John Chard
From the Halls of Montezuma. To the Shores of Tripoli.
U.S. Marines battle to take control of a Japanese held island in the Pacific
Directed by Lewis Milestone, Halls of Montezuma is unabashed in its flag waving paean to the U.S. Marines. With a strong ensemble cast to act out the play, Milestone intercuts real war footage with skilled recreations of the guts and glory mission undertaken by the men.
Film is very keen to let us know what sort of men are fighting this war, keeping the characterisations intimate, its a roll call of the brave, the stupid, the scared and the insane. Flashbacks help fill in the gaps of the mens psychological make ups, and the futility of war message is deftly handled by the astute director.
Colour pho...