Speedboats in front of Bataan
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Speedboats in front of Bataan |
| Original title | They Were Expendable |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1945 |
| length | Theatrical version: 107 minutes, uncut version: 129 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Ford |
| script | Frank W. Wead |
| production | John Ford |
| music | Herbert Stothart |
| camera | Joseph H. August |
| cut |
Frank E. Hull , Douglas Biggs |
| occupation | |
| |
Schnellboot vor Bataan (original title: They Were Expendable ) is an American war film directed by John Ford from 1945. The novel They Were Expendable by William Lindsay White was used as a template . Speedboat captain Brickley, played by Robert Montgomery , is put off with routine maneuvers despite the attack on Pearl Harbor , because the small boats are not trusted enough; but then it's about the safety of a general ( Jack Holt ). In addition to Montgomery and Holt, John Wayne and Donna Reed are cast in the leading roles.
action
The Japanese attacked the US base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in December 1941 . They then try to conquer the Philippines . The 3rd US Speedboat Squadron under Lt. Brickley is stationed on one of the islands and is supposed to help fight the Japanese. But Brickley's squadron is initially not trusted by the other troops, which annoys Brickley's assistant Ryan in particular. Only when the squadron sank a Japanese ship did the naval command become aware. Lt. Ryan is sent by Brickley to the hospital before the mission , where he falls in love with the sister Davyss.
The Japanese besiege the Philippines. Brickley's squadron is assigned to evacuate senior officers and smuggle them through the enemy waters. The squadron can do the job, but the Japanese soon captured the islands. Brickley and Ryan are ordered to leave the islands and set up new speedboat units in the United States .
background
Leading actor Montgomery was a captain of a US Navy speedboat during World War II. When director Ford broke his leg and couldn't work, Montgomery took over the direction of some speedboat scenes. Montgomery liked working as a director so much that a few years later he began making films himself.
The main characters in the film correspond to real people. Lt. Brickley, Lt. Ryan and Lt. Davyss match the Lts: Bulkeley, Kelly and the Army nurse Smith from the novel. Kelly and Smith asked MGM to cast John Wayne and Donna Reed . Most of the film was shot off Key Biscayne , Florida .
It was premiered in Germany on May 22, 1956, over ten years after the film was completed.
Reviews
At the time, the film service found: “Heroism, action and gallows humor in a war film that is partly realistic and partly as effective fireworks. The (relatively moderate) national pathos is explained by the production date. "
Awards
The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1946 in the categories of Best Visual Effects and Best Sound .
literature
- Rudolf Worschech: Speedboats in front of Bataan . In: Film Genres. War Movie. Edited by Thomas Klein, Marcus Stiglegger and Bodo Traber. Stuttgart: Reclam 2006, pp. 81–86 [with references], ISBN 978-3-15-018411-0 .
Web links
- They Were Expendable in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Speedboats in front of Bataan in the All Movie Guide (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Speedboats in front of Bataan. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .