WWII Marathon #9: They Were Expendable (1945)

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His first project produced after the start of the war, John Ford’s They Were Expendable tracks the treacherous, undervalued journey of American PT boats in the early months of the Pacific theater. By turns stern and warm and full of powerful imagery, the film is pure Ford at heart, though it remains firmly on his second-tier.

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Picking up just before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the film follows both John Brickley (Robert Montgomery) and “Rusty” Ryan (John Wayne), two Lieutenant’s fighting for a chance to get their discriminated, neglected PT boats into the war, only to be continually relegated to mail carrier status.

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When the Japanese attack, the men get their chance, with the exception of Ryan, whose busted wing lands him in the arms of a Corregidor nurse (Donna Reed) as the two irrevocably fall in love amidst twilight bombs in the film’s most genuine, heartfelt and fleeting moments. 

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The rest of the film sees Rusty and Brickley encountering opposition in the form of ceaseless Japanese cruisers and destroyers, although the film seems to meander from conflict-to-conflict and never seems to gain much traction in the second half.

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For all of its brief moments of brilliance or affection, the majority of the film wilts under one of Ford’s most puzzling traits, his complete disregard (or purposeful inattention) towards any sense of time and space. They Were Expendable, like many of films, has a listless, wooly demeanor that can either hinder or enhance his work. [B-]