"Guadalcanal Diary" came out smack dab in the middle of the U.S. fighting in WW II. It was made the year after the actual events portrayed in the film. It's based on a book by the same title, written by Richard Tregaskis. He was a war correspondent who covered the taking of Guadalcanal. One can appreciate this film for its reality and straightforward portrayal as written by the author. This was before Hollywood began to fantasize and over dramatize many of the battles and the war action in later films. The narration is a nice touch, with an actor representing the author who tells us about the story as it unfolds. Others have commented on the excellent cast. All actors did a superb job in portraying a bunch of American Marines who hadn't yet seen war and had no idea of what to expect. Onboard ship somewhere in the South Pacific, we see the men lying around and waiting and wondering. The usual hijinks and talk about girls back home, baseball and family take place. Finally, we see the naval bombardment, the beach landing unchallenged by the Japanese, and then the battles as the Marines move inland and route the enemy. Some other nice touches of realism are in the lines by various actors. Lloyd Nolan as Sgt. Hook Malone cautions the men about not going after Japanese souvenirs because they could be booby-trapped. Preston Foster as the chaplain, Father Donnelly, is a paternal figure for the men who will be right beside them in the first wave to hit the beach. Col. Grayson tells the men it will be a tedious, tough job to route the enemy, because the Japanese soldiers are tough. We see ordinary men fighting, getting wounded, and being killed – on both sides. When Army replacements arrive, the Marines welcome them. The battle action sequences are very realistic, and the movie makers must have received actual film footage of the naval bombardment from the Navy. It's very impressive. Some people quibble about racial slurs. We must remember that this film is an accurate portrayal of what really happened, and what it was like for and with our troops. Later modern sanitized films were scripted to be politically correct, but in the process they sacrificed some of the truth and realism of the times and events. Movie companies today put disclaimers on older films for various portrayals, especially regarding race and culture. They point out the inappropriate language, behavior or treatment of some people in the older films, by today's standards. And, they note that to expunge or change the film to eliminate such material after the fact, would be a denial of the facts and truth that such things had occurred in history as portrayed. Therefore, they have significant historical value in educating society about those times and behaviors of the past. This film is a must for any serious war film collection.

Based on the book by Richard Tregaskis, GUADALCANAL DIARY is directed expertly by Lewis Seiler. A realistic story of U.S. Marines preparing and landing on the small island in the South Pacific; not only is there the danger of the entrenched Japanese forces, this devoted platoon battles treacherous terrain, disease and torrential weather. There is also the inner loneliness in spite of faithful camaraderie. An action-packed story told through the eyes of a war correspondent(Reed Hadley).You can always count on the Marines. One of my favorite sequences is as the movie ends with the war tested leaving the island and passing the new green soldiers having no idea what they are in for. An all star cast makes for one of the best war movies of its era. Starring: Lloyd Nolan, William Bendix, Preston Foster, Roy Roberts, Anthony Quinn, Richard Jaeckel and Richard Conte.

This is one of the better (and most topical) of Hollywood’s wartime efforts, but which seems to have been largely overlooked among the surplus of such films – possibly because it was helmed by journeyman director Seiler.Still, the handling is entirely professional and the film makes the most of a good script by Lamar Trotti – peopled with believable characters ably portrayed by a fine cast (Preston Foster, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte, Anthony Quinn, Richard Jaeckel). The requisite comic relief provided by William Bendix and Lionel Stander is slightly overstated…but, then, Bendix delivers the film’s most moving speech towards the end.The film – unavoidably jingoistic but, at the same time, realistic i.e. thankfully free of gung-ho heroics – balances taut action sequences (culminating in the so-called “Great Offensive”) with a handful of undeniably powerful, lingering images (particularly the line-up of dead U.S. marines ambushed on a beach by the devious Japanese forces). I’ll be following this with Cornel Wilde’s well-regarded BEACH RED (1967), which also deals with WWII combat in the Pacific; besides, I also own – but have yet to watch – the R2 DVD of Lewis Milestone’s contemporaneous THE PURPLE HEART (1944), which tackles similar events from a unique perspective.

The ensemble cast of this film made it the fine war film it is. Most of the cast had starring roles in other films. I thought the narration of Reed Hadley was perfect in telling the story of the first American offensive against the Japanese in WWII. Guadalcanal was a turning point in the Pacific War as it ended a series of Japanese successes and began the shrinking of their Pacific conquests. Others have pointed out the historical inaccuracies including the fact that the Japanese survivors were successfully evacutated from the island and not driven into the sea as depicted in the final battle. One shocking inaccuracy I noticed took place on the second day of the Marine landing. The first night, while huddled in foxholes, they hear gunfire off shore and comments that "The Navy is busy tonight." The next morning, Col. Grayson (Minor Watson) comments, "We lost four cruisers but we beat them off good." In fact, the U.S. Navy suffered one of its worst defeats in history in the battle of Savo Island. The Japanese commander was hardly "beaten off" but decided to withdraw after sinking 4 Allied cruisers (Canberra, Astoria, Quincy and Vincennes)because he thought U.S. carriers were in the vicinity. In fact, they had departed and the Japanese commander could have destroyed the entire invasion fleet and the outcome would have been far different. What proved to be an eventual allied victory, came within a hairs-breath of being a disastrous defeat. While the Marines have received the lion's share of the glory, well deserved, Guadalcanal took the lives of many more Navy personnel than Marines. The many horrific night naval battles took a heavy toll and the waters north of Guadalcanal were aptly renamed "Ironbottom Sound." Sadly, Hollywood has never made a film about the horrors faced by sailors in achieving the victory at Guadalcanal. The movie about the five Sullivan brothers, who all died when their ship (Juneau) was sunk with only 10 survivors in the bloody waters of Guadalcanal, was just a small part of the carnage the Navy suffered there. Guadalcanal Diary is a stirring tribute to the Marine Corps and a accurate portrayal of what they endured on that wretched island.