Gung Ho!: The Story of Carlson's Makin Island Raiders (1943)
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43% of users liked it
(1,645 ratings)
Accepted in 1943 as standard wartime propaganda, Gung Ho can be seen today as an outrageous exercise in raging machismo. Randolph Scott plays Thorwald, a marine colonel assigned to assemble a crack squadron of fearless jungle fighters for the all-important raid on Japanese-held Makim Island (which… More Accepted in 1943 as standard wartime propaganda, Gung Ho can be seen today as an outrageous exercise in raging machismo. Randolph Scott plays Thorwald, a marine colonel assigned to assemble a crack squadron of fearless jungle fighters for the all-important raid on Japanese-held Makim Island (which in real life was recaptured only a few weeks before the film's release). Thorwald seems determine to select the dregs of the earth for this mission: most of his squadron is comprised of misfits, barroom brawlers, borderline psychos and outright murderers. It is suggested that these sociopaths are the only men truly qualified for the mission at hand, and by film's end the squadron members-living and dead-are lauded as true-blue patriots. Once one gets past the questionable premise, Gung Ho is a fairly exciting WWII melodrama, with a particularly thrilling climax. The film is currently available in its original form and in a computer-colorized version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Ray Enright
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Dec 20, 1943 Wide
- Studio
- American Pop Classics
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Outdated WWII flagwaver.
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Sean Axmaker, Turner Classic Movies Online
... the film moves from the familiar cliches of platoon drama character vignettes to the sinewy action scenes of the invasion.
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Cast
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Randolph Scott
as Col. Thorwald
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Grace McDonald
as Kathleen Corrigan
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Noah Beery Jr.
as Kurt Richter
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Alan Curtis
as John Harbison
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J. Carrol Naish
as Lt. Cristoforos
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Robert Mitchum
as "Pig-Iron" Matthews
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David Bruce
as Larry O'Ryan
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Rod Cameron
as Rube Tedrow
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Peter Coe
as Kozzarowski
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Richard Lane
as Capt. Dunphy
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Sam Levene
as Transport (Leo Andreof)
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Milburn Stone
as Commander Blake
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Harold Landon
as Frankie Montana
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John James
as Buddy Andrews
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Louis Jean Heydt
as Lt. Roland Browning
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Irving Bacon
as Waiter
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Chet Huntley
as Narrator
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Robert Kent
as Sub Officer
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Walter Sande
as Gunner McBride
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Harry Strang
as Sgt. Jim Corrigan
