''Gung Ho!'' (full title: ''Gung Ho!: The Story of Carlson's Makin Island Raiders'') is a 1943 American

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

Ray Enright Ray Enright (March 25, 1896 – April 3, 1965) was an American film director. He directed 73 films between 1927–53, many of them for Warner Bros. He oversaw comedy films like Joe E. Brown vehicles, five of the six informal pairings of Joa ...

and starring

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor, whose Hollywood career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in dramas, come ...

. The story is based somewhat on the real-life World War II

Makin Island raid The raid on Makin Island was an attack by Marine Raiders of the United States Marine Corps on the Japanese-controlled Makin Island from August 17–18, 1942. Aims of the raid included destroying local installations, acquiring prisoners of war ...

led by Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson's 2nd

Marine Raider The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry warfare. Despite the original intent for Raiders to serve ...

Battalion.

Plot

Lieutenant C.J. Cristoforos announces that the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

is seeking volunteers for a hazardous mission and special unit. Among the volunteers are a

hillbilly ''Hillbilly'' is a term historically used for White people who dwell in rural area, rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks. As people migrated out of the region during the Great Depression, ...

who, when asked whether he can kill someone, responds that he already has. Other volunteers include Harbison, an ordained minister who wants the most dangerous assignment because that is where he will be needed most; "Pig Iron", a boxer from a background of poverty and hard work; Frankie Montana (from Brooklyn), who resents being called a "no-good kid" who is initially rejected by Cristoforos but wins him over; battling half-brothers Larry O'Ryan and Kurth Richter; a Filipino wishing to avenge his sister, who was caught in Manila by the Japanese, who teaches the Raiders knife fighting; an embittered Marine whose brother was killed at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

; a man who fought against fascism in Spain and Greece; and one Marine who admits, "I just don't like Japs". Sgt. "Transport" Anderof is reunited with the commander of the unit, Lt. Col. Thorwald, with whom he served in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Thorwald explains that he left the Marine Corps to serve with the Chinese communist

Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially titled as the List of Army Groups of the National Revolutionary Army, 18th Group Army, was a Field army, group army nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of Ch ...

fighting the Japanese during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

to find out about them and evaluate their chances. Afterward, Thorwald decided to form a unit using the qualities of '' Gung Ho'' or "work together". Those who make it through the training are sent to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

for further

jungle warfare Jungle warfare or woodland warfare is warfare in forests, jungles, or similar environments. The term encompasses military operations affected by the terrain, climate, vegetation, and wildlife of densely-wooded areas, as well as the strategies a ...

training, where they witness the damage of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

. In Hawaii they hear a radio bulletin announcing the

Battle of Guadalcanal The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during the Pacific Theater of W ...

. The Marines are ordered to board two submarines destined for a

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

raid RAID (; redundant array of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical Computer data storage, data storage components into one or more logical units for th ...

on a Japanese-held island. After a claustrophobic voyage, the Raiders invade the island from rubber boats. The Marine landing is met by fire from

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

s hiding in palm trees. The Marines dispose of them, attack the Japanese headquarters, wipe out the garrison, destroy installations with explosives, then board the submarines for their return home.

Cast

as Col. Thorwald * Alan Curtis as Pvt. John Harbison * Noah Beery Jr. as Cpl. Kurt Richter * J. Carrol Naish as Lt. C.J. Cristoforos * Sam Levene as Plt Sgt. Leo "Transport" Andreof * David Bruce as Larry O'Ryan * Richard Lane as Capt. Dunphy * Walter Sande as Gunner McBride *

Louis Jean Heydt Louis Jean Heydt (April 17, 1903 – January 29, 1960) was an American character actor in film, television, and theatre, most frequently seen in hapless, ineffectual, or fall-guy roles. Early life Heydt was born in 1903 (not 1905, as many so ...

as Lt. Roland Browning *

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...

as Pvt. "Pig-Iron" Matthews * Rod Cameron as Pvt. Rube Tedrow * Grace McDonald as Kathleen Corrigan *

Milburn Stone Hugh Milburn Stone (July 5, 1904 – June 12, 1980) was an American actor, best known for his role as "Doc" (Dr. Galen Adams) on the Western (genre), Western series ''Gunsmoke''. Early life Stone was born in Burrton, Kansas, to Herbert Stone an ...

as Cmdr. Blake * Peter Coe as Pvt. Kozzarowski * Harold Landon as Pvt. Frankie Montana *

Chet Huntley Chester Robert Huntley (December 10, 1911 – March 20, 1974) was an American television newscaster, best known for co-anchoring NBC's evening news program, '' The Huntley–Brinkley Report,'' for 14 years beginning in 1956. Early life Hunt ...

as Narrator

Production

When producer Walter Wanger acquired the rights to the

and Lt. W.S LeFrançois' story, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

film liaison Lt. Albert J Bolton insisted that neither Carlson nor his executive officer

James Roosevelt James Roosevelt II (December 23, 1907 – August 13, 1991) was an American businessman, Marine officer, activist, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician. The eldest son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor R ...

be singled out. The screenplay depicted a fictional Lt. Col. Thorwald with no executive officer. The screenplay did include a character played by J. Carrol Naish, a Raider lieutenant of Greek extraction based on Marine Raider Lt. John Apergis as well as Gunnery Sergeant Victor "Transport" Maghakian who served in the raid and survived the war. Though many incidents in the film did not occur in the real Makin Island raid, Carlson wrote to Wamger that he was pleased with the film. Like many other films about the

, the movie was filmed at

Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego (MCRD San Diego) is a United States Marine Corps military installation in San Diego, California. It lies between San Diego Bay and Interstate 5, adjacent to San Diego International Airport and the former N ...

and

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by ...

with Marine extras and technical advisors including Carlson, Maghakian and Lt. Wilfred Sylvio LeFrancois with all three men being awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

on the actual raid. The Japanese were played by Chinese and Filipino extras.

Themes

The fast-moving film is a template for many war films and other adventure or western films where a group of professional killers and misfits in polite society are handpicked by an inspiring leader, trained to perfection, then use their initiative and skills in

marksmanship A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting. In modern military usage this typically refers to the use of projectile weapons such as an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle (or a sniper rifle) to shoot ...

combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

and knife fighting on an enemy who greatly outnumber them. Thorwald/Carlson lectures throughout the film that the Japanese have no initiative and cannot think for themselves or deviate from a plan; thus unexpected action pays off. This is demonstrated in several scenes where a Marine defeats his opponent in unarmed combat by spitting tobacco in his eyes, a small but fast runner strips down to his trousers and quickly zig-zags through enemy fire to hurl hand grenades at a machine-gun nest, Marines destroy a Japanese pillbox and its occupants by squashing both with a road construction steamroller, and a speechless

who has been shot in the throat and is unable to give warning, kills a Japanese infiltrator attempting to kill the battalion surgeon (

) by throwing his knife in the Japanese soldier's back. The climax of the film has the Raiders painting a giant American flag on the roof of a building, then luring the counterattacking Japanese to the area where their own air force bombs and strafes them. In contrast to the Japanese and the rest of the American military, Thorwald orders that his officers wear no rank insignia and have no special privileges. He tells his Raiders, "I will eat what you eat and sleep where you sleep" and participate in the same training. Thorwald's Marines participate in "Gung Ho Sessions" where they discuss the unit's plans and each man participates without regard to rank.

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

in a January 1944 review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' praised the film, its performances and settings but said "the stabbings and stickings go on ''Gung Ho!'' is for folks with strong stomachs and a taste for the submachine gun".

Box Office

The movie was a big hit and earned profits of $577,460. It recorded admissions in France of 748,212 when released there in 1945.

Re-issue

The film was re-released in the early 1950s by Realart Pictures who gave

second billing on the posters. The film has often been shown to recruits and Marines of the United States Marine Corps.

Influences on popular culture

In the early 1960s Louis Marx and Company came out with a "Gung Ho Commando Outfit" for children.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{Authority control 1943 films 1940s English-language films American black-and-white films American war drama films Films directed by Ray Enright Marine Raiders World War II films made in wartime Universal Pictures films 1940s war drama films Films set in Kiribati World War II submarine films Pacific War films World War II films based on actual events Films based on newspaper and magazine articles Films produced by Walter Wanger Films about the United States Marine Corps Films scored by Frank Skinner 1943 drama films Japan in non-Japanese culture English-language war drama films