That's actually a quote from the battle at Bunker Hill, but it is repeated here to make the point that fooling and surprising your enemy is often the best way to proceed in war. This is World War II, and practically the entire world gathered together to destroy three enemy nations.
A tiny island in the Pacific far from Hawaii, Wake Island is set up by the American military before the days of Pearl Harbor. They are ironically visited by a creepy looking Japanese diplomat who the audience knows from the very moment that he opens his mouth that he is lying through his teeth. Just days later, Pearl Harbor is attacked which shocks but prepares them for a strike.
Great battle scenes showed movie audiences what the boys were doing over there, although these soldiers are definitely all man. A cast of Paramount's top male contract players cone together in what really was the first great war movie dealing with combat.
Certainly made with the propaganda machine in mind, this lacks the clichés of later films, and therefore, it remains one of the most important movies made about the second World War.
Many of the actors became bigger stars much later, so therefore, it is difficult to recognize such familiar faces as Robert Preston and Macdonald Carey unless you are searching for them. The stars are second priority, however, as this is where the story is the star. Still, already popular character performers like Wiiam Bendix and Brian Donlevy do give unique characterizations. So raise your Memorial and Veterans Day flag, and enjoy a film that came out awfully fast after the war began but didn't cheat the viewer. It is superb.
A tiny island in the Pacific far from Hawaii, Wake Island is set up by the American military before the days of Pearl Harbor. They are ironically visited by a creepy looking Japanese diplomat who the audience knows from the very moment that he opens his mouth that he is lying through his teeth. Just days later, Pearl Harbor is attacked which shocks but prepares them for a strike.
Great battle scenes showed movie audiences what the boys were doing over there, although these soldiers are definitely all man. A cast of Paramount's top male contract players cone together in what really was the first great war movie dealing with combat.
Certainly made with the propaganda machine in mind, this lacks the clichés of later films, and therefore, it remains one of the most important movies made about the second World War.
Many of the actors became bigger stars much later, so therefore, it is difficult to recognize such familiar faces as Robert Preston and Macdonald Carey unless you are searching for them. The stars are second priority, however, as this is where the story is the star. Still, already popular character performers like Wiiam Bendix and Brian Donlevy do give unique characterizations. So raise your Memorial and Veterans Day flag, and enjoy a film that came out awfully fast after the war began but didn't cheat the viewer. It is superb.