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Wonderful character development!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I've always enjoyed this film, but in viewing it yesterday a couple of things bothered me which I had not previously noticed. 1) For about half of the movie John Wayne's character acts not just inexperienced, but downright childish, very unlike any other character of his with which I'm familiar. 2) I found the musical background to be very obtrusive. I expect overwrought patriotism from any 1940s war movie, but this one went overboard. Every few minutes, especially when action is happening, they gave us a taste of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, The Navy Hymn, or even a few bars of the national anthem. They were more such intrusions, but I didn't write them down.I appreciate Robert Montgomery's acting, and contributions to the production, as he actually did serve on PT boats during the war.

This the first feature film John Ford made immediately after the Second World War, and, in the main titles, he is credited by his military rank. Although, the film is a deeply patriotic tribute to the little boats and the big men who were truly expendable in the larger picture, the film is notable for its unmistakable understatement. It is as if Ford, always given to cinema melodramatics in the name of a good show, somehow restrained himself, perhaps because the memory of what really happened, rather than what the establishment wanted its citizens to believe, was still very fresh in his mind. For once, he chose to tell the truth and not exaggerate. The performances from the starring roles to the bits are also particularly subdued and real. No false heroics. The handsome leading man and light comedian Robert Montgomery, who in real life was a PT boat commander, was never better. The mood of the film is enormously helped by the realistic semi-documentary cinematography of Joe August, whom Ford knew and collaborated with the early days of the silent cowboy film. August's lighting, often leaving characters in shadow or half-light, was very courageous for the time. Few big studio DPs, with the exception of Greg Toland, had the guts or the talent to avoid the clichés of big studio glamor lighting and try for something that looks at times very much like the documentaries Ford had made with his war-time naval unit. Today, Ford, one of the masters of the language of film, is often put down for his jingoism, but, as this film demonstrates, he was at his best a master story-teller and humanist.

Big John Wayne gets second-billing to Robert Montgomery in this early stage of his career. There's no particularly dominant theme other than that things are going pear-shaped.It's life in the Pacific theatre during WW2. American forces are going about their jobs and facing the apparently unstoppable juggernaut of Imperial Japan after it more-or-less rolled-up the British like a cheap carpet. Now it's the Yanks turn. This is not a full in-yer-face set-piece war movie, but rather about the gradual disintegration of mounting reversals largely out of view, and how they impact upon people at a local level. It's very personal. Relationships feature as much as conflict. The vagaries of war are brought into sudden and sharp focus by local attacks and the immediacy of death. Retreat becomes fractious and confused. Not everyone is gonna get away.Most of the action turns around a squad of American PT boats. And here the movie excels in its depiction of these splendid vessels powering through the seas. There's some really nice sequences and it's well worth a watch for PT boat fans. We get to see "I shall return" General McArthur doing a runner with surprising egg-suck frankness, considering how America never liked to advertise its military failures.Acting is believable by all concerned. Editing & other technical issues are all of the standard that gave John Ford his reputation. It's a long movie at over 130mins, but seldom drags on account of its good mix of action and story. Filmed in B&W.I'm surprised this work doesn't feature more highly in popularity lists. It's got a helluva lot going for it in an understated, almost British-like stiff-upper-lip way.

One has to remember the time that this film was released-1945--so there is quite a bit of flag waving here . Especially with the attacks on the Japanese "cruisers " and sinking of a light Japanese aircraft carrier .No Japanese naval ships were indeed lost during this period , only 3 destroyers sunk by US submarines .As well when the PT boats were on their torpedo runs I am quite sure the Japanese ships were out of range of the machine guns firing from the PT boats.Indeed a summary of Japanese naval actions in this period list the cruiser Kuma (One torpedo struck bow but did not explode) South of Cebu 9 Apr 1942 by PT boats .The acting is understated which does work well.AS well the attacks of the Japanese aircraft is quite realistic no CGI here .The fall of the Philippines is indeed a fascinating subject .The mistakes,bravery, and suffering of the allied forces deserves a modern treatment -now that most of the facts are known .Hoping that film will be made.