Gung Ho! (1943)

*Spoiler/plot- 1943, The story of Carlson's Makin Island US Marine Raiders.*Special Stars- Randolph Scott, Noah Berry, J. Carole Nash, young Robert Mitchum, Richard Lane *Theme- Hard training is no substitute for easy victories in the field.*Trivia/location/goofs- The first film appearance of a young, Robert Mitchum. Also look for 50's TV Wresting Show host, Richard 'Whoa..Nelly' Lane appearing in a non-comedic on camera role.*Emotion- An enjoyable jungle warfare film with a notable cast from leads to day players. Tells the story of the beginnings of an elite combat unit within the US Marines Corps.

Seeing this for the first time - as I am - in 2011 the most interesting thing about it is the cast, arguably unremarkable at the time but verging on the fascinating in retrospect, for example Louis Jean Heydt would appear with great effect in the Bogie/Bacall version of The Big Sleep within a couple of years, Noah Beery Jnr would claim a place in the John Ford rep company, Sam Levene would star on Bradway as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Mitchum would become a super star etc. Clearly intended as a morale booster I'm sure it succeeded admirably but there's nothing actually new or innovative and in the canon of movies filmed actually during the second world war and dealing directly with that global conflict it would probably have a tough time getting into the top ten, despite which it's certainly watchable.

TODAY'S POLITICAL CORRECTNESS Police would no doubt love to collect all copies in all formats of films such as today's subject matter, GUNG HO: THE STORY OF CARLSON'S MAKIN ISLAND RAIDERS". Films in the tradition of this and the other great Worls War II era films and made during the years of hostility pulled no punches in neither characterization nor behaviour of the enemy Axis Forces.LIKEWISE, LIFE WASN'T so sensitive and touchy then. Real people, as well as their fictional character counterparts, spoke plainly and bluntly about their feelings toward enemy nations. So it was a natural and even expected; that one would hear gruff ethnic nicknames and stereotypical characterizations. Hence, it isn't fair to judge J.Carroll Nash's 'Dr. Daka' in the BATMAN Serial (Columbia, 1943) or Johnny Arthur's 'Mura Sakima in the chapter play, THE MASAKED MARVEL (Republic, 1943) for their over the top 100% evil portrayals.ALONG WITH THIS rendering of Axis operatives is the other half of the equation; being the language of the American G.I.'s, the Brits and other Allied nations. In our story, GUNG HO, when being questioned about their reasons for joining the Marine Raiders; the Leathernecks reply very plainly and gruffly. Replies such as: "I want to get back at them for what happened at Pearl (Harbor)!", or "Maybe I just don't like Japs!" ONCE AGAIN, TODAY'S self appointed orbiters of public good taste and mores would seek to censor out language and incidents that might offend someone today. We would like to remind the "P.C." crowd that this is no different than a Nazi Booki Burning in the Third Reich of the 1930's.AS FAR AS the other aspects of the film, the storyline is straight forward, based in fact and both informative and entertaining. There is none of the pretensions so prevalent today. It was wartime and we were well past the talking stage with the Axis thugs.IN CASTING THE FILM, the production team did a fine job of bringing a great number of different types under the film's umbrella. We had the younger men, what my wife and daughters would call "Hunks" (just like Daddy!). Names such as Randolph Scott (the Lead), young up and coming "Rugged Robert" Mitchum and Rod Cameron strike our fancy. Added to the mix are such as Milburn Stone, Noah Beery, Jr., J. Carroll Nash,Sam Levine, Louis Jean Heidt,Walter Sande, Richard Lane,David Bruce, Peter Coe and Harold Landon.THE PRODUCTION CAN boast of an almost All Male Cast (not that kind, Schultz); as it deals strictly with recruitment, training and combat, nothing much more, Grac McDonald is the only exponent of feminine pulchritude in the cast.LIKEWISE, THE STORY includes no American Black Marines, other than Dudley Dickerson's portrayal as a Mess Orderly; which of course was again reflective of the conditions. Banning a work which reflects such conditions will not change what was. Luckily we live in a country where social inequities are addressed and corrected. The Marine Corps of the day, much like Army, Navy and Coast Guard, were racially segregated.AND WHILE we're on the topic of Race, we're reminded how the Asian Actors Community found full employment. Headed up by names like Richard Loo, Keye Luke, Victor Sen Yung and Benson Fong, we found them showing in so many movies. From the "B's", the Serials, Comedy Shorts or Feature Films, they were either our staunch Chinese Allies or the hated enemy Imperial Japanese Army, Navy and Kamikaze Pilots.IN THE FINAL analysis, GUNG HO, like most any of the films of the period, has a great number of great action scenes; which makes for great entertainment these six decades or so later.

Should have been titled 'Balderdash!' Little in the film is true except the name of the island and the fact submarines were involved. Little more than training film quality with poor camera work, muddy stock footage and perhaps the low point of stereotyping 'Japs' with laughing Japanese infantry, laughing Japanese fighter pilots and one-dimensional square-jawed Americans dying left and right. Sixty years later it is unintentionally funny as an odd artifact and as an opportunity to see what is possible when the war fever is upon you. The plot and the dialogue remind me of playing guns on a summer's afternoon in my childhood, peering through the neighbor's hedge to gain a fatal advantage on my best friend Steve and my little brother. In actual fact, the Makin Island raid was a near total failure with Carlson and his men wandering around in the dark exchanging gunfire with shadows until finally, thirsty and completely disoriented, looking for someone to surrender to, before they happened upon some equally confused Japanese soldiers who promptly surrendered to them! In the withdrawal several of Carlson's Marines ended up on another island and were abandoned! The film, of course, couldn't tell that story, not in 1943, so this bit of whimsy was fabricated and rushed into release to the beating of drums. With Randolph Scott, and his jaw, as Colonel Thorwald (Carlson) leading a unit comprised almost entirely of stock caricatures, the green recruit (Harry Landon, Robert Mitchum), the grizzled veteran (J. Carroll Naish, Milburn Stone, Sam Levene), the country-bumpkin (Rod Cameron), the all-American boy (Alan Curtis), and scores of sneering (when they weren't laughing) 'Japs'. And yet the cast nearly overcomes the material. Almost. Randolph Scott's narrow range is well suited to his role of earnest commander and he is supported by a solid group of professionals who do their best with thin gruel. But in the end, the one-note object of the exercise wins. Any pretense is totally abandoned at the close when Randy Scott simply looks directly into the camera and delivers a stirring (well sorta stirring) call to arms. The cast was better than this material. So was the audience. Should be viewed with Reefer Madness and a bottle of moderately priced Merlot.