Pride of the Marines (1945)

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Movie
Original title Pride of the Marines
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1945
length 119 minutes
Rod
Director Delmer Daves
script Albert Maltz ,
Marvin Borowsky (adaptation)
production Jerry Wald for Warner Bros.
music Franz Waxman
camera J. Peverell Marley ,
Sol Polito
cut Owen Marks
occupation

Pride of the Marines (German Pride of the Navy ) is an American biographical war film drama by Delmer Daves from the year 1945. The main roles are John Garfield , Eleanor Parker and Dane Clark occupied. It tells the story of the mariner Al Schmid, who maintained a heroic demeanor during a Japanese attack in World War II, even after being blinded by a grenade. The screenplay is based on the book by Roger Butterfield Al Schmid, Marine , published in New York in 1944.

One of the film posters advertised as follows: “A love story born out of the bedrock of the human spirit. The magnificent story of one man and one woman and the love they so thrillingly shared - incredible because every breathless moment is true! ”('A love story that was born from the foundation of the human mind. The great story of one man and one Woman and the love they shared so excitingly - unbelievable because every breathless moment is true! ')

action

Al Schmid, who works as a welder in Philadelphia, doesn't think much of marriage because he thinks it will cost him his independence. However, his attitude is shaken when he is introduced to Ruth Hartley by his friends Jim and Ella Merchant. Al didn’t get along with her from the first moment, but both’s interest in each other was awakened and so they met more often from now on. During a hunting trip together, Ruth Al is quite impressed.

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Al Schmid decides to join the United States Marine Corps , as friends of his have already. During a recent date with Ruth, Al works to make her forget him. But when Ruth says goodbye to him on the platform before he goes to war, he is deeply touched, and spontaneously he puts an engagement ring on her finger and asks her to wait for him.

Schmid is one of the Marines who were deployed on August 21, 1942 on the Pacific island of Guadalcanal in the battle of the Tenaru River. Al and his comrades should prevent the Japanese from breaking their line. Together with his friends Lee Diamond and Johnny Rivers, he is in a trench during a night attack when the enemy launches a particularly heavy attack. While Rivers is killed and Diamond is seriously injured, Schmid is blinded by a Japanese soldier who has thrown a hand grenade close to the trench. Despite his handicap, Schmid holds out another four hours. More than 200 Japanese died during this period.

The now almost blind Schmid finds it difficult to have to depend on others. He hopes surgery can restore his lost vision. However, the procedure does not bring the desired result. Since Al doesn't want Ruth to stay with him out of pity, he dictates a letter to Virginia Pfeiffer of the Red Cross to Ruth, in which he terminates the engagement. When Ruth tries to speak to him on the phone, he refuses to speak to her. Virginia tells the desperate woman, however, that Al is as good as blind and that he does not want her to continue to be bound to him. She advises Ruth to just keep writing to Al.

During his recovery, Al receives a lot of support not only from Virginia, but also from people struggling with problems similar to his. In lengthy discussions, Al realizes that he is not the only one who is afraid of a future as a disabled person. However, he is still filled with bitterness at the thought that he will need help in the future. Conversations with other disabled people who tell how their fathers were treated after the First World War and who doubt that more would be done for them do not help to look to the future with more hope.

When Al learns that he and his friend Lee Diamond will be awarded the Naval Cross for Outstanding Heroism in his hometown of Philadelphia , he grieves that his old friends will see him that way. On the train ride home, Lee corrects him and says that he is a coward, that he is discriminated against almost every day for the fact that he is Jewish and that he has to grapple with anti-Semitic statements. Although Al doesn't want to see Ruth, she shows up at the train station and helps him get home without him knowing she is near him. However, even though it's Christmas Eve, Al refuses to go inside. However, his friends, the Merchants, show him how welcome he is and do everything they can to convince him that he should stay. Ruth, who has since revealed herself, tells him that he will be able to go back to his old job as soon as he has attended a training course for the blind. When the merchants leave Al alone with Ruth, he again insists on wanting to leave, back to the hospital. Ruth gets angry and does everything she can to convince him of her love. That he is blind doesn't change anything about that.

The next day the awarding of the naval cross takes place in a solemn ceremony, to which of course Ruth and the merchants also came along with many others. When they leave the event together, Al notices that he suddenly see bright colors again, which feeds his hope that he might be able to see again after all.

production

Filming, production notes

The shooting took place in Philadelphia from mid-November 1944 to mid-February 1945 in Pennsylvania , there on Hellerman Street, on Cottman Avenue, in St. Leo's Church, at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard , on Fillmore Street, in the Tulip Street, Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, and other locations. The film was also shot at the San Diego Naval Hospital in San Diego . The working title of the film was: This Love of Ours .

The film structures were in the hands of Leo K. Kuter and Max Parker . Milo Anderson was responsible for the costumes .

background

The Lux Radio Theater aired a sixty-minute radio adaptation of the film at the end of 1945, in which John Garfield, Dane Clark and Eleanor Parker could be heard in their film roles. A thirty-minute adaptation of the film was released by the Academy Award Theater in mid-June 1946. John Garfield was also present here in his traditional role.

John Garfield, who also initiated the project after reading something about Al Schmid, met with Al Schmid during his rehabilitation. After it was determined that he should impersonate him in the film, the actor lived with the Schmids for several weeks and made friends with Al and his wife. He also spent some time at the San Diego Naval Hospital to learn about how soldiers deal with actual blindness.

Ann Doran was loaned to Paramount for the film . The cameraman Sol Polito replaced Peverell Marley when a flu-like infection forced him to take a break. In an article in the Saturday Evening Post of January 12, 1946, John Garfield identified the role of Al Schmid as a favorite film role. The Oscar-nominated writer Albert Maltz for his screenplay landed on the so-called black list in the McCarthy era . Maltz's career was interrupted for several years by the Un-American Activities Committee , and Garfield's acting career was also interrupted because he refused to testify against colleagues. There were many people at the time who credited the HUAC with helping the actor die of heart failure when he was only 39.

Soundtrack

For the film music composed by Franz Waxman, Leo F. Forbstein appeared as musical director, while Leonid Raab was responsible for the orchestra arrangement.

publication

The film premiered on August 7, 1945 in the United States and premiered in New York on that day. On August 24, 1945, the film opened generally in the United States. It was released in cinemas in Mexico on March 21, 1946, in Sweden on April 29, 1946 and in Finland on August 23, 1946. It was first shown in Brussels, Belgium on February 13, 1948 and in Portugal on April 20, 1948 The film was released in France on September 1, 1971. It was also published in Argentina, Brazil, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, the Soviet Union, Spain and the United Kingdom and in the former Yugoslavia. A German dubbed version was not created. The film was not released in Germany.

Al Schmid, differences book vs. Movie

As depicted in the film, Al Schmid was a welder who became famous for killing 200 Japanese soldiers during a night raid in the Battle of Guadalcanal. When he was blinded by a grenade early in the morning, he nevertheless refused to give up his position and continued to fight, with a wounded soldier telling him where to point his gun. In an article published in Time magazine on September 3, 1945, it was stated that Schmid was living in Philadelphia with his wife and one-year-old son at the time. According to the article, he spent his time typing letters to friends, listening to Bing Crosby music, and fishing. His eyesight was limited to the perception of bright colors and moving objects.

The first part of the film is almost completely different from the book. The bowling scene is made up, the date scene played out differently. The middle part of the film sticks pretty closely to the book. There were communication problems between Al and Ruth when he was in the hospital, however the dramatic ending is more of a fantasy and is told differently in the book.

reception

criticism

Bosley Crowther dealt with the film in the New York Times in August 1945 . He wrote that the vital and sensitive issue of rehabilitation of the wounded - an issue that has profound implications for civilians and soldiers alike today - is treated in the current film with unusual compassion, understanding, and dignity, as well as human interest. The story of Marine Sgt. Al Schmid is an excellent documentation of a dramatic crisis in the life of a hero. It was not the bloody encounter at Tenaru that made the crisis in the film, although it was visually recreated in a masterfully authentic style. It is the hero's fearful struggle of months to regain his nerves and face the prospect of blindly going through further life. The young love that developed in a peaceful atmosphere is being put to a severe test by this personal tragedy. The pride mentioned in the title in this case refers to the pride of an honest man in himself. Crowther spoke of a remarkably natural staging by Warner Brothers, which gives the story integrity. He also praised the dialogues written by Albert Maltz, which would be some of the best on the big screen. The performance is unreservedly excellent. John Garfield does an excellent job as Schmid, cheeky and independent and full of calm and pride. Eleanor Parker took the opportunity to translate the beauty of a strong girl's spirit into the role of Ruth Hartley and Dane Clark played just as haunted as his buddy. Just to say that the film is really surprisingly entertaining is not enough. He is inspiring and eloquent about the quality of human courage that millions must muster today.

Craig Butler took the film on the All Movie page and wrote that this was a rousing, powerful and punchy drama from the Second World War. Strictly speaking, however, it is more of a post-war drama, as most of the film deals with the return of a wounded soldier to civilian life. The film is undeniably patriotic too and is not afraid to ask some serious, tough questions and not portray the war as a great adventure. The gripping battle sequence in the film does not glorify war like many similar films do. The strong script from which the film benefits and which Delmer Daves steers in the right direction was praised. The film also benefits from its great cast, led by John Garfield in a portrayal that always hits the right note. It is Garfield's best and most powerful performance and extremely intense. He is supported very well by Eleanor Parker and Dane Clark, who also played their roles almost perfectly. Pride of the Marines is a particularly beautiful film.

Not as positive was the rating on Nighthawknews.wordpress , which said this wasn't a great movie, but at the top end of three stars, a solid film with a solid script and a good performance by John Garfield. It doesn't hurt that the hero has Garfield's mysterious charisma and that Eleanor Parker is so beautiful, because this is a Hollywood film and the heroes couldn't look as average as the actual Schmids.

Derek Winnert said that the solid production by Warner Bros and the impressive acting skills of John Garfield, Eleanor Parker Dane Clark, Ann Doran and John Ridgely made up for a rather simple, unrealistic approach to a tendency toward clumsy patriotism. Despite a few mistakes, this is still an often riveting drama.

Filmfanatic.org is of the opinion that Delmer Daves sensitively staged this powerful (anti) war film with John Garfield in one of his best leading roles. Despite the occasional, too patriotic jokes (to be expected at the time of the film's release), this fine acting, little-seen film is worth a look for all film fanatics.

On The Stop Button page, it was said that the film was disappointing. Although he has a lot of potential, at least when it comes to the cast, he is never particularly good. Garfield is somewhat personable, but not as good as usual. Maltz wrote his dialogues as if he were not yet an adult. Even later in the film, he doesn't give the characters a text that sounds like they have something to say that is totally contrary to the opinion of the critic Bosley Crowther. During the first part of the film, Pride of the Marines has a lot to offer, which Daves underscores with his ambitious directorial work. During the war scenes, J. Peverell Marley offers excellent photography and Franz Waxman's music is also excellent. These scenes are the best in the film. The great performance of Dane Clark was praised.

On the side of the USCCB it was said that, directed by Delmer Daves, the plot of the film developed along the lines of a conventional tear catcher. The sympathetic cast helps to present the characters' insecurities in a convincing manner, as well as the violence of war and its agonizing consequences.

Award

Albert Maltz was in 1946 in the category "Best Screenplay Adapted" for an Oscar nomination, but he Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder and the film drama The Lost Weekend had to leave.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pride of the Marines (1945) see Screenplay Info at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English).
  2. ↑ a b Pride of the Marines see page nighthawknews.wordpress.com (English).
    Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  3. ↑ Pride of the Marines (1945) see original print information at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English)
  4. ↑ a b Pride of the Marines (1945) see page filmfanatic.org (English). Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  5. ↑ Tonight's Movie: Pride of the Marines (1945) see page laurasmismusings.blogspot.com (English).
  6. ↑ a b Pride of the Marines (1945) see Notes at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English).
  7. ^ Paul Tatara: Pride of the Marines (1945) see Articles at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English).
  8. ^ Bosley Crowther: Pride of the Marines In: The New York Times . August 25, 1945 (English). Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  9. ↑ Pride of the Marines (1945) Review by Craig Butler see page allemovie.com (English).
    Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  10. ↑ Pride of the Marines *** Classic Movie Review 4763 see page derekwinnert.com (English).
    Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  11. ↑ Pride of the Marines (1945, Delmer Daves) see page thestopbutton.com (English). Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  12. ↑ Pride of the Marines see page archive.usccb.org (English). Retrieved January 12, 2020.