They Were Expendable
Release date: 1945-12-07
Votes: 121
Genres: Drama, War
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.
Reviews
CinemaSerf
"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.
Movie Recommendation
Pickup on South Street1953-05-27In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.More...
Operation Pacific1951-01-27During WWII, Duke E. Gifford is second in command of the USS Thunderfish, a submarine which is firing off torpedoes that either explode too early or never explode at all. It's a dilemma that he'll eventually take up personally. Even more personal is his quest to win back his ex-wife, a nurse; but he'll have to win her back from a navy flier who also happens to be his commander's little brother.More...
3 Godfathers1948-12-31Three outlaws on the run discover a dying woman and her baby. They swear to bring the infant to safety across the desert, even at the risk of their own lives.More...
Body and Soul1947-11-11Charley Davis, against the wishes of his mother, becomes a boxer. As he becomes more successful the fighter becomes surrounded by shady characters, including an unethical promoter named Roberts, who tempt the man with a number of vices. Charley finds himself faced with increasingly difficult choices.More...
The Fighting Seabees1944-01-27Construction workers in World War II in the Pacific are needed to build military sites, but the work is dangerous and they doubt the ability of the Navy to protect them. After a series of attacks by the Japanese, something new is tried, Construction Battalions (CBs=Seabees). The new CBs have to both build and be ready to fight.More...
Operation Petticoat1959-12-05A World War II submarine commander finds himself stuck with a damaged sub, a con-man executive officer, and a group of army nurses.More...
The Cardinal1963-12-12A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.More...
Victory Through Air Power1943-07-17Based on the book by Major Alexander de Seversky's about his theories of the practical uses of long range strategic bombing. Using a combination of animation humorously telling about the development of air warfare, the film shows de Seversky illustrating his ideas of how air power could win World War II for the Allies.More...
A Kind of Murder2016-12-16In 1960s New York, Walter Stackhouse is a rich, successful architect and unhappily married to the beautiful but damaged Clara. His desire to be free of her feeds his obsession with Kimmel, a man suspected of brutally murdering his own wife. When Walter and Kimmel's lives become dangerously intertwined, a ruthless police detective becomes convinced he has found the murderer. But as the lines blur between innocence and intent, who, in fact, is the real killer?More...
The Informer1935-05-09Gypo Nolan is a former Irish Republican Army man who drowns his sorrows in the bottle. He's desperate to escape his bleak Dublin life and start over in America with his girlfriend. So when British authorities advertise a reward for information about his best friend, current IRA member Frankie, Gypo cooperates. Now Gypo can buy two tickets on a boat bound for the States, but can he escape the overwhelming guilt he feels for betraying his buddy?More...
Bedtime Story1941-12-25A Broadway playwright wants to keep on writing plays for his wife to star in, but all she wants is to retire to Connecticut and, following a few 'worlds-apart" discussion of the issue, they get a divorce. The actress marries a banker in a fit of pique only to quickly discover the divorce was not valid. She communicates this information to her not-yet ex-husband and he, to prevent consummation of the invalid marriage rescues her by sending plumbers, waiters, porters, chambermaids, bellhops, desk clerks, exterminators and, finally, a crowd of roistering conventioneers to the suite to ensure no bedtime story would take place thereMore...
Three Texas Steers1939-05-12Nancy Evans, lovely circus owner, has a ranch that she's never visited, but for sentimental reasons won't sell to Mike Abbott. Her partners, secretly in league with Abbott, sabotage the circus to force Nancy to sell the ranch; instead, she goes there to live. Will her neighbors, the Three Mesquiteers, be a match for the secret swindlers? And what's so valuable about that run-down ranch anyway?More...
The Grapes of Wrath1940-03-15Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life... Hopefully.More...
The Bridges of Madison County1995-06-02Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.More...
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace1999-05-19Anakin Skywalker, a young slave strong with the Force, is discovered on Tatooine. Meanwhile, the evil Sith have returned, enacting their plot for revenge against the Jedi.More...
Pierrot le Fou1965-11-05Pierrot escapes his boring society and travels from Paris to the Mediterranean Sea with Marianne, a girl chased by hit-men from Algeria. They lead an unorthodox life, always on the run.More...
White Hunter, Black Heart1990-05-16Renowned filmmaker John Wilson travels to Africa to direct a new movie, but constantly leaves to hunt elephants and other game, to the dismay of his cast and crew. He eventually becomes obsessed with hunting down and killing one specific elephant.More...
Julius Caesar1953-06-04The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but both have sorely underestimated Mark Antony.More...
Cries and Whispers1972-12-21As Agnes slowly dies of cancer, her sisters are so immersed in their own psychic pains that they are unable to offer her the support she needs.More...
Visitor Q2001-03-17In a dysfunctional family where the mother is a heroin addict and prostitute, beaten by her son, and the father is an ex-TV reporter, sleeping with his daughter and filming his son being beaten up, ‘Q’, a complete stranger enters the bizarre family, changing their lives for the better, finding a balance in their disturbing natures.More...
Similar Movies
Spy Story
1976-01-01A nuclear war specialist returns from a mission gathering data on Soviet communications and electronic warfare techniques in the Arctic Ocean to find that his flat has been broken into and mysteriously re-decorated.I Escaped from the Ge...
1943-05-14A forger is forced to work for a Nazi spy ring. His conscience gets the better of him, though, and he secretly conspires with the FBI to turn over the gang.Charlotte: A Royal at...
2008-03-14The untold story of a Royal "propagandist in pearls" whose wartime friendship with President Roosevelt became a vital catalyst to win back freedom for her tiny occupied country.Equator
1983-08-17Although based on a novel by Georges Simenon, director (and songwriter) Serge Gainsbourg has superimposed several dark emotions and a subtle brutality over the weak plot about a man's trip to Africa and his unfortunate passion for a murderess whose amorality sends the disillusioned fellow back to Europe. Sometimes described as frustrating and self-centered, reactions to this film swing across a broad spectrum of complaints -- not the least might be whether or not Gainsbourg is using a clichéd and stereotypical view of "dark Africa" to convey what he sees in his characters.Forrest Gump
1994-06-23A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.Cruel Train
1995-12-22In wartime England, railway official Ruben Roberts discovers that his wife was sexually abused as a child by the Chairman of the Line, also her godfather. With her assistance, Ruben plots murder on the Brighton Express.Wounded in the Forest...
1964-04-14While hiding from the Germans in the forest, young Polish corporal tries hard to fulfill his order to take care of a wounded lieutenant and wait for the doctor and transportation to come.The Girl
1965-05-07A lyrical fourfold perspective on WWII through the eyes of a young partisan couple, a town photographer and a German officer.St. Louis
2019-10-21Hamburg, Germany, 1939. Getting a passage aboard the passenger liner St. Louis seems to be the last hope of salvation for more than nine hundred German Jews who, desperate to escape the atrocious persecution to which they are subjected by the Nazi regime, intend to emigrate to Cuba.Na startu je delfín
1975-06-06The teenage hero tries his best to meet the nomination limit for important races, but his coach's insensitive approach causes him to temporarily lose motivation and even give up on sports...Poslední ples na rožn...
1975-02-14This story from the time of the occupation tells how the students of the teachers' institute decided to hold a traditional ball despite the ban. However, they had to cope with conditions more than threatening: the presence of Nazi thugs who intend to execute captured partisans as a warning...Henry Ford's War on J...
No data for this movieThe film will tell the story of the campaign of antisemitism waged by automotive pioneer Henry Ford throughout the 1920s. It was in 1925 that Aaron Sapiro, a self-made lawyer and activist, sued Ford for libel. After a dramatic court case that gripped the nation, Sapiro forced Ford to shut down his antisemitic newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, and apologize publicly to the Jewish people.Santa Santita
2004-11-17After taking up with a charming cab driver, a wild and hedonistic teenage girl returns home to succeed her mother as a prayer woman.Contempt
1963-10-29A philistine in the art film business, Jeremy Prokosch is a producer unhappy with the work of his director. Prokosch has hired Fritz Lang to direct an adaptation of "The Odyssey," but when it seems that the legendary filmmaker is making a picture destined to bomb at the box office, he brings in a screenwriter to energize the script. The professional intersects with the personal when a rift develops between the writer and his wife.Ronia: The Robber's D...
1984-12-14Ronia lives happily in her father's castle until she comes across a new playmate, Birk, in the nearby dark forest. The two explore the wilderness, braving dangerous Witchbirds and Rump-Gnomes. But when their families find out Birk and Ronia have been playing together, they forbid them to see each other again. Indeed, their fathers are competing robber chieftains and bitter enemies. Now the two spunky children must try to tear down the barriers that have kept their families apart for so long.The Silence of the La...
1991-02-14Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.The Shawshank Redempt...
1994-09-23Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.Casablanca
1943-01-15In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.Barton Fink
1991-08-01A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.Desert Hearts
1985-10-01While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.