They Were Expendable

Released at the end of World War II, with the ink on the final surrender documents still fresh, "They Were Expendable" is a rousing yet sobering look back when American service personnel faced total defeat at enemy hands. It's not a question of "if" for them, just "when," and this is director John Ford's way of paying tribute.

We open in December, 1941, as Lt. John Brickley (Robert Montgomery) is trying to make his superiors see the value of the squadron of PT- boats he commands, presently stationed on Cavite in the Philippines. The brass is not impressed, but then the Japanese begin their offensive and Brickley and his men are put to the test. Can these "high-powered canoes" be counted on to help turn the tide of Japanese cruisers and destroyers?

Not really, not for long.

Surprisingly for a film made while the war in the Pacific still raged, there is an overall tone of resignation bordering on despair, beginning with the title. A lot of things turn out expendable in this movie, not just the PT-boats and the rest of the American forces in the Philippines, but comradeships formed within the squadron, too. Brickley's second-in-command Rusty Ryan (John Wayne) even has to shed a promising romance with nurse Sandy Davyss (Donna Reed) as the exigencies of war take precedence.

The message of "do-and-die" is presented early by Brickley's commander: "You and I are professionals. If the manager says sacrifice, we lay down a bunt and let somebody else hit the home runs."

Wayne is the reason people watch "Expendable," but Montgomery is why it sticks. A combat veteran just back from the war, he keeps it real with a low-key performance. There's no shouting when he issues commands, just firm authority. No longer the pretty boy of 1930s cinema, Montgomery is haggard-looking here, with bags under his eyes, a five-'o-clock shadow, and a noticeable paunch. He's not trying to impress anyone, which is why he is so impressive.

"Who are you working for?" is something he asks Rusty at key moments in the beginning and at the end of the film. This is the moral of the picture, reminding us of the sacrifice being laid.

For Ford and screenwriter Frank "Spig" Wead, that sacrifice takes precedence over story. "They Were Expendable" is an episodic, sometimes rambling affair, with more than a bit of hyperbole about what the PT-boats accomplished. Much time is taken up with the squadron's part in the evacuation of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, whom Ford treats as such a holy thing he is never referred to by name. He's simply called "certain key personnel" and draws admiring stares from all. It's understandable given MacArthur's credited role in turning the war, but it does grate.

The pathos is deep, but never overwhelming. A deathbed scene between Brickley and one of his officers, whom we earlier see being introduced to the rest the squadron on the eve of the Pearl Harbor attack, is a masterful study of actorly control by both Montgomery and Paul Langton. Several key players in the Ford acting troupe have standout scenes, and with Ford manage to incorporate needed doses of humor in small but strategic ways.

I really like Wayne in this movie; already a star, we see him here beginning to emerge as an actor, whether grousing about PT-duty early on, making a hash of an attempt at telling Sandy he loves her on a bad telephone connection, or reciting verse over two dead comrades. While Montgomery sets the tone of the film, Wayne provides the crucial backbone for it to work.

In a way, the great strength of "They Were Expendable" is also a weakness; that it was made when the subject was not only fresh but still an open wound. It was hard for Ford and his cast to be as objective and detached from the matter as great art often is, to find a way of dealing with the hard truth that the fight for the Philippines was not just a defeat but a useless one where PT-boats proved of minimal help. All the talk of duty gets frustrating when one thinks of the overwhelming futility behind it.

"They Were Expendable" best works as a requiem, speaking of loss and man's hope for nobility in the face of same. It reminds us of whatever bad turns fate has in store for us, we need to be strong and face them out with determination, not necessarily because it will do any good but because it is the best we can do.

Stirring WWII film, directed by John Ford, about the contributions of the Navy torpedo boat squadron to the war effort. In addition to the action and wartime heroics, there are subplots about the rivalry between Navy lieutenant Robert Montgomery and frustrated subordinate John Wayne, and a romance that blossoms between Wayne and nurse Donna Reed.

Montgomery, a gleeful ham when the role calls for it, offers one of his most subtle and successful performances as the sober squadron commander. Wayne does a great job, as well, playing a character with more layers to him than just a gung-ho war hero. His character is brave, to be sure, but he's also ambitious to rise in rank and a little petulant. Not attributes one immediately thinks of when they think John Wayne. Reed is lovely and charming as ever.

It's a little overlong, as many movies over two hours seem to be (then and especially now), but Ford makes the most of it and it never feels padded. Definitely worth a look for Ford and Wayne fans, or anyone who enjoys World War II films. It's one of the best.

Very few, if any, WW2 films are better than this. I first saw it several years ago on a wet miserable Saturday afternoon in winter and subsequently taped it at the next showing. I have seen it several times since then.

Despite not living through this difficult time I can imagine it capturing how the US forces felt in the early days of the Pacific war. As the film states, these are the men who laid down the initial sacrifice that others built on. They were no doubt aware of this, and that escape before the Japanese arrived was their only real chance of survival.

John Ford created a basically solemn film in keeping with the times. Action is pretty minimal but this does not detract from the film at all. Solid performances from all the caste and one of John Wayne's best performances. Some of the action sequences could have been better (but it was made over 50 years ago), a bit too much of men jumping on and off MTB's, and the dinner scene between Wayne and Donna Reed did nothing for me. A downbeat ending with some crew going off to help plan for later battles and others marching off to almost certain death, but it is in keeping with what the US forces faced at the time.

Recent good WW2 films such as Saving Private Ryan and Thin Red Line show what can be achieved now with a big budget and huge technical advances, but it doesn't make them any better than this film.

I only hope it comes out in DVD in the UK. 9 out of 10.

They Were Expendable is John Ford's first Hollywood feature since his discharge from the U.S. Navy and the same can be said for Robert Montgomery. Both had served in the Navy and Montgomery in fact on P.T. Boats. From the last presidential election we now know them as Swift Boats.

It's an unusual John Ford film because the usual heavy comedic monkeyshines are rather subdued here. I'm thinking that John Ford wisely decided that World War II being recently over, the country's mood was joyous, but somber in terms of the heavy human cost.

They Were Expendable has the benefit though of the American audience knowing the ultimate victory. The story begins in the Phillipines in 1941 with Robert Montgomery as real life naval hero John Bulkeley, renamed Brickley for the film, trying to convince the brass of the usefulness of the P.T. Boat in combat, not just for scouting and courier duty. Of course that experiment is cut short and the P.T. Boats and their crews are rushed into some on the job experience.

During the film MacArthur, you might recall Gregory Peck saying that he was going to be evacuated from Corregidor by "one of Johnny Bulkeley's torpedo boats." That scene is dramatized as a wordless Robert Barrat plays MacArthur traveling on the boat commanded by John Wayne.

Wayne is Montgomery's second in command of the P.T. boat squadron who is not thrilled to be there. He'd like to be on at least a destroyer. He gradually comes around though. He also gets a fling in the romance department with Navy nurse Donna Reed.

During that interlude John Ford had some of the crew outside singing Dear Old Girl in a comic vein. Ford was never one to not let a good bit of business die with one film. You might remember in Fort Apache and Rio Grande there was some serenading done. And Donna Reed got serenaded on her "Hawaiian" honeymoon with James Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life with Ward Bond once again being one of the serenaders. I'm sure Frank Capra would have conceded he stole that from Ford.

The story is first and foremost about some very desperate American armed forces who after Pearl Harbor were at the Japanese mercy. Pearl Harbor had totalled our Pacific fleet and no supplies could get through. Still the troops there fought on bravely, they were in fact by geography expendable.

Wayne and Montgomery give good but subdued performances. No do or die heroics here, just a sobering reminder of a terrible beginning for the Americans in the Pacific theater of World War II.

This movie is so exceptionally well-written, acted and directed. Although I am a big fan of some of John Wayne's other war pictures such as The Flying Tigers and The Fighting Sea Bees, these films are not exactly realistic and make it look like Wayne and his friends could have almost single-handedly beaten the Japanese! But, with They Were Expendible, the over-the-top heroism and exploits are instead replaced with grim determination against the odds and a quiet dignity. Because of that, to me, the impact of this film was much more lasting and heart-felt. Realism is key to this picture.

Oh, and by the way, Robert Montgomery gets top billing because when the film was made he was the bigger star--Wayne's rise to the top in Hollywood was still to come. I really see this more as Wayne's film as his part seemed BIGGER and he seemed to get at least as much screen time as Montgomery.

This would be an excellent film for teens, as it focuses on glory and heroism without glorifying death or trivializing our sacrifices.