Gung Ho!: The Story of Carlson's Makin Island Raiders (1943)

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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

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 28 min.
Directed By: Ray Enright
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Classics

In Theaters: Dec 20, 1943 Wide
On DVD: Jul 3, 2001
Studio: American Pop Classics

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Outdated WWII flagwaver.
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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