Halls of Montezuma (1951)

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The majority of WW2 films are corny, sanitized and sickeningly trite. This is one of the most realistic I've seen. Great acting and study of characters that make for an engrossing film. Having watched and read both film and book 'Unbroken', I felt it portrayed the storming of the island as described by the eye witnesses of the time. Some of the scenes with the Japanese prisoners were less believable but it deserves a much higher rating than shown.

The hate content in war films which had up to this point been reserved mainly for the Germans was now temporarily re-channeled in the direction of the Japanese, and the Pacific War was revived in aggressive patriotism in films like Allan Dwan's "Sands of Iwo Jima," Fritz Lang's "I Shall Return, " Nicolas Ray's "Flying Leathernecks," and Lewis Milestone's "Hall of Montezuma." The focus of Milestone's film is the capture of a site on which the enemy have set up rocket sites… A Marine patrol is sent out, with orders to take prisoners and bring them back for interrogation… Much of the movie's appeal arises from its future ensemble cast… There is Richard Widmark, a former schoolteacher who fights the war with his head in a vice; Karl Malden, the medical corpsman who knows what psychological migraine is; Reginald Gardiner, the British-born sergeant, who can speak Japanese; Robert Wagner, the young radio man who kept pestering his fellow soldiers; Skip Homeier, the hotshot 'pretty boy' who is in a hurry to get home; Jack Palance, the protective and grateful boxer who wants his pal as his future manager; Richard Hylton, the student who handled fear once; Richard Boone, the desperate colonel who insists on taking prisoners; Neville Brand, the strong sergeant blinded during a bomb attack; and Bert Freed, the best fighter man but before and after "the no-good money burnin', gin-drinkin' horsehead…" All the characters solved their hang-ups with bouts of heroism, and Widmark was on hand to lead the last attack with a rousing battle-cry "Give 'em hell!"

This is one of a slew of WW2 films made in the late 40's and early 50's, some better than others. This is definitely one of the better ones. This film features a whole bunch of future stars, such as Richard Widmark, Karl Malden, Richard Boone, Jack Palance, Robert Wagner, Jack Webb and Martin Milner. Most of them hadn't completely honed their skills yet and a couple of the performances are either a bit wooden (Malden, Wagner and Webb) or overdone (Widmark). The technology is very primitive by today's standards, yet this film holds up well. The acting aside, it seems that every effort was made to make the film as realistic as it could be. In that respect, this film is much better than some of the others of the same era. There are a lot of films from this era. If you choose to watch only a few of them, make sure this is one of the few.

A very good war drama from director Lewis Milestone. The bonding relationships formed in combat is one part of the movie. The main plot finds US Marines searching for the source of Japanese rocket fire. Very spirited and Gung Ho. Ensemble cast provides the usual stereotypical men at war; fine performances from Richard Widmark, Reginald Gardiner, Richard Boone and Karl Malden. Lesser roles for Jack Webb, Neville Brand, Martin Milner and Robert Wagner.If you liked BATTLE CRY or just war movies in general; you will be pleased with this film.