310 THEY WERE EXPENDABLE
left the post- production work and scoring of They Were Expendable to others but
later objected to some of the “heavy music” added.Plot Summary
The film begins with an opening credits prologue: “ ‘ Today the guns are silent. A
great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won... I speak for the thou-
sands of silent lips, forever stilled among the jungles and in the deep waters of the
Pacific which marked the way.’ Douglas MacArthur, General of the Army.” In
December 1941, a squadron of six PT boats under the command of Lt. John “Brick”
Brickley (Robert Montgomery) is ordered to Manila to defend the Philippines against
Japa nese attack. The do not receive a warm welcome. One of Brick’s officers, Lt. J. G.
“Rusty” Ryan ( John Wayne), is incensed that his superiors refuse to see the small,
fast boats as effective naval craft and is in the pro cess of transferring when news
arrives of the Japa nese attack on Pearl Harbor. Ryan and Brickley demand real com-
bat assignments for their PT boat squadron but are frustratingly relegated to mes-
senger duties. All that changes, at least temporarily, when the Japa nese launch a
surprise attack with warplanes the day after Pearl Harbor and Brickley’s squadron
is hastily sent into combat to retaliate. After the crisis, they are again relegated to
messenger duty, once again infuriating Ryan. Eventually, top echelon command-
ers recognize that the PT boats are effective and utilize them against larger Japa-
nese ships. Brick’s boats manage to sink the Japa nese cruiser and go on to score
more victories but also sustain mounting losses they can ill afford. The squadron
is sent to evacuate General Douglas MacArthur, his family, and other persons of
high rank. Afterwards, Brickley and his men resume their forays against the Japa-
nese and continue to lose precious boats. As PT boats are destroyed, their crew
members are reassigned to infantry duty. At last, the final boat is given to the Army
for use as a messenger boat. Brickley, Ryan, and two ensigns are airlifted out on
the last plane. The remaining enlisted men, led by Chief “Boats” Mulcahey (Ward
Bond), stay behind to continue the fight.Reception
They Were Expendable had its premiere on 19 December 1945 in Washington, D.C.,
four months and four days after the end of the Second World War— too late to serve
its original purpose as war time patriotic propaganda. Reviews tended to be highly
positive, though there was grumbling about the leisurely pace and sheer length of
the film, which came in at 2 hours and 15 minutes. Bosley Crowther wrote,
“Mr. Ford, and apparently his scriptwriter, Frank Wead, have a deep and true regard
for men who stick to their business for no other purpose than to do their jobs. To
hold on with dignity and courage, to improvise when resources fail and to face the
inevitable without flinching— those are the things which they have shown us how
men do. Mr. Ford has made another picture which, in spirit, recalls his Lost Patrol. It
is nostalgic, warm with sentiment and full of fight in every foot” (Crowther, 1945).
James Agee thought it “John Ford’s finest movie” (Agee, 1946). They Were Expend-
able earned two Oscar nominations (for Best Sound and Best Special Effects), but