IMDb RATING
6.7/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
December, 1941. With no hope of relief or re-supply, a small band of United States Marines tries to keep the Japanese Navy from capturing their island base.December, 1941. With no hope of relief or re-supply, a small band of United States Marines tries to keep the Japanese Navy from capturing their island base.December, 1941. With no hope of relief or re-supply, a small band of United States Marines tries to keep the Japanese Navy from capturing their island base.
- Nominated for 4 Oscars
- 2 wins & 6 nominations total
Joyce Arleen
- Cynthia Caton
- (uncredited)
Hugh Beaumont
- Captain
- (uncredited)
Barbara Britton
- Sally Cameron
- (uncredited)
Hillary Brooke
- Girl at the Inn
- (uncredited)
James Brown
- Wounded Marine First Lieutenant
- (uncredited)
Don Castle
- Pvt. Cunkle
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaParamount began work on this movie before the real-life battle for Wake Island was over.
- GoofsDuring the aerial battle at around 38 minutes one of the island defenders is shown shooting down a biplane. Biplanes would have been fazed out as tactical weapons long before the war began.
- Quotes
Pvt. Aloysius K. 'Smacksie' Randall: Boys, the honeymoon's over. From now on you're marines.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Paramount Victory Short No. T2-3: The Price of Victory (1942)
- SoundtracksMarine Hymn
(uncredited)
Music by Jacques Offenbach ("Gendarme's Duet") 1867
Heard under opening credirs
Featured review
Whatever its flaws--stereotypes among soldiers, wartime propaganda using the Wake Island battle as symbolic of America's fight for freedom, weak comic relief--WAKE ISLAND is the kind of story Americans needed to hear during the height of WWII. It begins just before the Pearl Harbor attack when the men were losing their morale to fight against the Japs, then changes once American ships and servicemen are attacked in sneaky fashion at Pearl, to become a story of fighting men who want to avenge what F.D.R. called "a day of infamy".
Forcefully directed by John Farrow, it's a gritty, realistic war drama given occasional relief by ROBERT PRESTON and WILLIAM BENDIX as a pair of squabbling soldiers arguing over re-enlistment. BRIAN DONLEVY plays Maj. Caton with steely-eyed determination and a large male cast of upcoming actors and future stars fills the supporting cast: ALBERT DEKKER, MADONALD CAREY, ROD CAMERON, WALTER ABEL, DANE CLARK, PHILIP TERRY and FRANK FAYLEN.
Similar in content to BATAAN, which also told of American losses against overwhelming odds and had a downbeat ending, the true story of Wake Island is even more downbeat than the film hints. Brutal stories of torture at the hands of Japanese military awaited many who survived the assault on the small island in the Pacific. But that's something you can learn about at The History Channel.
Summing up: A reminder of what sort of films Americans were looking at during the height of WWII--you have to view it in that context.
Forcefully directed by John Farrow, it's a gritty, realistic war drama given occasional relief by ROBERT PRESTON and WILLIAM BENDIX as a pair of squabbling soldiers arguing over re-enlistment. BRIAN DONLEVY plays Maj. Caton with steely-eyed determination and a large male cast of upcoming actors and future stars fills the supporting cast: ALBERT DEKKER, MADONALD CAREY, ROD CAMERON, WALTER ABEL, DANE CLARK, PHILIP TERRY and FRANK FAYLEN.
Similar in content to BATAAN, which also told of American losses against overwhelming odds and had a downbeat ending, the true story of Wake Island is even more downbeat than the film hints. Brutal stories of torture at the hands of Japanese military awaited many who survived the assault on the small island in the Pacific. But that's something you can learn about at The History Channel.
Summing up: A reminder of what sort of films Americans were looking at during the height of WWII--you have to view it in that context.
- How long is Wake Island?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Volveremos a la isla Wake
- Filming locations
- Salt Lake City, Utah, USA(air scenes of Japanese attack planes)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $826,061 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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