They Were Expendable

They Were Expendable was the first time [Ford] would loose the weight of his experiences on a general audience.

The film moves along curiously and cautiously, prideful of the crews of the PT boats but also aware that each victory was achieved at a great cost and that sacrifices would have to continue to be made as the war trudged along.

The real star of the film is the gorgeous, luminous, mostly outdoor black-and-white cinematography.

The most unfortunate thing about John Ford's excellent, elegiac war film, with a strong turn from John Wayne, was its release date, December 1945, since the war was over.