Unauthorized Picks for Pacific War Flicks-Episode 318

[@robbinsteel]

As a child I remember my Father had nightmares, waking up screaming from his time as a Navy Corpsman who was in six Pacific theater invasions with the Marines. He would be glued to the TV when Victory at Sea was first broadcast. The public had not seen most of the footage used in that series. He would point out places where he was. He really detested most WW II movies of the 40’s & 50’s with few exceptions. In 1969 he told me he would cut off my right hand trigger finger in my sleep if I tried to enlist in the Marines “ because this family had suffered enough”. He passed away in 1988 from cancer misdiagnosed as complications of having malaria many times.

[@alexkalish8288]

I have to share this story. My father was an actor after he came back from the pacific. He was at PH with the 19th inf during the attack, did the whole New Guinea campaign as a sgt. He was rehearsing his lines half the night with my mother for a war movie with John Wayne about the pacific fighting. I'm not sure which movie it was - this was 49-59. He walked in and before he said a line, the director told him he wasn't the type (it was a sgt. in the pacific). He flashed his silver star ribbon, called the guy a stupid SOB and never went for another rehearsal in his life. You're narratives bring him back to life for me. Keep the faith -

[@marksimmons7972]

Love these narratives. Cant be long enough! My father was an artillery man in the Bulge , My kids Grandfather served with Patton (his brother died in Korea), my Uncle was in the 82 AB and wounded in Market Garden and my Godfather was with the 1st Marines on Guadalcanal. I am a Vietnam vet. My hoochmate died of Agent Orange expodure two years ago. Ive had many friends with PSTD. Americans should know for many Vets their wars didnt end with discharge papers.

[@terryemery7839]

A good Japanese movie of the period is The Emperor in August. Definitely eye opening into the dysfunction of the Japanese government/war council of the time, to the point where it is farcical.

[@buzzml8123]

Thank you for including The Best Years of Our Lives. The verisimilitude of the entire film is undeniable. It is at the top of my list of best movies ever made.

[@Steve-dg3md]

The heart that you both display for combat veterans is something I truly appreciate. Thank you both.

[@jesscarver9882]

SEMPER, brother.

[@robertlee5456]

The Gallant Hours does what few war films do, by thoughtfully revealing the burden of command; specifically, through the eyes of Halsey, during his early tenure as commander of the South Pacific Area. Dramatic tension comes from seeing him struggle to sustain the fight for Guadalcanal, often making difficult decisions, and then living with the consequences of those decisions. The film doesn't fully explain all of the tactical details, but fans of this podcast should know those details, and find this film doubly rewarding as a result. Thank you so much Seth and Bill for this wonderful film recommendation.

[@elwoodlodge7764]

I watched 5 came back early last year and I was stunned at the emotional damage done to everyone of these Directors. A really good movie.

[@joeyartk]

Hell in the Pacific was an interesting movie about a Japanese and an American Marine stranded on a Pacific island fighting it out. It starred Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune.

[@spikespa5208]

Marvin, a Marine playing a Marine (pilot).

[@flparkermdpc]

Both Pacific veterans

[@chdnorm]

I thought that was a great movie.

[@brushhogg1]

Also the name of a Pac war documentary

[@williamrobinson827]

I loved Hell in the Pacific. While both actors were old to be playing WW2 combatants, it is neat that both were actually WW2 veterans in real life. It was fascinating to see how their relationship developed, from trying to kill each other to competing with each other to finally realizing that they would need to cooperate in order to survive. And it was interesting to see how they learned to communicate although neither knew the other's language.

[@johnferguson1455]

That was fun. My favorites-Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo and They Were Expendable

[@petervandyk7173]

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence". Yet another take on the POW experience in the Far East. Based of a book written by a Dutch East Indies survivor from these camps, it dives deep into the many moral questions of war. And its simply a very good movie!

[@stevehofer3482]

My guilty pleasure is “Father Goose” starring Cary Grant. It is Cary Grant at his Cary Grantiest. It may not be realistic, but it is entertaining.

[@danasmith3288]

Leslie Caron is 92! Loved Trevor Howard and the young actress, "Harry"! A comedic encomium to our WWII Coastal watchers.

[@garymackey850]

I agree...a fun movie!

[@alangreer1142]

"No, she's alive.....the snake's dead!"

[@uberduberdave]

"Married!? Goody Two Shoes and the Filthy Beast?"

[@m.r.donovan8743]

Actor Glenn Ford was born in Canada, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary in the summer of 1941, enlisted in the Marine Corps on Dec. 10, 1941, and served until medically discharged in 1944. He enlisted for a THIRD time in 1958 and entered the U.S. Naval Reserve. In Vietnam he served as a Marine Corps liaison from the DMZ to the Mekong Delta. He finally retired in the 1970's at the rank of Captain.

[@jeffbrooke4892]

"They Were Expendable" Glad to hear you two talk about this film as it embraced a historical event, the loss of the Phillipines, that was not paid its due respect for decades. I too appreciate your perspectives on McCarthur and John Wayne in this movie. Wayne must have felt small in the shadows of Ford, Montegomery and the PT boat crews who surrounded him during its making. However, whenever I consider the subect of war movies I am always reminded of something said by Tom Hanks in an interview from a few years back. At the end of the making Band of Brothers, Hanks asked Richard Winters about his thoughts on a screening of the series. He said that Winters was very careful being polite but, in essance, he thought they had left way too much out of the story. Hanks response was something like this - This is Hollywood and if you get it 10-percent correct they think you are a genius. We're aiming for 13-percent. I think Hanks was acknowleding Winters observation and, in his own respectful way, communicating Hollywood's shortcomings in accurate story telling. The work of history is best left to historians and Hollywood is the work of entertainers. And for me, the true lessons come from the former and not the latter.

[@gregorywright4918]

Sadly, though, for the vast majority of the population, the only "lessons" they get that they remember come from the latter...

[@mnlivestreaming6713]

LMAO - your redeeming feature of 'Pearl Harbour' is Kate Beckinsale - absolutely true!!! :)

[@grizzlygrizzle]

Unfortunately, no one could adequately compensate for Ben Afleck.

[@saenole66]

Great episode. Many films mentioned as worth watching were unknown to me and now i plan to watch. I report with pride to Bill that my daughter-in-law Kirstin is a Captain in the Marine Corps and Naval Academy graduate. She has just secured a posting to be an instructor at the Naval Academy. They are closing on a home in Annapolis today.

[@DannyKaffee]

Operation Petticoat is my Pacific war movie guilty pleasure. As ridiculous as it is, it always puts a smile on my face when I watch it. Two thumbs up for Joan O'Brien and Dina Merrill!

[@chrisschanbacher9061]

I agree! "We sank a truck!" Combined with Cary Grant's expression is one of the best scenes out there!

[@gradychowan6777]

Wasn't Operation Petticoat about the service and sacrifice of Seaman Hornsby as he was facing his dangerous assignment?😀

[@bryanfields5563]

I kind of group it with "Father Goose", another Cary Grant war movie that doesn't put much focus on the war itself.

[@martygraw9708]

In confusion there is profit

[@jimporter6084]

The movie that was never made but should be made: Taffy 3 based on Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, especially now that cgi can show what it looks lile to be shot at by an 18in naval gun.

[@joeyartk]

My dad was on a CVE in Taffy 2.

[@klsc8510]

I agree. That is a story worthy of film!

[@gregorywright4918]

"Away All Boats" (1956) deserves honorable mention as a study in the loneliness of command, the desire to do the best with reduced circumstances, dealing with being passed over for "more glorious" front-line service, the importance of logistics, the horror of unstoppable kamikaze attack, and never giving up.

[@gregorywright4918]

And in the "Other" category, I'd nominate 1941, Father Goose, and Heaven Knows Mr Allison.

[@bigstevesnostalgiadragraci4240]

This is the one podcast that I look for every Tuesday morning. Grew up an Air Force brat, dad fought in Korea, my uncles were both US Army combat vets of Europe. Both were Purple Heart recipients, one awarded the Silver Star (we are not sure why, because he would never, ever talk about it) during action near St. Vith in the Bulge where his unit was almost completely destroyed. Love history! And you guys present it in an entertaining and informational way! Should be required viewing for all young folks!

[@doughart2720]

I'm glad you guys are taking a break. There is such a thing as vicarious PTSD.

[@josepheilerman4000]

This was great. Like you, I also needed a break after the harsh realities of the Marianas Campaign. I’m a retired history teacher who’s Dad (ETO)and Uncles (2 in PTO and 1 in ETO)were all WWII veterans who all suffered from PTSD. I really respect and have recommended your pod cast to all my fiends and family. Thank you for your hard work.

[@c7042]

Don't worry about it. We are not going anywhere. Take your break and take your time. We appreciate so much what you are doing for us.

[@ronbyers9912]

One day decades ago I watched Sands of Iwo Jima with my dad. At one point as TBMs flew over, he sat up and said ther is my plane. I said that was the kind of plane you were in. He responded, "no that is my plane, I remember the tail number."

[@knutdergroe9757]

Two years ago, I was watching old news reel footage of the battle of Palau. And about halfway through, They show Chesty Puller and Jerry Thomas. They both say something to a shirtless MARINE. The shirtless MARINE is my Father. My father was very close to General Jerry Thomas (the only MARINE to go from Private to four star General and have every rank between). Dad died in 2005, and did not talk alot about the war. Even to me after my war and two tours in the CORPS. But he never really left Palau.

[@McFFMICP]

Nice change of pace--enjoyable to watch as usual. You guys deserve a break yet you choose to entertain and educate us instead--THANKS! I was surprised though that 3 movies were omitted--(1)"A Wing and a Prayer" (2) "Frogmen" and (3) "Away All Boats". Not sure of the historical accuracy of any of them but #3 is my personal 'Pacific' favorite.

[@elizabethhappel6438]

I am a voracious reader of Ww2 history. Your podcast is a wonderful addition to my education. But I love love LOVE this one about the movies! Can't wait to see some of the oldies I didn't know about. I'm really looking forward to your book recommendations as ones you've mentioned in podcasts I've really enjoyed. I appreciate you both...this is some of the best the internet has to offer. -Elizabeth Happel

[@RobertPaskulovich-fz1th]

It seems you are an avid reader of books about WWII.

[@bloodworthmagic]

While going to submarine school in 1977, I saw Destination Tokyo and Torpedo Run among others at the Dealy Center Theater. Seeing these movies in a theater on a large screen, made a huge emotional impact on me. They are some of my strongest memories while attending submarine school. After the movie, I would stop and look at the WWII submarine battle flags on display In the Theater.

[@todd.r.5990]

Like you Seth. The 1976 midway was my gateway into war movies and after I read my first war book “Rendezvous at Midway” which lead to a lifetime love of war history books. Also like you I could never get into “the thin red line” no matter how hard I tried

[@Robbie_GC]

Love this episode. I know it's an Atlantic movie but Enemy Below holds a special place in my heart because my grandfather was a carpenter's mate on a DE in the Atlantic during WWII.

[@expertmarksman16]

You forgot Windtalkers on the trash list. Love Bill’s take on Mister Robert’s!! Couldn’t agree more. I’d like to add a recommendation with “Too Young the Hero” about the 12 year-old sailor on SoDak, Calvin Graham. I’d be interested in your take on Too Late the Hero, about the Brits, as well. Well done as always! Two flags up.

[@vincentbergman4451]

“Damn you Joe Enders” is all I remember from Windtalkers 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@klsc8510]

One of my favorite WWII Pacific movies is "Away All Boats". I am a bit surprised it wasn't mentioned.

[@cragnamorra]

Yeah that's a great one. And it does get overlooked...lol, which is oddly if sadly symmetrical since it's about the equally-overlooked Gator Navy (amphibs).

[@brushhogg1]

I voted for it too, in comments up above. I really did like the movie

[@stuartwilson4705]

Thin Red Line is my personal favourite, I know its controversial, but I love it. I also quite like Guadalcanal Diary! Guilty pleasure. Flags of our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima also excellent.

[@DannyKaffee]

I'd love to have Thin Red Line edited into a normal war movie. The Terrance Malick written existential voice-overs severely detracted from the movie.

[@Gregolec]

@@DannyKaffee I actually thought it felt in some way consisted with spirit of Jones' book. Attack on village with Zimmer's music for me is especially a war-immersing piece.

[@chrislondo2683]

@@Gregolec, that’s the one thing I love about Thin Red Line is Zimmer’s score.

[@vincentbergman4451]

I loved TRL, I enjoyed it more than SPR Filmed on Guadalcanal, and was a different type of war movie It’s not the best movie, but I consider it to be damn good movie.

[@xflyingtiger]

Thanks! You guys are awesome. My dad flew B29s off Guam. My uncle died near Manila during the recapture of that town in 1945.

[@allenwand5577]

😂Oh Bill. You got me today. “ You’ve wasted another perfectly good hour listening to car talk”. Haha My dad and I listened ever Saturday together. Good memories. Thanks for what you do fellas!!

[@seanhall8686]

I found a CD of "The Best of Car Talk" at a yard sale many years ago for 25 cents. When I listened to it, it opened with something to the effect of "You are listening to The Best of Car Talk, which you probably bought at a yard sale for 25 cents."

[@garybrignell1831]

That was so amusing. Thanks guys . What a gem this Podcast is

[@bobkohl6779]

Air Force was directed by Howard Hawks. Good look at Early B-17s. Tora Tora Tora is one of the best for historical accuracy. Earnie Borgnine was a sweetheart in real life. He re-enlisted in the Navy when WW II started

[@rfreitas1949]

Air Force is one of my favorites

[@seanquigley3605]

Air Force is awesome! Even today.

[@sneakerset]

Paul Mantz was Warner Bros. chief pilot on "Air Force". I don't know if he was flying the beach ditching scene near the movie's end, but his asking price for a belly landing - "12 O'Clock High" - was reportedly $5,000.

[@uberduberdave]

Air Force was interesting in that it was a propaganda film for the Army Air Forces and, for many reasons, it tried to make out the the Japanese out to be poor pilots who would run from a fight unless they had superior numbers. James Brown, who played Lt Rader, claims a Japanese delivery driver had tried to cut him off as the sister one of the B-17 crewmen was driving him to the airfield and then blasted at them with a shotgun. The colonel at Hickham Air base points wrecked P-40s saying another Japanese delivery driver went down the row of fighters, smashing the tails so they couldn't take off. It turned out that there was never any proof that Japanese Americans ever did any sabotage at all. I'm glad they made the film though, I've watched it several times lately because I'm in the process of building the Academy B-17D.

[@PeteOtton]

@@uberduberdave The only sabotage was done by General Short. While I'm slightly equivocal about how much Kimmel was responsible for the unpreparedness of the Navy at Pearl Harbor, General Short was nothing short of gross negligence.

[@michaelwolf564]

Seth and Bill - you 2 are crazy with a great sense of humour. Agree that you and we needed a change of pace. As film critics you are both absolutely fantastic. Two films my wife and I ALWAYS watch when they are on are Mr Roberts and Operation Petticoat...classics. Our tastes are about 1 degree apart. Great episode and waiting for 319. Best series on You Tube. keep them coming

[@jesscarver9882]

😂 Hey Bill! It's, " We got ourselves a real mother lovin', gut bustin' Navy War!"

[@jesscarver9882]

*lovin'*

[@tadwilliams8403]

I'm an American living in Germany and a Desert Storm veteran (U.S. Army Military Police). I've raised four kids here and, having remarried to a beautiful Filipina, have resurrected my huge love for history! My wife and I run a channel: Franci & Tad here in our area. But my real goal has been to find out more of what happened on the other side of the world in the Pacific. My excitement, naturally, has only been growing stronger the closer that you two reach the Philippines. Just know that since we are watching from a foreign country doesn't automatically mean that we are foreigners, just expats.... lol Take care and God Bless. Franci & Tad

[@fredferd965]

I had never heard of The Gallant Hours! That opening/closing scene, the men singing, Halsey/Cagney being rowed ashore....THANK YOU!!!!! THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!

[@mhsvz6735]

Thank you guys for a great series. Learning a lot with a few laughs (and tears), along the way.

[@uberduberdave]

I used to have Direct TV, and I nearly exclusively watched TCM, I love movies that are older than I am. I truly loved TCM's war movie marathons on Memorial Day and Veteran's Day, the late, great Bob Osborn would open most of the featured movies with details of the filming, directors and actors in those films. I had a DVR and a DVD recorder, so I made copies of dozens of movies, I even got my niece hooked on watching Charlie Chaplain's silent movies. I've seen every one of the movies mentioned here multiple times, excepting those made in this century. I have to second "Away All Boats," "Father Goose," and "Heaven Knows Mr Allison," and I'm compelled to add "The Wackiest Ship in the Army." (1960) A note about "Father Goose," although it's a comedy, the part where Walter Eckland is taking Catherine Freneau and seven school girls across the open ocean at night in a tiny outboard motor boat and is passed by two Japanese destroyers running at high speed, nearly swamping their boat, is pretty danged spooky. "The Wackiest Ship in the Army" starred Jack Lemmon and Ricky Nelson as two Navy officers who were assigned the task of training a crew of sailors to disguise a racing sloop as a native sail boat in order to deliver a replacement coast watcher to an island where the coast watcher had gone off the air. It's a comedy, but it has its serious side too. A good portion of the movie is spent with Nelson trying to convince Jack Lemmon to accept the job, at one point, Ricky Nelson shows off his singing talent at the officer's club singing "I Miss New Orleans" with Jack Lemmon at the piano. The coast watcher was played by an Australian actor with the coolest name ever, Chips Rafferty. I'm a John Wayne fan too, Nelson had just come from making the movie "Rio Bravo," with Wayne and a 20 something Angie Dickinson, I'm guessing Seth has seen that one a few times himself. Shortly after making "The Wackiest Ship in the Army," Nelson dropped the holdover Ricky from his "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" days and went with Rick, focusing on his singing career. I loved "Dive Bomber" and "The Caine Mutiny" also, and have to mention Fred MacMurray. Later on, MacMurray starred with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine in "The Apartment." He played a womanizing jerk in that movie, but had done a bunch of Disney flicks and the original Mister Nice Guy on "My Three Sons," he said he got a ton of fan mail begging him to never play such a nasty guy like that again. It seems fans had forgotten that he'd played a skunk in "The Caine Mutiny." Since "Some Like it Hot" got a mention, I must toss in Jack Lemmon in "How to Murder Your Wife." Not a war movie by any stretch of the imagination, but a must see movie. Lastly, I must give a shout out to the most fun war movie ever made, "Kelly's Heroes." Yeah, I know it's not a Pacific war flick, but I'm willing to bet it's on every "real man's" favorite list. When I saw the episode about the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, and the radio issues talked about in it, my first thought was of Carroll O'Connor's character general Colt trying to listen to Kelly's radio transmissions when Colonel Booker says "they're hard to hear, it has something to do with the ionosphere." and Colt replies "well get the ionosphere the hell off the air and get them on!" I've seen "Kelly's Heroes" so many times, I can nearly quote the entire dialog by heart... "I told you to bring me a good looking kid, not some fat sausage chewing wino!" This was a fun to listen to podcast, all the best to everyone. Dave

[@markzaugg4688]

Way back when I was in high school in the mid-80's, one of the TV stations from Spokane played war movies on Saturday afternoons. Some of those movies have stuck with me through my life, some have been long forgotten, and some of those old movies are all scrambled in my head. I can't remember if I'm mixing up movies or mixing up history and movies, or if the movies mixed up the history, or probably all three. Some of those movies were a lot and they were just too much for me, others have inspired me as much as they've inspired you. The absolutely minimum here for me to express is that I massively appreciate all of the history, all of the stories, and building on the memories and inspiration from some years long ago. Thanks, Seth and Bill, this is another meaningful episode even with a different concept. I'm going to hit each and every recommendation here again, I can not wait to see some of these anew and I'm positive there will be a few I haven't seen before! It's going to be a good month ahead.

[@carlthorpe5538]

May I add another great film to your list - one that covers another aspect of the pacific war.. the logistics, in particular the support vessels... This film is 'Away All Boats' with Jeff Chandler (1956) about an Amphibious Attack Transport ship...

[@klsc8510]

I added this one too.

[@RobPhelps-y5i]

That was fun guys and a nice break for many of us watchers I would imagine. Great job as always gents!! Seth - I was so happy you had Operation Petticoat, it's a favorite fun WWII movie for me and when I saw the topic for this week I said out loud there was no way anyone had that movie on their list.

[@slickp51redtail]

Wings of Eagles-the Duke again..."gonna move that big toe"...hits home with difficulties walking thank you guys for what you do

[@christopherqueen3194]

My grandfather, my mother’s dad, came to the US from Germany in 1906 with my great grandparents. He lied about his age to join the Navy for WW1. In WW2, being in his late 30s, he volunteered and served in the Navy as a Seabee. He was at Iwo Jima during the battle. My Mom told me that after the war he would brew his own beer and when the corks started popping off the bottles he would disappear from the family for several days at a time. I think us grandkids helped him to start to get past some of this. I was quite young when he died of bone cancer, but I always remember him as a gentle, old man.

[@stevensparks3126]

Five Came Back was great on several fronts. Those directors had what Hollywood lacks now. Men, this was a great episode !

[@chuckyufarley2999]

Seth gets an A for his Cary Grant impression, A+ for his Tony Curtis impersonating Cary Grant Impression.

[@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar]

Ha. Thanks

[@slimeydon]

My father was a Pacific veteran, he went to go see Empire of the sun when it came out because he was sent to Shangai to take their surrender after the war ended instead of invading Japan. He came back crying. He was on Iwo Jima and at Okinawa, when I was a kid, he always wanted to watch Sands of Iwo Jima , but wouldnt go see Flags, not because he thought it was bad, he was near the end of his life then. The movie Mr Roberts was my gateway drug into being a history nerd, I watched it and then read the book which my father had a copy of, along with many other books about the Pacific war and the rest as they say is history. I take Flags and Letters for what they are, movie adaptions from books, they didnt know about the mistakes with the flag raisers yet, though I do agree that Letters really glossed over how horrible the Japanese were to their prisoners. One that doesnt get mentioned often enough is the British Mini series Tenko, which is about women prisoners of the Japanese after the fall of Malaya and Singapore.

[@rfreitas1949]

China Marine? They have interesting stories to tell

[@slimeydon]

@@rfreitas1949 Navy. I know he was back in the states by 46 because that’s when he started his career as a printer

[@yaya8261]

Thanks for the change of pace.

[@josephgilorma6979]

Great episode. I agree with most of your lists. As a native Philadelphian I always liked Pride of the Marines. A more obscure movie, but nonetheless a great film is So Proudly We Hail. It's about the nurses during the seige of the Phillipines.

[@chriswatts2096]

No time was waisted here gentlemen. Binge watching in my future.

[@Silverhks]

I really enjoyed this relaxed episode. It's always fun to hear others opinions of historical movies

[@calebmccoy9685]

One WW2 Pacific movie that, and I think this is underselling it, absolutely haunted me watching it was an animated movie from Japan that was made in the late 1980s called Grave of the Fireflies. It's about a young boy trying to be an adult and take care of his baby sister while Tokyo is being firebombed. It is heavily critical of the Japanese government for putting it's citizens in that situation and is absolutely tragic. Highly recommended.

[@Telefiend]

I recommended that one too, glad someone else did. Everyone should see that movie. It's one of the saddest movies I have ever seen but definitely shows some of the true costs of war.

[@SamAlley-l9j]

Thank you Bill and Seth.

[@slickp51redtail]

Another great show fellas...They Were Expendable tops my list as well. Btw as i recall, they selling feature on the 1976 Midway was it had Sensurround! Cheers

[@richardlewis4288]

Sure would be great to have Pacific Flicks Pt2! An unexpected golden episode🇺🇸 24:07

[@denniswiemer72]

Thanks, have seen a number of these movies over the years. What, no mention of "Victory At Sea?" grew up watching that series and "World At War" every week in the 60s-70s.

[@klsc8510]

Great Catch!!!! Plus the music is 5 Stars. I love Guadalcanal March. To me it is the finest concert march ever written.

[@jimwatts914]

Great show guys. Loved the banter, mostly agreed with your opinions. Your show and WW2TV are my KZbin main buddies. Carry on.

[@steel5791]

After your intro to "Five Came Back" I immediately went to Netflix to watch it. I'm still a bit breathless and will be for a while. What a great recommendation to start this episode. After I catch my breath, you better believe that I'll be back to catch the rest of your choices.

[@tracyfriend3454]

I have always been a WW2 enthusiast from a very young age. I Love your channel. I recently watch "Best Years of Our Lives", a recommendation from a buddy I served with. Wow it's everything you got through readjusting after coming home and or getting out. I am retired from the Army, all my career was I was in the infantry and I can relate to the movie. After 4 combat deployments, that movie hit's home like nothing I have ever read or seeing. Thanks for you guys for all you do!

[@rfreitas1949]

A favorite . The ride home in the nose of the bomber is 4 stars

[@lisamiller6112]

This movie had me sobbing. It is so good.

[@Stew-kv8nw]

This was an exceptionally entertaining episode. My only ask is that in some forthcoming episode- when you need another break- is to rip apart The Pearl Harbor movie bit by bit. Looking forward to the follow up Book episode

[@ph89787]

36:10. Don't let Drach hear you praise the Emmerich Midway. He hates it with a passion of 1000 suns.

[@danasmith3288]

"He hates it with the passion of a thousand suns." Ah, spoken like a true Irish man.

[@gregorywright4918]

I think his hatred has to do a lot with the FX, where they have like a dozen Yamato class instead of accurate cruisers and destroyers escorting the carriers. Someone just did cut-and-paste from WoW for their effects.

[@ph89787]

@@gregorywright4918 that and he got drunk by the time of Coral Sea.

[@jeffholloway3882]

​@@gregorywright4918and, all the usn screening cruisers was Northamptons, and the sinking Lexington was a Yorktown class, which I didn't like either.

[@StylinandProfilinBBsandBBQ]

Drach isn’t perfect.

[@jamesa702]

This presentation was awesome, top notch and light hearted. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@bwehfug]

Loved the 5 came back. So powerful. Glad it made your list.

[@haveUSPwilltravel]

There needs to be an aloha shirt made in Jon’s wallpaper pattern. I’d buy it!

[@cragnamorra]

Isn't there already? Isn't that the shirt which Jon usually wears sitting in front of that wallpaper? 😛

[@theironherder]

Jon did not make a casual, off-hand, original comparison with "Godzilla stepping on Bambi". I'm only a few minutes in, but there doesn't seem to be any mention of the actual, honest to goodness, short (1:34 or so) film "Bambi meets Godzilla" by Marv Newland, which I saw in a movie theater in 1973, I was surprised and stunned because Godzilla does indeed "step on Bambi". Not PTSD stunned, but I've never forgotten that.

[@terrylawrence7498]

As always. Great topic. Going to look for the ones I've not seen. Love this show. Right on Seth and Cpt . Balls o iron.

[@williamharvey8895]

I found "The Gallant Hour" only 3 months ago. Awesome movie. Also, another prewar movie to watch is "here comes the navy" filmed aboard the uss Arizona. It also shows top Naval technology of 1935.

[@Chief-Solarize]

Seth I did a deep dive into a comment you made a while back. When you mentioned SoDak blowing her scout planes into the ocean! Man I gotta admit that's some awesome concussive force but I didnt realize how bad that entire battle was was SoDak. She got hammered dude. Thx Seth Thx Skipper The both of you are ultra high quality Americans.

[@lancewallace3680]

Gentlemen you have now combined two of my favorite subjects: History (specifically WWII History), and movies. I would have loved to been sitting in a room (I know you two are several states away from each other) with you two and participated in the discussion. We would have agreed on much, disagreed on some, but we would have had fun. When ever the subject matter gets a bit heavy, I would welcome another episode like this to lighten the load. Thanks again for a good episode. PS I would love to see you guys be the technical advisor on the definitive WWII Submarine movie, based on one of the great Submarine Skippers that you two have discussed.

[@JoeDomSal]

I'm late to your podcast and I love it. I don't know if you're still checking these but you just mentioned Battleground. My dad was a combat infantryman in the 83rd ID. He was in a heavy weapons platoon and stayed with the unit from landing to the end of the war, Bronze star recipient. Like all vets he never talked about his experiences, but he said Battleground was the most realistic war movie he ever saw. I kow James Whitmore was a marine vet from the Pacific.

[@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar]

@@JoeDomSal welcome aboard. Best WW2 movie ever made. Hands down.

[@gravitypronepart2201]

Seth, great call on "Dive Bomber". I was stationed at North Island twice, so that was fun. Also, it showed the developmentof some early ALSS gear; Oxygen systems g suits. I was a PR in tbe Navy so that was really cool too.

[@tallhair]

Love In Harms Way and From Here To Eternity Bill. Definitely agree.

[@robertbufkin5568]

Thanks!

[@stuweiss-zi9rc]

On the documentary front, “The Eleven” and “Fighting Lady” (which you did briefly mention) provide a lot of insight into carrier ops/personnel. I look forward to Tuesday mornings for your new episodes.

[@stretch9952]

The episode is one of the most enjoyable of your series that I have seen. At one time or another, I have seen nearly all of these, though a couple I failed to finish. A couple of observations, 1) From Here To Eternity was taken from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name by James Jones, who was a pre-war infantryman in the US 25th Infantry Division stationed at Schofield Barracks at Pearl Harbor. Jones would subsequently serve at Guadalcanal. His memories of WWII are absolutely worth the read. The characters are drawn from the US Army "lifers" (notice the preponderance of older Sargents in the film) he met there. The Caine Mutiny was released in 1954, which likely means its screen play and production were begun in 1953. The destroyer used in the film was a "Gleaves" class destroyer., the predecessor of the Fletcher Class. And absolute applause for your appreciation of "Best Years Of Our Lives". One you do not mention is Objective Burma, from 1945., ostensibly about a Merrill's Marauders type US Army infiltration force. It includes some memorable trench dialog.... "What did you do in civilian life?"..."I was an architect."......"Make any money at it?" ...."Nah!"....Somethings never change.

[@AdamMisnik]

"Tora, Tora, Tora" is probably the best WWII Pacific War movie of all time with a surprising amount of good history for a movie. "In Harms Way" is brilliant but because of all of the adult content it was always cut to pieces on TV. If you can see the full movie it is worth it. Balderdash!!! The 1970's "Midway" movie is excellent. It was based on the then understanding of what happened at the battle and is a good depiction of Jack Fletcher and Raymond Spruance. The Japanese girlfriend is a fairly small part of the movie. She was added because the internment of the Japanese Americans was coming into the news at the time, and the romance was a ploy to get women to come and see the movie. Heck they even added a girlfriend for Charlie Heston in the TV version for the same reason. Considering what you forgive in older movies I don't understand your reaction to this movie. "The Great Raid" & "King Rat", are both very good. For something completely different try an Australian movie, "The Highest Honor". The negative reaction to "Letters from Iwo Jima" / "Flags of My Father" is a bit overblown but I also don't understand the praise of 2019 "Midway" either. The 2019 "Midway" was a hyper-dramatic piece of... up there with "Pearl Harbor" and "Red Tails". "Thin Red Line" is just silly weirdness. Fun show but looking forward to getting back to the war.

[@danasmith3288]

Really appreciated John Ford, the Searchers and Operation Petticoat.

[@SuperNetSpyder]

I listened to car talk when I was young and my parents would have it on NPR. What a blast from the past

[@richardvernon317]

Missed a couple that I enjoyed as a kid, Halls of Montezuma and Away All Boats.

[@ycloon]

Thank you, Seth and Bill. Greatly appreciate the movie recommendations !

[@Chevelle602]

Great episode guys. This was a fun one.

[@stephenm2951]

Perhaps the most REALISTIC movie;relevant to actual naval combat;THE CRUEL SEA!!. Truly gut/heart wrenching.

[@wkbigfish]

As usual another excellent podcast. I always get a smile when the discussion turns to Submarines as Bill perks up { understandably so }. Thanks Bill for your service. Good list of movies as Ive seen nearly them all and some many times. Your assessment of Pearl Harbor is spot on.

[@tmcmsail1]

My dad was a SWO on a pacific tin can in the 50’s and 60’s - he loved in harms way and run silent, run deep.

[@thomasbernecky2078]

That was fun to watch, thanks for this. Repeat as needed for mental health reasons. There's obviously a crying for more accurate and realistic Pacific Naval War films. Start writing, 2 good pages a day will do it in a year.

[@frankrosati6403]

A good change of pace. Very entertaining.

[@AdmiralYeti8042]

This episode was a good palette cleanser coming down from Forager. Btw, I took my son to see Midway the night it opened back in 2019, and we’ve been touring museum ships together ever since. Also after having read Shattered Sword I can’t help but notice John Parshall’s fingerprints on that movie as far as how the Japanese are portrayed.

[@tonyd8721]

Very enlightening discussion and review. In Harms Way and the Expendable was reason I went in the Navy in the 60’s.

[@ronbyers9912]

"Five Came Back" is one of my favorite documentaries of all time.

[@ronehall]

I loved this topic! Being a submariner, I collect and watch all submariner movies and Documentaries. One correction for Bill, Tora, Tora, Tora was filmed in the late 1960s, not mid 1970s. The reason I know is that my earliest memories of living in Aiea, overlooking Pearl Harbor, were to plumes of black smoke. As a 3 or 4 year old, I didn’t know at the time what was happening. I obviously learned soon afterwards.

[@randallkuehnle8228]

Best history series i have ever watched..... cant wait till your next and the next and so on.

[@garymackey850]

Just started the stream....so not sure where they will end up on the list....but I absolutely love In Harm's Way and Up Periscope...there I said it!

[@jagsdomain203]

The Raid was a fantastic film. I read both books it was based on and it was the same. Fantasic movie

[@bobkohl6779]

Battleground is epic. Huge fight to get it made. Writer was a vet and so were the Screaming Eagle vets of the Battle of the Bulge. Also the drill instructor who taught the razzle-dazzle Marching is in the movie. Hugely profitable when it was released, 5 million. They did have a 3 week boot camp before it was made

[@Jccarlton1400]

One movie that you didn't mention, but is worth watching is "Away All Boats." Growing up it came up on Saturday TV when I was growing up.

[@MrJerowski]

Really enjoyed this special episode. And huge thanks for listing all the movies in the description! But: Is there any way to find Captain Toti's list of 42 submarine movie tropes mentioned? I seem to be unable to find it anywhere... 😢

[@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar]

Bill responding: From my review of Das Boot (2018) on IMDB: "Das Boot" on Hulu: Please Abandon This Ship. Rated 2-stars out of 10 29 June 2019 - 13 out of 27 users found this review helpful. As a submariner, an aficionado of submarine movies, and someone who loved Wolfgang Petersen's original film, I was really looking to the limited series of "Das Boot." Petersen's film is one of my favorites. Really gave voice to the gritty, stinky, unpleasant, fear-stricken reality of a submarine in combat. Because there is just so more depth you can go into with a miniseries that you can't cover in even a 2-hour feature film, I expected the limited series to be a remarkable experience. But over the first four episodes of this series (the point at which I finally had to stop watching), the show crossed from merely bad filmmaking, into the realm of egregious, outrageous nonsense. Where it crossed the line: by grossly misinforming viewers, the majority of whom are unaware and ignorant of World War II history and events, of some of the most significant events in the European theater of operations. For example, the only American character in this European Union-made drama is a distinguished American citizen who is actually a war profiteer secretly selling the Nazis equipment in order to finance his ambitions to be president. So, in part, a movie about U-boats turns itself into an opportunity to sneer at the nation that liberated Europe. This plot point crossed the line from merely being a dramatic device to outrageously offensive crap. Draw your own conclusions as to the truth of such a message, but it outrages me. If you think my reading of that message is over the top, then I'll just tick off a few of the hundreds of the tired cliches that make this a bad fit of melodrama masquerading as suspense: Unproven officer trying to live up to his hero-father's legacy? Check. Mutinous XO trying at every turn to undercut his unproven captain? Check Melodramatic backstory of Gestapo officer trying to woo French citizen by proving he's just a normal guy forced to uphold the orders of those evil men back in Berlin? Check. Communist partisan power female figure who chain-smokes cigarettes while embarrassing the male partisans into action? Check. Second partisan female who is captured in perhaps the stupidest, most canned bit of police action you can ever imagine, then goes to prison and endures relentless torture protecting the identity of "the guys," eventually volunteering to die rather than snitch? Check. Gratuitous violence against women? Check. De rigueur scene where torpedo breaks loose in torpedo room critically injuring a sailor? Check. German sailor who gets a Jewish girl pregnant and has to get fake American passports to get her out of the country, a scene straight out of Casablanca? Check. Sailor actors leaning into nonexistent wind while supposedly steaming at Ahead Full on the surface, but are really bobbing up and down on a fake submarine that's dead-in-the-water, going nowhere? Check. Nearly everyone understands and speaks English when it's advantageous for the story for them to do so, but otherwise speaks only in subtitled German? Check. The Getsapo officer and the German Navy Commodore break into English whenever they are alone with each other, while neither can actually speak French, the country that they have occupied and in which they live? Check. The misunderstood Nazi who is really a nice guy but is merely following orders from those evil dudes in Berlin? Check. (There must have been a couple million nice guy Nazis merely following orders during that war by my count.) The Nazi sympathizer whose eyes are opened in response to insidious action by the Nazis, eventually turning her into a Partisan? (I didn't actually stay with the program long enough to confirm that she does, but that's where her obvious trajectory is taking her, so Check.) The jack-booted Nazi who thinks those cowardly, traitorous dudes back in Berlin aren't pushing hard enough to win the war? Check. The happy, cheerful French house of ill repute with welcoming kind-hearted French women, who say they are merely allowing the jack-booted, women-beating German soldiers to "have a good time?" Check. The prisoner exchange of an American who has an audacious, affected, over-the-top New York accent, the kind you only hear in movies? Check. The "it was a setup!" prisoner exchange on an American ship that somehow couldn't have anticipated that the German submarine would be able to sink them if the exchange didn't go as planned, and are "shocked shocked" that the bad Germans would ever do such a thing, forcing the Americans to do what they actually committed to do? Check. The partisans who have dialogs where one side speaks nothing but English while the other side responds with nothing but French, like C3PO dialoging with R2D2? Check. The captain who is held out as a coward by his crew when he decides to actually follow orders to disengage from battle and instead carry out a special operation of great importance to the defense of Germany? Check. The captain who, when a sailor somehow fails to die after being shot by a firing squad, pulls out a Lugar and shoots the kid himself? Check. Oh, I could go on. But I won't. I've given up watching the thing. I had to GIVE THE BOOT to "Das Boot"

[@MrJerowski]

@@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar Thank you very much for the reply (and it was indeed the fun read I was hoping it would be, contrary to the tv show ;-D ). And I couldn't agree more with your high praises for the original movie "Das Boot" - and the backstory how director Petersen literally "tortured" the actors on set (more or less) in Bavaria is quite interesting too. Also, thanks for giving Operation Petticoat a place on your list 😊

[@RobertPaskulovich-fz1th]

I have an Arisaka Type-99 my Father brought home to Detroit from the Pacific, including the bayonet.

[@jetdriver]

The full quote from In Harms Way is one of my all time favorite movie lines. “Old Rock of ages. We got ourselves another war. A gut bustin mother lovin Navy war.” Absolutely Epic.