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• Love & war & the whole damned thing!

  • RedRain
  • 12/3/12

  I've never liked Robert Ryan in any role he played because he was always cast as a mean cuss and he played it so well. In this film, however, he is a loving, caring Marine who falls in love with an Australian WAAF soldier, played by the luscious Ruth Hussey. His plans for marrying her are thwarted by his friend and his superior played by Pat O'Brien, who believes this "love" is a momentary thing and arranges for Ryan to be shipped out before any marriage can take place. Ryan and his paratroopers find themselves back in Australia later on and Ryan seeks Hussey and marries her just before he is going on a major incursion with his troops. When O'Brien finally meets Ryan's bride, he is completely taken with her and apologizes for his behavior. The great character actor, Frank McHugh, provides some much needed levity in this film, as he does in most of the films he acted in. He's always a pleasure to watch! This film is just one of the many propaganda films that came forth in the early 1940s, trying to rally the populace around our fighting men. Interesting, though, in that it brings up the issue of our soldiers marrying women they meet in other countries during the war. It is a topic not often raised in films of the era.

• Marine Raiders

  • candae hargrove
  • 9/29/12

  I did not even know the existence of this movie until 3 months ago. I came to find out about it when reading letters my great-uncle has written to my great-grandmother while stationed at Camp Elliott, during World War II. He mentioned that he and some of his fellow servicemen were in the movie doing alot of the action scenes. He described the fiming , of being scared in front of the camera and of the long hours in the water for the various scenes. I then started looking for the film (at the time, he did not know the title). And with the help of my fellow TCM fans, I found it. I purchased a VHS copy of the film. It is a very good portrayal of the war at the time, especially in the South Pacific. Robert Ryan shows the different emotions that come with war, the anger, sorrow, despair and the fleeting moments of joy and love. Pat O'Brien also shows the different faces of command even the part of making mistakes and the way he personally cares for each of his men. Ruth Hussey is a wonderful actress who is a wonderful example of the women in the war and the courage it took for them to go from day to day. It brought the war a little more home to me in more ways than one. I was able to see where my great uncle was stationed and got a slight idea of the things he experienced. I will always treasure it especially since my great uncle was killed in action in the Battle of Guam on July 26, 1944. ( He was awarded the Silver Star) and he never got to see the film he helped make.

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