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Wake Island [1942] (REGION 1) (NTSC)


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Oh no, this is not for everyone.
Review date: 2008-05-14 Rating: 4 out of 10

Wake Island is a propaganda film made in World War 2 in a dark year for the USA and her allies, viewed in this context you might find it worth while.

It also tells the story of a spirited defence of Wake Island by the US Marines but this part should be taken in with a grain of salt.

In most other ways this is a bad movie. The acting is bad, the script is very biased, the Japanese are shown in a very unfavorable light and with a not so little degree of stereotyped racism. All by itself I would not recommend it.

We have a number of films of this type and I personally find that the British films, like "First of the Few" and "The Way Ahead" are superior to their American counterparts in most every way. One reason is that the British films don't try to demonise the enemy but are more in the soldier on kind of fashion and make a little fun of themselves.

I have a copy of Wake Island and I honestly would not recommend anyone buying it, go for the British ones I mentioned instead. Failing that Guadal Canal Diary is an US film made in similar times and is slightly better than this one.

By itself it rates 1 star but in historical context its o.k. to give it 2 and if that part interests you go ahead and watch it but don't put your expectations up too high.

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A war time, stir-'em up movie, and very well done
Review date: 2007-08-12 Rating: 10 out of 10

It doesn't matter the war. It doesn't matter the country. It doesn't matter the rightness of the cause. A good propaganda movie hits one theme hard: Take a group of people and let the audience get to know and sympathize with them, then show them dying bravely and willingly in defense of hometown values, preferably against an enemy who is cruel. Wake Island follows this formula so effectively and professionally that, despite how dated some of it is, it still (at least for me) can get the emotional juices flowing.

Wake Island itself is an atoll in the middle of the Pacific, scarcely more than an airstrip with sand. It has about three square miles of surface, about the size of The Mall times 11 in Washington D.C. and, at its highest point, is only 21 feet above sea level. At the time of Pearl Harbor it was defended by 385 Marines with 12 fighters, six 5" naval guns and 12 3" anti-aircraft guns. The Japanese were about to throw major naval, air and invasion forces against it. The question wasn't whether Wake would fall, but how many Japanese forces could be tied up trying to take it and how much time the Marines could buy defending it.

In the movie, the island's defenses are led by Marine Major Geoffrey Caton (Brian Donlevy). There are a number of civilian contractors on the island led by Shad McClosky (Albert Dekker). Caton is smart, realistic and tough. McClosky is tough, too, and is dedicated to his job. He wants no interference from the Marines and dislikes Caton. The Marines are represented primarily by William Bendix and Robert Preston as practical jokers, tough when it counts and always ready with their fists. The Japanese when they are seen nearly always wear thick glasses, wear smarmy smiles and have bad teeth.

The Japanese hit the island first with bombers and are held off. The naval forces move in close to bombard the island and are repelled with the loss of at least two destroyers. More bombers hit the island in raid after raid. The Marines hold out for two and a half weeks. Eventually the Japanese launch an amphibious assault. The surviving marines fight on to the last man. The last scene in the movie is Major Caton and McClosky, reconciled as friends, manning a machine gun together against charging Japanese soldiers until explosions fill the screen. Although the movie gives the strong impression that all the Marines were killed, in fact when it was apparent further defense was hopeless a surrender was arranged. That does nothing to diminish what the Marines accomplished, but propaganda films require sacrifice.

In my view, this is one of the better war films of the time, very effective in working up the emotions of the people back home. It still holds up well today. And I'll say a good word about Brian Donlevy. The guy wasn't much of an actor. He was stiff and stolid. One critic said Donlevy became as successful as he did because he came across as a tough guy, but a tough guy who could be on our side. In the right part, he could be very good. Just take look at The Great McGinty, The Glass Key, Destry Rides Again or Beau Geste. While Bill Bendix almost always played good guys, if you want to see a real psychopath in action watch him in the The Glass Key.

The DVD transfer looks very good.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Robert Preston
William Bendix
Macdonald Carey
Brian Donlevy
Albert Dekker

Creators:
Brian Donlevy (Primary Contributor)
Robert Preston (Primary Contributor)
Theodor Sparkuhl (Cinematographer)
William C. Mellor (Cinematographer)
Frank Bracht (Editor)
LeRoy Stone (Editor)
Joseph Sistrom (Producer)
Frank Butler (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
EAN: 0025192501821
Binding: DVD
Format: NTSC,
Release date: 2004-05-25
Universal product code (UPC): 025192501821
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 87 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1942-08-11
Language: English (Original Language)

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