I would watch this every Memorial Day with my ex wife’s grandfather. Love this movie. He was friends with the real Al Schmidt. Both grew up and lived in south Philly. Amazing heros!!!!!
Simply one of the greatest films to come out of World War II. Not the only great one, but it was one of the very best. It recorded beautifully why we fought it.
I was there last summer! On my South Pacific trip - Tarawa, Kennedy Island(the island JFK swam to when PT109 was sunk) & Guadalcanal - Bloody Ridge,Skyline Ridge,Henderson Field & 'Alligator Creek' where Al Schmid fought - there's a Japanese memorial to the Ikichi Detachment on their side but nothing on the Marine side - just like in the movie, there's a lagoon & sandbar where the Japanese charged over,the Marines were on a slight rise to their advantage - the locals nearest there charge a slight 'admission fee' then after you walk around they lay out relics for sale they had dug !! I I bought some US slugs (confiscated at the airport tho...) a 1903 Springfield bolt,a US spoon,a legible dog tag,a Japanese slug & a Marine Corps emblem off a helmet - priceless!!
one of the best movies of the 40s a very powerful movie and traumatizing movie when al Schmidt lost his sight during the war when he was in Guadalcanal i watch this movie over and over again cause its got good acting and good scene my favorite is when diamond tries to talk some sense into AL Schmidt when he he didn't want go home because he didn't want people to pity him cause of his blindness but who ended talking sense into him was Ruth which ends up marrying and having kids with AL Schmidt and he ends up regaining his sights back within a few years but not all the way back he couldn't see as he could at the beginning of the movie but he ended up seeing a little bit but had to wear glasses for the rest of his life cause he couldn't see fully without them
Total racist exclusion of Johnny "The Indian" Rivers", who was in that gun before AL, and died on that gun. They only highlight what the white Marines did.
