Main Cast: Brian Donlevy, Robert Preston, MacDonald Carey, Albert Dekker, Barbara Britton
Release Year: 1942
Country: US
Run Time: 88 minutes
Plot
The winner of four Oscar nominations, Wake Island was one of the first major Hollywood films to deal with America's forced participation in World War II. The first two reels takes place in the weeks prior to Pearl Harbor, as Wake Island military commander Brian Donlevy carries on a friendly rivalry with Seabee supervisor Albert Dekker. Once the US is in the shooting war, all previous differences are forgotten and the Wake Island personnel begin pulling together. Despite being heavily outnumbered during the subsequent Japanese attack on Wake, the Americans put up a valiant fight, at great cost to the Imperial Forces. In a scene calculated to evoke long, loud cheers from the audience, Donlevy, weary and battle-stained, relays to the American mainland the legendary (if offensive) challenge "Send us more Japs!" As in the like-vintage Bataan, the military defeat of the Americans is treated-and justifiably so--as a moral victory. Utilizing some of the top male talents in Paramount's contract pool-Donlevy, Dekker Robert Preston, MacDonald Carey, William Bendix--Wake Island remains an excellent example of propaganda-as-entertainment ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
A tremendous financial and critical success in its time, Wake Island is a fine and effective war movie. The passage of time has rendered it more valuable as an example of well-wrought propaganda than of a great drama. There are almost no grays in Wake Island; practically everything is set out in clear, black-and-white terms. This helps to make it a rousing adventure, but it also makes it more than a little manipulative, a fact that is brought home on repeated viewings. Still, John Farrow directs with a great deal of energy, imbuing the film with tautness and tension, staging the battles scenes with remarkable effectiveness. He's also good at helping keep the various members of the cast identifiable with distinct character traits that border on caricature but don't too often cross the line. Brian Donlevy does a fine job as the glue which holds the film (and the men) together; he gets especially fine support from Robert Preston and William Bendix, who display real chemistry in their scenes together. Modern audiences won't get the same punch from Wake Island as did those in 1942, but fans of war films will definitely want to catch it. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
The end of the movie erroneously depicts the defenders fighting to the last man; in reality, they surrendered after repelling the first wave of the Japanese attack. It also shows the garrison's naval commander dying of wounds and the defense of the island being directed by Marine officers; in fact, Commander Winfield S. Cunningham survived the war.
_cover.jpg)
