Halls of Montezuma (film)

Halls of Montezuma is a 1951 American World War II war film directed by Academy Award-winner Lewis Milestone and starring Richard Widmark. It also stars Robert Wagner in his first credited screen role and features Richard Boone in his feature-film debut. The story is about U.S. Marines fighting on a Japanese-held island, and the title is a reference to the opening line from the Marines' Hymn.

Real color combat footage from the war in the Pacific was incorporated into the film's cinematography, and scenes at Camp Pendleton, California, were filmed on location with the full cooperation of the Marines.

The film was referred to in M*A*S*H (1970), directed by Robert Altman.

Plot
During World War II, a Marine battalion prepares to land on a Japanese-held island in the Pacific. Lieutenant Colonel Gilfillan orders the men to take prisoners in order to gain information about Japanese fortifications. Below deck, veteran Lieutenant Carl A. Anderson reassures a frightened corporal, Frank Conroy, that he has shown courage before and can do so again. In the landing boat heading to shore, Navy corpsman C. E. "Doc" Jones is worried because Anderson has been suffering from "psychological migraines" for months. He relies on Doc to supply him with painkillers to keep him going. Anderson leads the men as they hit the beach and dig in. Later, they try to take a ridge of hills but are deterred by a sudden Japanese rocket attack, during which his radio operator Private Coffman is killed. Afterwards, Anderson meets with other officers at battalion headquarters, where Gilfillan informs them that he has received orders to stop the rockets within nine hours, before the next assault on the hills. He assigns Anderson's platoon the task of capturing Japanese prisoners to interrogate in an effort to learn the exact origin of the rocket fire. The colonel further assigns Sergeant Johnson, an expert in Oriental languages and culture, to assist Anderson.

Among those whom Carl picks for his task, he includes six of his most battle-hardened veterans. Guided by Johnson, he leads them on patrol to a Japanese-held cave, where they are ambushed. But Anderson's men manage to capture five Japanese soldiers and kill the rest. However, during their return to battalion headquarters, their number are reduced. Even Doc, the corpsman who has been with Anderson the longest, does not survive. Finally, Anderson, Johnson, Conroy, two veteran privates, a replacement, and a war correspondent, Sergeant Dickerman, are the only fully able-bodied survivors of the patrol. Anderson takes his prisoners to headquarters, but one Japanese officer commits hara-kiri. Later, Anderson and Johnson learn that one of the prisoners is a highly educated officer disguised as a private. After questioning him, they deduce where the rockets are located.

A map expert at headquarters matches the location. Anderson's mission is thus accomplished, and Colonel Gilfillan offers his grateful thanks. But as Anderson makes his way back to the platoon, he learns Conroy has been killed. Anderson takes the news hard, questioning the meaning of his sacrifice. In response, war correspondent Dickerman reads aloud a note the ill-fated Doc had given him. Anderson, inspired by Doc's appeal for him to be strong for the sake of those whom he survives, throws away his painkillers, smashing them with the butt of his weapon. He leads his men in another assault on the Japanese. As the film closes, U.S. Navy F4U Corsairs fly in and smash the Japanese rocket positions.

Cast

 * Richard Widmark as Lt. Carl A. Anderson
 * Jack Palance as Pigeon Lane (as Walter {Jack} Palance)
 * Reginald Gardiner as Sgt. Randolph Johnson
 * Robert Wagner as Private Coffman
 * Karl Malden as Doc
 * Richard Hylton as Conroy
 * Richard Boone as Lt. Col. Gilfillan
 * Skip Homeier as Pretty Boy
 * Don Hicks as Lt. Butterfield
 * Jack Webb as Correspondent Sgt. Dickerman
 * Bert Freed as Slattery
 * Neville Brand as Sgt. Zelenko
 * Martin Milner as Whitney
 * Philip Ahn as Nomura

Casting
According to a January 1949 Los Angeles Times, actors Dana Andrews, Anne Baxter and Paul Douglas were originally set to star in the picture. However, they were not cast in the film.

Filming
The film used various locations around Camp Pendleton and the adjacent Pacific coast for the landing scenes. The USMC also provided accurate military equipment, such as weapons, tanks and uniforms, as well as providing the manpower to create the logistics of a wartime U.S. Marine battalion.

USMC also provided expertise by assigning three time decorated, Major George A. Gilliland, as Technical Advisor for the film.He was the recipient of two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.

Direction
This was the last American-made World War II film directed by Lewis Milestone. After the Halls of Montezuma, he made films in Europe as well as other movie genres such as the Rat Pack caper film, Ocean's 11. In 1959 he directed the acclaimed Pork Chop Hill, starring Gregory Peck, his final war film set during the Korean War.

Release
Serving U.S. Marines and Second World War veterans attended the film's premieres in New York and Los Angeles. Proceeds from the premieres were donated to various charities associated with the United States Marine Corps. The studio also allowed the USMC to use the film for recruitment purposes. On January 11, 1951, The Hollywood Reporter noted that a full company of Marine recruits were to be sworn in at the film's premiere in San Francisco.