They Were Expendable – 1945
Here we have yet another war movie, so once again, I have to ask: what was it about this one that made it stand out. Was it the superior compositing? Was it the exciting stunts? Was it the seamless rear-projection shots? Or was it the inventive or innovative imagery? To be sure, it had all these things, but I’ll be honest. I’ve been watching so many war films lately, one exploding warship is starting to look like all the others. Were they done well? Of course they were, but they are all starting to look the same.
The main thrust of the movie was showing the audiences the advantages and challenges of the new PT boats that were used in WWII Naval battles. They were fast and highly maneuverable. But they were also fragile, especially when compared to other Naval war vessels like the giant battleships. To that effect, there were several scenes that featured some pretty exciting Naval battles. The high-speed stunt sailing was pretty cool!
One battle scene in which our two main heroes make a night-time attack on a small group of battleships, was very well- constructed and exciting to watch. Both Robert Montgomery and John Wayne commanded their own PT boat. They sped through the waves while Japanese torpedoes exploded all around them, causing violent towers of water to erupt into the air, spraying the actors with water.
Shells were detonating in little black puffs of smoke as they sped through the dark waves. It was a really exciting scene which culminated in the spectacular destruction of the enemy vessel. Both of the PT boats zoomed in and out of their attack runs, launching torpedoes at the massive battleships, while spraying them with machinegun fire.
Aside from that, there were a few scenes in which Japanese airplanes, called Zeroes, made devastating dive-bomb attacks on American military installations and the easily destroyed PT boats. More gunfire effects, more explosions, more dying soldiers. It was all good, but like I said, I feel like I’ve seen it all before, and recently. Come-on, Hollywood. I’m ready for something else!
Of course, there was your standard barrage of rear-projection shots that were perfectly executed. And I have to mention the skillfully constructed matte-paintings that gave some of the sets that large-scale feel. I really have nothing bad to say about the effects. They were all done well. I simply don’t think there was anything new or attention-grabbing. But America was just coming out of the second World War and the Allies were still making all the propaganda films they could. I don’t think it mattered that they were all starting to look the same. Though I admit, I doubt the audiences of the 1940s were thinking the same thing.