Wake Island (1942)

Two words: Um. Yeah. Two more words: Don't bother.

Look, I'm all for classic war movies, and Wake Island just ain't one of 'em. Now, I understand the need for a little artistic license, especially in the name of much-needed (and wanted) wartime propaganda flicks. I'm not against that. But there's a line.

First of all, let me point you here, to an historical account of the Battle of Wake Island. Back already? OK.

So maybe Wake Island the movie just embellished the facts a little. OK, a lot. I can give you that.

What I can't give this movie is a good rating based on that alone. With a barely-capable cast barely reciting badly written dialog that sounds like it belongs in some bad kids TV show, this goes on my list of war movie lemons.

Oh, and don't get me started on the special effects. Special in that short-bus kind of way. No care was taken to even pretend to get any kind of continuity. Shots of one plane, turn to shots of a different plane, or even some bi-plane! Eeek!

In short, this thing was rushed out the door by the War Dept. in '42, and it shows. Having just seen such classics deserving the title such as "The Sands of Iwo Jima" and "Sergeant York," this was not a pleasant experience.

I'm stretching to give this one a three. Of ten. Only because at the time, I'm sure they all thought they were doing the right thing, the filmmakers I mean.

Technorati Tags: war movie review, wake island, 1942, propaganda, turkey, lemon, rotten tomato!

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Wake Island List Price: $14.98 Sale Price: $8.02 You save: $6.96 (46%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Description

Doomed marines hold off a japanese invasion for as long as they can december 1941. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 05/25/2004 Starring: Robert Preston Don Castle Run time: 87 minutes Rating: Nr Director: John Farrow

DVD Information

Binding: DVD
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Brand: Universal
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Original Release Date:
Actors:

• Brian Donlevy
• Robert Preston
• Macdonald Carey
• William Bendix
• Albert Dekker

Reviews

Related posts:

1. To The Shores Of Tripoli (1942)
2. No Man is an Island (1962)
3. Bombardier (1943)
4. In Which We Serve (1942)
5. Captains of the Clouds (1942)
6. One of Our Aircraft is Missing (1942)
7. Flying Tigers (1942)
8. Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942)
9. Guadalcanal Diary (1943)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 5th, 2007 at 7:19 am and is filed under 1940s, Reviews, World War II Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.