Wake Island (1942) - John Farrow

This is shameless propoganda, and I almost expected a line at the end to say "Buy war bonds in your theater", which weren't exactly uncommon during WWII. Wake Island is of the school of films like Across the Pacific that were thrown together the second the US entered the war. This one tells of an early defeat, but a rather Alamo like stand by the USMC. Your standard batch of familiar faces but unfamiliar names appear and almost all of them would go on to appear in countless other WWII movies. Certain scenes work, but there is nothing revalatory about the film, and it is very cliched. I do admire some of the truth that seeps out in these original war films, simply because with history's habit of white washing you can get a different story. The film was tremendously popular, and helped set up the blueprint for many more of the same.

*Wake Island was nominated for best picture, best director, best original screenplay, and best supporting actor (William Bendix)