They Were Expendable / Flying Leathernecks
Product ID: 7585465
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John Wayne and Robert Montgomery star in and John Ford directs a resolute tale of World War II courage: They Were Expendable. The two stars portray PT-boat skippers who defend the Philippines and give the U.S. war effort time to regroup after the crippling losses at Pearl Harbor. Wayne takes to the skies with the Flying Leathernecks, leading embattled Marine fighter squadron VMF 247 at Guadalcanal and also campaigning to coordinate ground combat with low-flying aerial sorties. Nicholas Ray directs, mixing in actual battlefield and dogfight footage. Robert Ryan co-stars. Review: One of 10 best war movies ever - THEY WERE EXPENDABLE Maybe because I was just a little kid, and the war was still raging, (1945) but nearing an end. Maybe it was partially because my grandfather took me to see this movie as he took me to see other movies every Saturday, and maybe it was because my Polio was gone and I could walk and run again, but mostly because my uncle was the skipper of a PT boat and knew JFK. Great Direction by John Ford, with his regular crew plus Robert Montgomery, (John Wayne, Donna Reed, Ward Bond) and many other great stars gave outstanding performances in an authentic, tropic ambiance displayed convincingly, though in Black and white. The missions, struggles, disappointments, amiable characters just doing a very tough, under-appreciated job in plywood PT boat's which the navy and marines didn't entirely trust. The secondary question was; would Monty and The Duke bring home a winner, or switch to submarines? This is a short intro of the coming of age of a PT boat fleet, the hopelessness that hung like a black cloud of Damocles just above the heads of the officers and grunts in what then seemed a losing effort, but one in which they kept grinding on with the stiff-upper lip, hard bitten, toughness of ordinary men and women doing extraordinary things. At this point in the war, the US was not yet winning, and beneath the surface the fighting men and women worried, more about whose fate was unknown than themselves. The milieu and attitudes of the characters gave one a feeling of what it really must have been like in those dark times. When my uncle came back from action a year later, he said it was one of his favorite war films-authentic and revealing. FLYING LEATHERNECKS The second film, made in 1951, which was filmed in Technicolor, Flying Leather Necks, directed by Nicolas Ray and starring Wayne, Robert Ryan and an excellent supporting cast, was a typical fighter pilot film, well done, filled with the conflicts, misunderstandings, emotional struggles with tensions of death and mistakes and orders which are hard to follow at times. A good film but less of a classic than the Black and white above. Besides all of that, one Great film, one good film and a terrific price. By the way, this movie borrows just a bit of its plot from a 1938 Howard Hawks directed, Errol Flynn, vehicle: Dawn Patrol. The rankling relationship of Wayne with Robert Ryan, is almost parallel to Flynn's relationship to his commanding officer, Basil Rathbone. Except in this film, the roles are reversed. Here, the leading man, Wayne is the commander, and Ryan his second in command. However, in Dawn Patrol, the underling, Flynn is the leading man and co-star Rathbone his commander. Review: Good Picture quality - Fine John Wayne WWII movie. Basically Wayne turning the XO into a commander, and helping develop close air support. Shot in the 50s, they had a lot of real war birds in it. Marines were still flying Corsairs. Picture quality seemed fine to me. I am sure I'll watch it again.
| Contributor | Adam Williams, Barry Kelley, Beirne Lay Jr., Don Taylor, Frank Wead, James Bell, James Dobson, James Edward Grant, Janis Carter, Jay C. Flippen, John Ford, John Wayne, Kenneth Gamet, Maurice Jara, Nicholas Ray, Robert Montgomery, Robert Ryan, William Harrigan, William L. White Contributor Adam Williams, Barry Kelley, Beirne Lay Jr., Don Taylor, Frank Wead, James Bell, James Dobson, James Edward Grant, Janis Carter, Jay C. Flippen, John Ford, John Wayne, Kenneth Gamet, Maurice Jara, Nicholas Ray, Robert Montgomery, Robert Ryan, William Harrigan, William L. White See more |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,332 Reviews |
| Format | Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC |
| Genre | Action & Adventure |
| Language | English |
| Runtime | 3 hours and 57 minutes |
P**O
One of 10 best war movies ever
THEY WERE EXPENDABLE Maybe because I was just a little kid, and the war was still raging, (1945) but nearing an end. Maybe it was partially because my grandfather took me to see this movie as he took me to see other movies every Saturday, and maybe it was because my Polio was gone and I could walk and run again, but mostly because my uncle was the skipper of a PT boat and knew JFK. Great Direction by John Ford, with his regular crew plus Robert Montgomery, (John Wayne, Donna Reed, Ward Bond) and many other great stars gave outstanding performances in an authentic, tropic ambiance displayed convincingly, though in Black and white. The missions, struggles, disappointments, amiable characters just doing a very tough, under-appreciated job in plywood PT boat's which the navy and marines didn't entirely trust. The secondary question was; would Monty and The Duke bring home a winner, or switch to submarines? This is a short intro of the coming of age of a PT boat fleet, the hopelessness that hung like a black cloud of Damocles just above the heads of the officers and grunts in what then seemed a losing effort, but one in which they kept grinding on with the stiff-upper lip, hard bitten, toughness of ordinary men and women doing extraordinary things. At this point in the war, the US was not yet winning, and beneath the surface the fighting men and women worried, more about whose fate was unknown than themselves. The milieu and attitudes of the characters gave one a feeling of what it really must have been like in those dark times. When my uncle came back from action a year later, he said it was one of his favorite war films-authentic and revealing. FLYING LEATHERNECKS The second film, made in 1951, which was filmed in Technicolor, Flying Leather Necks, directed by Nicolas Ray and starring Wayne, Robert Ryan and an excellent supporting cast, was a typical fighter pilot film, well done, filled with the conflicts, misunderstandings, emotional struggles with tensions of death and mistakes and orders which are hard to follow at times. A good film but less of a classic than the Black and white above. Besides all of that, one Great film, one good film and a terrific price. By the way, this movie borrows just a bit of its plot from a 1938 Howard Hawks directed, Errol Flynn, vehicle: Dawn Patrol. The rankling relationship of Wayne with Robert Ryan, is almost parallel to Flynn's relationship to his commanding officer, Basil Rathbone. Except in this film, the roles are reversed. Here, the leading man, Wayne is the commander, and Ryan his second in command. However, in Dawn Patrol, the underling, Flynn is the leading man and co-star Rathbone his commander.
3**L
Good Picture quality
Fine John Wayne WWII movie. Basically Wayne turning the XO into a commander, and helping develop close air support. Shot in the 50s, they had a lot of real war birds in it. Marines were still flying Corsairs. Picture quality seemed fine to me. I am sure I'll watch it again.
B**K
A Classic with a message we need to see more
Classic movie that reinforces determination and keeping focus in the face of adversity.
A**R
good movie
good movie
C**A
Nice product
Great move
K**R
Good movie
Good movie
A**R
Good Film
The cast and plot are excellent the action parts are good . I really liked John Wayne and Robert Ryan were in it and I liked when they almost had it out it shows what the war can do to you.
M**S
Classic John Wayne
I enjoyed this movie because it stars John Wayne and WW2 aviation. Not great special effects but for a movie filmed in it's time they were not bad. If you like John Wayne you will enjoy this movie. I did!
L**S
EXCELLENT
This has always been my favourite John Wayne film and Robert Ryan film for that matter, i opted for some nostalgia by getting it from the seller on VHS as i actually have a player, i used to watch it with my Grandad who was also a JW fan and was in the RAF during the war of which He would rarely speak of, the VHS copy i ordered was in great condition and runs smooth- Very happy Thank You
M**X
Kundenorientierung
Das Produkt weist eine hervorragende Qualität auf und übertrifft die Erwartungen erheblich (ibs. in Ansehung des mehr als günstigen Preises). Die Zustellung erfolgte verspätet; allerdings dürfte dieser Umstand nicht vom ZOverstocksDE zu vertreten sein. Meine Anfrage wurde unverzüglich beantwortet. Der Service after sale ist ausgezeichnet.
R**T
Ron bennett
Good movie
A**R
FORGOTTEN WAYNE CLASSIC
One of john wayne's largley overlooked wartime movies with great aerial footage and good performances especially by the two leading actors john wayne and robert ryan.Beautiful blu-ray transfer.
D**N
best quality
loved these movies.
Trustpilot
2 days ago
2 weeks ago