Halls of Montezuma (film)
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| Halls of Montezuma | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Lewis Milestone |
| Produced by | Robert Bassler |
| Written by | Michael Blankfort |
| Starring | Richard Widmark Jack Palance Reginald Gardiner Robert Wagner Karl Malden |
| Music by | Sol Kaplan |
| Cinematography | Winton C. Hoch Harry Jackson |
| Editing by | William H. Reynolds |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | January 4, 1951 |
| Running time | 113 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Halls of Montezuma is a 1951 World War II action/drama that follows a group of U.S. Marines from the beach to a Japanese rocket site through enemy infested jungles as their ex-school teacher leader is transformed into a battle veteran and his squad becomes a tight fighting unit. The color film starred 20th Century Fox's contract tough guy Richard Widmark. The film's title is a reference to the opening line of the Marines' Hymn.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
During World War II, a Marine battalion prepares to land on a large Japanese-held island in the South Pacific. Lieutenant Colonel Gilfillan (Richard Boone) warns the men that it will be a tough mission, and that they have been ordered to take prisoners in order to gain information about the Japanese fortifications. Below deck, Lieutenant Carl A. Anderson (Richard Widmark), a chemistry teacher in civilian life, questions his former student, Corporal Stuart Conroy (Richard Hylton), who complains that he is ill and cannot fight. Anderson assures him that he has shown courage before and can do so again. In the landing boat heading to shore, medic C. E. "Doc" Jones (Karl Malden) is worried because Anderson has been suffering from "psychological migraines" for months. Although Doc urged Anderson to seek treatment in the United States, Anderson refused to leave his men and has been relying on Doc to supply him with painkillers.
The men hit the beach and successfully dig in, despite an initial burst of resistance. As four days pass, Anderson's squad, which includes boxer Pigeon Lane (Jack Palance), Sergeant Zelenko (Neville Brand), Slattery (Bert Freed), Coffman (Robert Wagner), Whitney (Martin Milner) and the unstable "Pretty Boy" Riley (Skip Homeier), grows weary of the constant threat of hidden Japanese snipers. One day, the men try to take a ridge of hills, but are beaten back by Japanese rockets, which come as an unpleasant surprise to the commanding officers. When Coffman is killed, Anderson is forced to take some more of Doc's pills.
Anderson meets with other officers at army headquarters, where Gilfillan recounts the troubles they are having capturing prisoners and getting information from them. Sergeant Randolph Johnson (Reginald Gardiner), an unconventional soldier who specializes in tricking Japanese prisoners into talking, questions one prisoner, who has been dubbed "Willie". As Gilfillan receives orders to stop the rockets within nine hours, before the next assault on the hills, Willie informs Johnson that the Japanese soldiers holding a cave stronghold are willing to surrender. Accompanied by Johnson and war correspondent Sergeant Dickerman (Jack Webb), Anderson leads a patrol to the cave, but they are ambushed and Zelenko is blinded.
The men capture the remaining Japanese, including Captain Ishio Makino, Romeo, Nomura and a shell-shocked, elderly civilian. Anderson finds a map on one of the dead officers, then leads the men across a river and through the jungle. After a sniper shoots at him, Pretty Boy kills the man during hand-to-hand combat, but the confrontation further unbalances him and he attempts to murder the prisoners. Lane then accidentally shoots and kills Pretty Boy while attempting to stop him. Doc also dies, but not before giving Dickerman a message for Anderson.
Anderson and the remaining men return to headquarters, where Makino commits hara-kiri with a knife he had stolen from Johnson. While map expert Lieutenant Butterfield works on a Japanese map overlay found by Pretty Boy, Anderson and Johnson learn that Nomura is actually an important officer named Major Kenji Matsuoda. Johnson finally deduces where the rockets are located, and a barrage begins as Anderson rejoins his men outside. Anderson learns that Conroy has been killed by a sniper. With only Lane, Whitney and Slattery left of his original squad, Anderson takes the news hard and is ready to give up. Dickerman reads aloud Doc's note, however, and Anderson, inspired by Doc's appeal for him to be strong for the sake of those whom he survives, throws away his painkillers and leads his men into battle.
[edit] Cast
- Richard Widmark as Lieutenant Carl Anderson
- Jack Palance as Pigeon Lane
- Reginald Gardiner as Sergeant Randolph Johnson
- Robert Wagner as Private Coffman. Although studio publicity claimed that this was the screen debut of Robert Wagner, he had previously appeared in the 1950 MGM production The Happy Years.
- Karl Malden as PHM2 C.E. "Doc" Jones
- Richard Hylton as Corporal Stuart Conroy
- Richard Boone as Lieutenant Colonel Gilfillan. This was Boone's debut film.
- Skip Homeier as Private "Pretty Boy" Riley
- Don Hick as Lieutenant Butterfield
- Jack Webb as Correspondent Sergeant Dickerman
- Bert Freed as Private Slattery
- Neville Brand as Sergeant Zelenko
- Martin Milner as Private Whitney
- Philip Ahn as Nomura
[edit] Casting
According to a January 1949 Los Angeles Times news item, Dana Andrews, Anne Baxter and Paul Douglas were originally set to star in the picture.
[edit] Marine Corps participation
The film benefited from extensive U.S. Marine Corps co-operation at Camp Pendleton locations.
Proceeds from the film's premieres in New York and Los Angeles were donated to United States Marine Corps charities. Both premieres were attended by Marine officials and veterans. The studio worked closely with the Corps to use the film for recruitment, and a January 11, 1951 Hollywood Reporter news item noted that a full company of Marine recruits were to be sworn in at the film's San Francisco premiere.
[edit] Cultural references
The W.E.B. Griffin novel, Under Fire features the production of Halls of Montezuma as a part of the story.
