About the WWII war movies

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moira finnie
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Re: About the WWII war movies

Post by moira finnie »

JackFavell wrote:Thanks Moira, for answering that all important question! You are actually making me want to watch a war movie.... :D
I know how you feel, Wen. The interesting thing about Guadalcanal Diary is that rather than being one more "rah, rah, give 'em hell" flick, it was filmed in '43 when the outcome of the war was still up in the air, and reflects some of the uncertainty of the people involved in events that only look inevitable to us from decades away.
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movieman1957
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Re: About the WWII war movies

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Moira's right about it all for the characters. (Though it's actually a Fox film.) The Chaplain played by Preston Foster does not have a lot of scenes but he is so strict as to be aloof. When Bendix, I think, says something about having a drink Foster invites him by for a visit when that comes.

The scene Moira refers to about the bunker is very much like a story I heard once about prayer. When someone mentioned they didn't know how they started talking about things that worried them or had concerns about they were told "Put a Dear Lord at the start and you're fine." That is very much Bendix in that scene. When he gets done Foster says "Amen" and that nothing more need be said.

There is even a Gary Cooper/Sgt. York joke in it. There is some good humor throughout.
Chris

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Re: About the WWII war movies

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Thanks, Chris! I really do have to look at it now. I actually love movies that are somewhat propagandistic, as long as they are done well. Maybe because, like Moira said, they give you a feel for what it was like during the war years, when the outcome was not a foregone conclusion. And Bendix and Nolan are great incentives for me to stick with it. Love them both. I didn't know Richard Jaeckel even made movies this early.
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Re: About the WWII war movies

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Thanks for the correction about the studio, Chris! I didn't think that Foster was so much strict but that his character kept himself slightly removed from the men and the confusion and fear around them, trying to do his job as best he could. Richard Jaeckel was 16 (and could have passed for even younger) when he appeared in this movie. Reportedly, he was working as a mailboy for 20th Century-Fox when a casting director approached him about this part.
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