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Out of all the significant conflicts to occur throughout human history, there are few that have been as frequently recreated by the medium of film as World War II. Lasting from the late 1930s to the mid-1940’s, the number of WWII films that have been made over the years is too great to count, from “Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo” to “Saving Private Ryan” and several more in between. Why is this period so popular in filmmaking? Plenty of reasons: it’s a fairly recent conflict (at least compared to the Civil War and other older wars), the tension between the Allies and the Axis Powers is a basic enough representation of good and evil to craft a story around, and perhaps most prominently, it was the first war where films could recreate what was going on in the present day. One example of such a film: the 1943 war film “Gung Ho!”
Drawing inspiration from a real-life World War II battle, the Raid of Makin Island, the film follows Lieutenant Colonel Thorwald, a member of the United States army tasked with leading a raid against the Japanese army. He seeks volunteers for what is sure to be a dangerous mission, and those he recruits are far from what the ideal soldier looks like. Among those joining Thorwald are a hillbilly, a minister who attempts to keep his profession a secret, and a young Filipino man who seeks revenge against the Japanese army for murdering his sister. Thorwald may not be entirely satisfied with the individuals he has recruited, but despite their differences, the soldiers do prove capable of working with and learning from each other, and it isn’t long before that cameraderie is put to the ultimate test.
Judging by the film’s almost documentary-like style (even including stock footage of the war at various points), one might be mistaken to believe that actual soldiers are being depicted in this film. This is unfortunately not the case, but it’s a testament to how strong the actors are for one to be so easily misled. Playing the film’s leading protagonist, Lieutenant Colonel Thorwald, is long-time actor Randolph Scott, who has appeared in a variety of genres throughout his career but is probably best known for western films like “The Tall T” or “Ride the High Country”. Joining Scott in the cast are Rod Cameron as the hillbilly Private Rube Tedrow, Robert Mitchum as the boxer-turned-private “Pig-Iron” Matthews, and Grace McDonald as Kathleen Corrigan, a nurse assigned to Thorwald’s unit who becomes the object of affection to two of Thorwald’s recruits.
There are plenty of films to choose from when it comes to examining the grand conflict that was World War II, but “Gung Ho!” stands out among the rest as a film that was able to take directly from the war for its production. With a strong cast and the aesthetic of a documentary, this is the perfect film to help make one feel as if they are right there in the middle of the war itself. It’s amongst the best of films made during the War, and those interested can find the film on a wide variety of sites, including Epix, Tubi, and Amazon Prime.
