A group of nurses returning from the war in the Philippines recall their experiences in combat and in love.A group of nurses returning from the war in the Philippines recall their experiences in combat and in love.A group of nurses returning from the war in the Philippines recall their experiences in combat and in love.
- Nominated for 4 Oscars
- 1 win & 5 nominations total
- Ling Chee
- (as Dr. Hugh Ho Chang)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn keeping with Army regulations, Veronica Lake (Lt. Olivia D'Arcy) changed her famous "peek-a-boo" hairstyle. She only let her hair down once, in her final scene. Later she cut it with much publicity, because women who copied her and worked in factories kept getting their hair caught in the machinery.
- GoofsIn late 1941, Kansas jokes that he decided to join the Marines because his football team "wrecked" Army's team, which would imply that the game he was talking about occurred in the Fall of 1941. He earlier claims his team also beat Notre Dame, but the Fighting Irish were undefeated in 1941.
- Quotes
Lt. Olivia D'Arcy: Stop prying into things that don't concern you.
Lt. Janet 'Davy' Davidson: Maybe it does concern me. It concerns me that the morale of this group remains high. Until you joined up, it was. You're just a troublemaker. I-I don't really care what's bothering you at all. I don't like you any more than the rest of the girls do.
Lt. Olivia D'Arcy: I'm supposed to be a nurse and that's all.
Lt. Janet 'Davy' Davidson: No. There's more than that now that we're at war. Maybe you don't know what's up. Maybe you don't know what we're doing here.
Lt. Olivia D'Arcy: You think I don't know. All right, I'll tell you. I know what I'm doing, I know why I'm here. I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to kill Japs.
[stands up]
Lt. Olivia D'Arcy: Every blood-stained one I can get my hands on!
Lt. Janet 'Davy' Davidson: [hushed] Olivia!
Lt. Olivia D'Arcy: That doesn't sound nice coming from a nurse, does it? We're supposed to be angels of mercy, we're supposed to tend to the wounded and take care of the sick. We're supposed to be kind and tender and serve humanity in the name of humanity. What humanity? Jap humanity?
Lt. Janet 'Davy' Davidson: Olivia, be quiet!
Lt. Olivia D'Arcy: No, you asked me, you wanted to know, you pried into things that didn't concern you.You wanted to know that this is - look! Look at that!
[opens a locket Davidson was asking about]
Lt. Olivia D'Arcy: Do you know what it is? I'll tell you, it's a boy.
[door opens, two other girls look in]
Lt. Olivia D'Arcy: Come in, both of you, you wanted to know too. Today is Christmas, isn't it? The time for cheer and good fellowship, and for peace. Well, today's my wedding day.
[holds out locket]
Lt. Olivia D'Arcy: You see that? He and I were to be married today, in Saint Louis. And why weren't we? Because he's dead. He died that first morning. They killed him. I saw him. He was running across the field to his plane and they killed him. Sixty bullets - sixty! By the time I got to him he was dead. His face was gone - I couldn't see him any more. Just blood - blood all over!
[bursts into tears]
Lt. Janet 'Davy' Davidson: [rushes to her side] Oh, Olivia!
Lt. Olivia D'Arcy: Let me go. Let me go. They must be punished, and I'm going to punish them! He was dead. It was ended for him...
[cries]
Lt. Olivia D'Arcy: I wanted him... He was all I had... I loved him so much...
- ConnectionsFeatured in Desperate Housewives: There's Something About a War (2006)
- SoundtracksThe Star Spangled Banner
(1814) (uncredited)
Music by John Stafford Smith
In the score during the opening credits
The film is told in flashbacks, when the women are actually on their way home by ship, and Colbert, who plays "Davy" (Janet Davidson) is catatonic. The ship's doctor is trying to figure out how to help her and asks the women to tell their story. It's a rough one, filled with bombings, filth, malaria, little food, exhaustion, and dying.
When "So Proudly We Hail!" was released, no one knew how the war would end as we do now, and the fall of the Philippines was seen as a major defeat for the U.S. I suspect that although the impact of seeing it today is very strong, it must have been a lot stronger for wartime audiences.
As mentioned, it was wartime, so Hollywood didn't have a lot of men to choose from. George Reeves - today himself the subject of a film - plays Davy's love interest, John, and he's not only hunky but excellent. I couldn't figure out if he had a good speaking voice or I was just so used to hearing it after growing up with "Superman." But he's very effective, and it's sad that after serving in the war, he couldn't get his career back on track. Unfortunately, that happened to many actors who were just getting a foothold when war broke out.
The other actor is the often maligned Sonny Tufts, a big, good looking blond who wasn't much of an actor, but he doesn't detract from the film either. He was probably more suited to this role than he was to others later on.
But this is a women's movie all the way. At 40, Colbert was probably a little old for the role. However, she does a good job as a tough but motherly woman, protective of her nurses and quite the rule-breaker herself after she meets John. Veronica Lake gives what is perhaps her best performance as the angry Olivia. The supporting Oscar nomination should have gone to her - it's a showy role, and she does a fantastic job. Paulette Goddard did receive the nomination. She's a flirty, sexy man magnet and extremely likable. I've always thought in real life, with all that charm and charisma, she must have had to beat men off with a stick.
"So Proudly We Hail!" gives as realistic a depiction of the conditions of war and the tremendous work of the nurses who served. It covers the same material as the excellent "Cry Havoc!" - also about nurses on Bataan. I highly recommend both films.
As a bit of trivia, there were nurses who did not get out of Corregidor and were captured. They worked in the prison hospitals and had to endure terrible conditions, but surprisingly, they did survive -a tribute to their incredible inner strength and devotion to the wounded.
Details
- Runtime2 hours 6 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1