Guadalcanal Diary
On July 26, 1942, a transport ship carrying a large group of Marines sails through the South Pacific. The men, unaware of their destination, make the most of their brief rest period by singing, readin…
Guadalcanal Diary
On July 26, 1942, a transport ship carrying a large group of Marines sails through the South Pacific. The men, unaware of their destination, make the most of their brief rest period by singing, reading and writing letters and shooting the breeze with the war correspondent traveling with them. The men include Colonel Wallace Grayson (Minor Watson), Captain Jim Cross (Roy Roberts), Captain Davis (Richard Conte), Sgt. Hook Malone (Lloyd Nolan), Corporal Alyosious "Taxi" Potts (William Bendix), Jesus "Soose" Alvarez (Anthony Quinn), the army chaplain Father Donnelly (Preston Foster) and the teenage Private Johnny Anderson (Richard Jaeckal), who has been nicknamed "Chicken" because of his youth and inexperience. Grayson soon learns that they are bound for Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, and that other transports are carrying Marines to nearby Tulagi. Cross and Davis plan the landing of the first two companies, while Donnelly goes below to encourage the men. On August 7, 1942, the Marines land on Guadalcanal and are surprised by the initial lack of resistance from the Japanese forces. The Marines on Tulagi are immediately attacked, while on Guadalcanal, the wary soldiers secure the airfield, make camp and are on the lookout for the enemy. Snipers make their presence felt as lone soldiers are killed, and tension rapidly mounts as the Marines grow restless to fight an enemy they cannot see. After Davis is stricken with fever, Cross leads a patrol to investigate a local's claim that a small Japanese force is ready to surrender at the nearby village of Matanikau. Lt. Thurmond (John Archer) and Soose are among the men in the patrol, which is attacked in the water by a Japanese submarine and then is fired upon by nests of machine guns once the survivors land on the beach. The men dig into the beach but soon are picked off by the enemy until only Soose is left. He manages to escape and swim back to the main camp, where Grayson vows to return in force. The main force does attack Matanikau, and despite heavy losses, prevails against the enemy. Later, as time passes, the troops become hardened by the battles, the constant fear of snipers and aerial bombardment, limited supplies and extreme conditions. Even Johnny seems to be aging in front of his comrades' eyes when he finds his first "whisker". The soldiers' activities are divided between patrolling for snipers and engaging in minor battles, and falling out to bomb shelters during aerial attacks. On October 10, a patrol heads out to a potential Japanese strong point and are soon fired upon by Japanese soldiers hidden in shallow caves along a cliff. After a brutal battle, the marines take out the Japanese positions one by one. On the night of October 13-14, the Japanese launch a major naval and aerial attack on Henderson airfield forcing the Marines to take shelter in several bunkers including the cook Sgt. Butch (Lionel Sanders). Weary of the hours-long, nerve-wracking barrage, Taxi tells his comrades: "I don't mind the one with my name on it. It's the one addressed to whom-it-may-concern, I don't like." As the weeks pass, Henderson airfield is shored up and more planes, supplies and reinforcements arrive. On November 10, 1942, the 167th anniversary of the Marine Corps, three battalions of Marines, under the supervision of Grayson and General Vandegrift, make a major push to eliminate the Japanese forces. Soose is killed during the battle, but Johnny shoots three of his attackers. The Marines are victorious and on December 10, 1942, as they leave camp and are evacuated from Guadalcanal, the surviving Marines, whom include Father Donnelly, Taxi, Anderson and Sgt. Butch, exchange jokes with the Army soldiers who are relieving them.
Guadalcanal Diary
Drama,War
Film Details
On July 26, 1942, a transport ship carrying a large group of Marines sails through the South Pacific. The men, unaware of their destination, make the most of their brief rest period by singing, reading and writing letters and shooting the breeze with the war correspondent traveling with them. The men include Colonel Wallace Grayson (Minor Watson), Captain Jim Cross (Roy Roberts), Captain Davis (Richard Conte), Sgt.
Hook Malone (Lloyd Nolan), Corporal Alyosious "Taxi" Potts (William Bendix), Jesus "Soose" Alvarez (Anthony Quinn), the army chaplain Father Donnelly (Preston Foster) and the teenage Private Johnny Anderson (Richard Jaeckal), who has been nicknamed "Chicken" because of his youth and inexperience. Grayson soon learns that they are bound for Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, and that other transports are carrying Marines to nearby Tulagi. Cross and Davis plan the landing of the first two companies, while Donnelly goes below to encourage the men.
On August 7, 1942, the Marines land on Guadalcanal and are surprised by the initial lack of resistance from the Japanese forces. The Marines on Tulagi are immediately attacked, while on Guadalcanal, the wary soldiers secure the airfield, make camp and are on the lookout for the enemy. Snipers make their presence felt as lone soldiers are killed, and tension rapidly mounts as the Marines grow restless to fight an enemy they cannot see.
After Davis is stricken with fever, Cross leads a patrol to investigate a local's claim that a small Japanese force is ready to surrender at the nearby village of Matanikau. Lt. Thurmond (John Archer) and Soose are among the men in the patrol, which is attacked in the water by a Japanese submarine and then is fired upon by nests of machine guns once the survivors land on the beach.
The men dig into the beach but soon are picked off by the enemy until only Soose is left. He manages to escape and swim back to the main camp, where Grayson vows to return in force. The main force does attack Matanikau, and despite heavy losses, prevails against the enemy.
Later, as time passes, the troops become hardened by the battles, the constant fear of snipers and aerial bombardment, limited supplies and extreme conditions. Even Johnny seems to be aging in front of his comrades' eyes when he finds his first "whisker". The soldiers' activities are divided between patrolling for snipers and engaging in minor battles, and falling out to bomb shelters during aerial attacks.
On October 10, a patrol heads out to a potential Japanese strong point and are soon fired upon by Japanese soldiers hidden in shallow caves along a cliff. After a brutal battle, the marines take out the Japanese positions one by one. On the night of October 13-14, the Japanese launch a major naval and aerial attack on Henderson airfield forcing the Marines to take shelter in several bunkers including the cook Sgt.
Butch (Lionel Sanders). Weary of the hours-long, nerve-wracking barrage, Taxi tells his comrades: "I don't mind the one with my name on it. It's the one addressed to whom-it-may-concern, I don't like." As the weeks pass, Henderson airfield is shored up and more planes, supplies and reinforcements arrive.
On November 10, 1942, the 167th anniversary of the Marine Corps, three battalions of Marines, under the supervision of Grayson and General Vandegrift, make a major push to eliminate the Japanese forces. Soose is killed during the battle, but Johnny shoots three of his attackers. The Marines are victorious and on December 10, 1942, as they leave camp and are evacuated from Guadalcanal, the surviving Marines, whom include Father Donnelly, Taxi, Anderson and Sgt.
Butch, exchange jokes with the Army soldiers who are relieving them..