They Were Expendable (1945)
- Directed by
- Robert Montgomery, John Ford
- Genre
- drama film, action film, war film
- Country
- United States
- Runtime
- 2h 15m
- Rated
- NR
- Rating
- 6.5 of 10 from 138 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three fights to defend the Philippines from Japanese invasion in World War Two. The officers and men face impossible odds and must be evacuated, knowing their boats will be left behind.
somberstoicpatrioticgrittynostalgicmelancholicrestrainedearnest
What happens
They Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne, and featuring Donna Reed. The film is based on the 1942 novel of the same name by William Lindsay White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a United States PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese invasion during the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42) in World War II. While a work of fiction, the book was based on actual events and people. The characters John Brickley (Montgomery) and Rusty Ryan (Wayne) are fictionalizations of PT-Boat Squadron Three Commander John D. Bulkeley, a Medal of Honor recipient, and his executive officer Robert Kelly, respectively. Both the film and the book, which was a best-seller and excerpted in Reader's Digest and LIFE, depict certain combat-related events that were believed to have occurred during the war, alongside those which did not; nonetheless, the film is noted for its relatively accurate and detailed depiction of naval combat for the era in which it was made. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
The Rebels of PT-218
Battle of the Coral Sea (1959)
Air Force (1943)
Destination Tokyo (1943)
The Fleet That Came to Stay (1945)
American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950)
Blood on the Sun (1945)
Operation Petticoat (1959)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.