Marine Corps Capt. Marion Carl, a multi-ace (18.5 air victories), makes an appearance as a Marine Corps pilot. Capt. Carl wears his baseball cap with the bill pointed skyward and makes the comment, "Don't look now, fellas, but a truck of gas just came on the field." Capt. Carl was a survivor of the Battle of Midway and the air campaign for Guadalcanal in 1942. He was awarded 2 Navy Crosses for his actions at Midway and Guadalcanal. Sadly, on June 28, 1998, he was murdered in his Oregon home by a home intruder.
Film debut of Richard Jaeckel. He was 17 years of age at the time. He had been a messenger boy for 20th Century-Fox when he was cast in the film.
This movie was made in 1943, only one year after the Battle of Guadalcanal, which was fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943. The film premiered in the US around 27 October 1943, which was about ten months after the end of the Guadalcanal campaign.
William Bendix once told "The Saturday Evening Post"'s "The Role I Liked Best" column in 1946 that his character of Cpl. Aloysius T. 'Taxi' Potts was his favorite of all the roles he had played, as it had given him "the widest range of opportunity" for an actor. Moreover, Bendix stated that he was moved by the letters he had received from military personnel who recognized his gutsy performance as a soldier. Bendix also added that he and his fellow cast members enjoyed the experience of working with the US Marines based at Camp Pendleton.
The film accurately shows Marines armed with bolt-action rifles. While Garand rifles were available, they were not available in numbers sufficient to issue to the Marines before setting sail.