shortly after. John Wayne movies are always a good choice.

I would like to be kept on this person's list for future purchases. I like buying from people that sell quality products.

They Were Expendable is my favorite John Wayne film; Ihave a vcr version and because I play it a lot I wanted a digital copy that would not wear out. This version is good quality. I bought this version because I got the Leathernecks version as a bonus--I like this film too and so it is another fine addition to my war film collection.

They Were Expendable

Shot during the closing weeks of WWII, They Were Expendable is the somewhat real life story of the American defeat in the Philippines as seen through the eyes of the men of a PT boat squadron commanded by Lt. John Bulkeley (called Brickley in the film and played by Robert Montgomery) and his second in command Lt. Robert Kelly (named Rusty Ryan played by John Wayne). The concept of PT boat warfare is a new idea to the navy and the men are given limited assignments. The movie was directed by Capt. John Ford USNR and based on a screenplay by Cmdr. Frank (Spig) Wead, USN who became the subject of another John Ford movie entitled The Wings of Eagles (1957).

There is no elaborate plot to the film, no Hollywood drama here, no special effects, no plot twisting events, just ordinary men doing an ordinary job under difficult times. It is simply the story of men trying to survive on a day to day basis in wartime. They are having to cope with the loss of their fellow crewmen and the defeat which they can sense is coming as the United States slowly retreats from the Philippine Islands. These men are meant to buy time, a delaying action, until the United States can gather its forces for all out war.

There is little or no real emphasis on combat scenes and the scenes are limited, almost as if they were unintended. The minor characters of the film (the men of the PT boat crews) are hard to follow in that their speaking parts are limited, making remembering them as individuals difficult. Donna Reed's character, Sandy an army nurse, really wasn't worth the extra scenes given to her but is more in tune with Ford's having to have a romantic character in the text of the film. The film is worth seeing, giving the viewer an incite into early days of WWII.

Flying Leathernecks

It's Marines, Marines and more Marines in this action adventure of WWII. John Wayne and Robert Ryan star as the commander and executive officer of VFM 247 fighter squadron assigned to fight it out on the island of Guadalcanal with close air support for ground troops, but Wayne and Ryan are constantly at odds as to how to manage this group of young college aviators. The movie resembles the story of Pappy Boyington and the Black Sheep squadron, VMF 214, but with more antagonism and less humor. There is plenty of action in this movie and lots of authentic combat footage.

Wayne and Ryan are not at their best in this movie for they simply do not fit the profile of typical Marine officers and the story line tends to drag. If you like action movies with plenty of combat, then this movie will please you. If you are looking for more of a story about historical events then this film may disappoint but its worth a one time see. Overall the film is average and not John Wayne at his best.

I always get fast service from Amazon. The package always arrives before the date they said. The one time it didn't was because the postperson had delivered it to the wrong address. Not Amazon's fault. The one time my package was damaged Amazon sent me a new one. I asked if they wanted the damaged one back and they said 'no.'