They were expendable

United States, 1945

Film
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Robert Montgomery and John Wayne are naval lieutenants stationed in the Philippines who are keen to test their squadrons and equipment in battle. They get the chance to do so when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbour and the US enters World War II. Donna Reed also features as a nurse falling in love with Wayne, but the relationship takes second place to the brilliant staging and editing of the navy and air battles. In the bloody and intense war scenes Ford shows his brilliance as a film director. Based on the novel of the same name by William L. White.

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Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

producer/director

John Ford

production company

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Duration

02:15:00:00

Production places
United States
Production dates
1945

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

302504

Language

English

Audience classification

PG

Subject categories

Adaptations

Armed Forces, Military, War & Weapons → World War, 1939-1945

Feature films

Feature films → Feature films - United States

Literature → American literature - Film and video adaptations

War films

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Black and White

Holdings

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/81416--they-were-expendable/ |title=They were expendable |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=29 March 2023 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}