Leather Neck (1944)

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Movie
German title Leather neck
Original title Marine Raiders
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1944
length 91 in Germany 81  minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Harold Schuster
script Warren Duff
Assist: Martin Rackin
and Martin Duff
production Robert Fellows
music Roy Webb
camera Nicholas Musuraca
cut Philip Martin Jr.
occupation

Leather Neck (Original Title: Marine Raiders ) is an American war film from 1944 directed by Harold D. Schuster . In addition to Pat O'Brien and Robert Ryan, the main roles are cast with Ruth Hussey , Frank McHugh and Barton MacLane .

action

"12. September 1942 in the Southwest Pacific on Guadalcanal last night only little combat and combat activity with the United States Marines . The Japanese are said to have landed reinforcements. Our positions are unchanged. ”In the course of the Japanese attack on Guadalcanal, Captain Dan Craig of the Paramarines and Major Steve Lockhard of the US Marine Corps and their men are ordered there to repel the Japanese troops. When Dan Craig found the body of one of his men, Lt. Tony Hewitt, who has been sadistically tortured and executed by the Japanese, thinks he acts angry and rash. Steve then warns his friend that he must learn to control his emotions. When their mission there is over, the troops are ordered to Australia . There Dan meets young Ellen Foster, who works for the Air Force Women's Aid, in a bar. Both quickly gain trust in each other and Ellen tells Dan about her concern for her brothers who serve in Africa . After dancing most of the night and taking a morning walk on the beach, they confess their love to each other and are determined to get married as soon as possible. On the way back to the city they are caught by a Japanese air raid, in which Dan is injured and has to be hospitalized. He has a minor head injury and a splinter in his leg. There he is also visited by his friend Steve, who tells him that they have been ordered back to the USA. When Dan then tells him about his intended marriage, he believes that the boyfriend made this decision in an emotionally unstable state. Although Steve asks him to intercede for him, that he can wait in Australia for his next front line assignment, he does exactly the opposite and arranges for Dan's transport to the USA.

When Ellen wants to visit Dan in the clinic, she was absent from work for two days, he is no longer there. In the harbor she sees sadly how his ship disappears into the night. Although Steve tries to justify his actions, Dan cannot approve of them. There is a rift between the two. After he and Steve were assigned to the San Diego Naval Base to train the Camp Elliott recruits, Dan would rather go to the front. However, his application is rejected. Dan tries in vain to contact Ellen. A new mission will be scheduled shortly afterwards. He's going back to Australia. Major Steve Lockhard leads the force. Dan takes the opportunity to visit Ellen. They happily embrace each other and are quickly married a little later . Ellen also makes sure that everything is okay between her husband and Steve. When saying goodbye, Steve says he hasn't had anyone in years, but now he has someone again, Dan and her.

Then the mission approaches, and Steve swears his people that he is pointing to the largest naval force that has ever been concentrated in one place, and everything that is needed is there, from battleships to landing craft and bomber and parachute units in the air . Her unit was only ever deployed where the air was particularly thick and it was never beaten, and that is how it will be during this mission. Dan commands the Paramarines in the air and Steve commands the landing forces at sea. The mission, which turned out to be dramatic towards the end, ended successfully for the Americans.

“Early on Monday morning, American naval forces, supported by strong army units, landed at Cape Torokina and Puruata. The action is ongoing. ”The radio broadcast the news that the largest landing operation that has ever taken place in the Pacific has been successfully completed. The company had been prepared by the Navy, at the moment larger units of the army were landing on the island, the enemy had been overpowered by the American units. He had suffered great losses in people and material. All artillery positions in the coastal area had fallen into American hands. It is thanks to units of the US Marine Corps, the Lederernacken and their airborne troops that the entire operation was able to proceed according to plan and without major losses. The airborne troops, who blocked the enemy supplies and switched off numerous coastal batteries, would have made a special contribution. At the moment the large-scale invasion is still going on. Bombers from various Pacific bases, including Australian bomber units, would not let the retreating enemy come to rest. Ellen also hears the news on the radio. She goes outside to send her husband words of strength across the sea.

Production notes and background

The film was shot from the beginning of November 1943 to mid-January 1944. Additional recordings were made at the end of January 1944. It is a film by RKO Radio Pictures Inc. The opening credits contain thanks to the US Marine Corps , the Navy , the Coast Guard and the Army , whose kind support made the film possible . According to Variety , the US government provided footage of naval attacks on Guadalcanal as well as recordings of training basics at Camp Elliott. Anne Shirley and Tom Bryson were interviewed for the main roles in the film and Ray Enright for directing. Ultimately, however, Ruth Hussey was loaned out by MGM for the female lead. According to the Hollywood Reporter , recordings for the film are also said to have been shot near San Diego , California . Reporter News announced on January 20, 1944 that Robert Wise had added scenes to the film. According to the Hollywood Reporter , the film premiered in Los Angeles on July 19, 1944 at the Grauman's Chinese Theater , where it was screened as the culmination of an event for the benefit of the Marine Corps. In the 26th calendar week of 1944 it started in New York .

Marines call themselves Leathernecks (leather necks) Jarheads or Devil Dogs (devil dogs).

History: The Battle of Guadalcanal was one of the turning points of the Second World War in the Pacific theater of war. For the first time, the American army went on the offensive against the Japanese, who were occupying more and more Pacific islands. The Japanese had to withdraw after very high losses of their own. The battle for Bougainville was part of the Pacific War . On November 1, three US Marine Divisions landed at Cape Torokina in Bougainville , Solomon Islands . At this point they were not opposed to any resistance. When the Japanese launched air strikes from Rabaul, they were unsuccessful. The American units fought on November 1st and 2nd, 1943, in the naval battle of the Kaiserin Augusta Bay . The Japanese lost 33 of their 110 machines and could not record a single success. From the end of December, the Americans launched victorious air raids on Rabaul from Bougainville. It was not until the beginning of April 1944 that the island was considered secure.

DVD

On June 25, 2010 the film was released on DVD by Studio Voulez Vous.

criticism

Cinefacts spoke of a “portrait of the US Marines as glorious heroes” who would characterize this “extraordinary war film from an American pen”.

In the lexicon of international film, however, the verdict was different: “War film in praise of the US Marine Corps. Quickly cobbled together from recordings from the deployment in the West Pacific in 1942 and training documents, connected by a meaningless act of camaraderie and love, with a hateful depiction of the Japanese enemy. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Marine Raiders Notes at TCM (English)
  2. ↑ Leather neck DVD
  3. ↑ Leather neck at cinefacts.de. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  4. ↑ Leather neck. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 29, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used