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They Were Expendable

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6.6/10 • 115

1945-12-072h 15m

DramaWar

A Tribute to Those Who Did So Much... With So Little!

After a demonstration of new PT boats, navy brass are still unconvinced of their viability in combat, leaving Lt. "Rusty" Ryan frustrated. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, Ryan and his buddy Lt. Brickley are told they can finally take their squadron into battle. The PT boats quickly prove their worth, successfully shooting down Japanese planes, relaying messages between islands, and picking off a multitude of enemy ships.

Directors
John Ford
Editors
Frank E. Hull

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Robert Montgomery

    Robert Montgomery

    Lt. John Brickley

  2. John Wayne

    John Wayne

    Lt. (J.G.) 'Rusty' Ryan

  3. Donna Reed

    Donna Reed

    Lt. Sandy Davyss

  4. Jack Holt

    Jack Holt

    General Martin

  5. Ward Bond

    Ward Bond

    "Boats" Mulcahey, Chief Boatswain's Mate

  6. Marshall Thompson

    Marshall Thompson

    Ens. 'Snake' Gardner

  7. Paul Langton

    Paul Langton

    Ens. 'Andy' Andrews

  8. Leon Ames

    Leon Ames

    Major James Morton

  9. Arthur Walsh

    Arthur Walsh

    Seaman Jones

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jul 7, 2024

7/10

"Brick" (Robert Montgomery) is an US Navy lieutenant desperate to prove that his motorised torpedo boats can do more for the war effort than deliver the mail. Luckily, he's got "Rusty" (John Wayne) as his number two and plenty of opportunity to test their theories against the advancing Japanese as with things looking terrible for the Americans in Manila, they have their work cut out for them. Even though things are relentless and perilous, "Rusty" still finds time for a little romance with nurse "Sandy" (Donna Reed) and we've also got Ward Bond and a lively few scenes from "Dad" (Russell Simpson) to help keep the adventure focused. The film was co-written by "Spig" Wead - a man whom Wayne played in another John Ford feature "The Wings of Eagles" (1957) - so the narrative has a degree of authenticity as their forces are forced to retreat towards Australia. There are also some decent visual effects with plenty of action, (not so) near misses as Ford allows his three stars to tell this story in a far less jingoistic fashion than some of the more propagandist efforts made to bolster public support during WWII. Wayne turns on the charm here - with Reed and with the audience, and this works well.

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  • They Were Expendable poster
  • They Were Expendable poster
  • They Were Expendable poster
  • They Were Expendable poster
  • They Were Expendable poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
navybased on novel or bookworld war iipearl harborphilippinespacific warpacific theaterbataan1940scorregidor