A brutal classic

I'm talking about the little known (nowadays) film, Guadalcanal Diary. It was probably intended to be a standard homefront propaganda movie, but it turned into something much more.

The "stars" are Preston Foster, Lloyd Nolan, William Bendix, Anthony Quinn, and a very young Richard Jaeckel. The movie is also filled with other soon-to-be notables -- if you can spot them. Entitled Guadalcanal Diary, the movie is based on one of the many "battle diary" type books that started appearing in 1943. In black-and-white reality, it pretty well illustrates battle conditions throughout the South Pacific at that time.

There are many memorable scenes in the movie, and I have my own favorites. For example, there is mail call, complete with vivid illustration of our men's dependence on mail from home. There the moment when Jaeckel -- having already been in combat -- discovers his first honest-to-goodness chin whisker and asks to borrow William Bendix's razor. I won't tell you what happens.

What stands out about this particular war movie is the way in which the men, from the grunts to the officers to the medics to the chaplain, see and feel the war, and how they express themselves. What could have been just another propaganda pot-boiler was, intentionally or not, transformed into one of the most powerful movies to come out of WWII.

Although other films received more promotion (depending on the studio and the stars), Guadalcanal Diary ranks right along with "A Walk In The Sun," "A Bell For Adano," "Corregidor" and the other greats of the era. I strongly recommend that you look this one up and check it out. It will not only familiarize you with how it was then, but provide you with a memorable film experience.