rohanaka

Hello Jack... and thank you so much for this very nice chance to discuss They Were Expendable... I have some other comments regarding a totally different subject that I will post in a moment... but I want to make this post in reply to you (and others) first... Great use of screencaps to make your points, little lady. And I really like your insight into Montgomery and Wayne's characters... One of the things that caught my attention right away about this story is how DIFFERENT it is from other "Duke" films... he is more or less a "supporting character" through a lot of the story here... for a good portion toward the end he takes center stage. It was an interesting aspect to his "persona" to see him play this part so believably... he is usually so "commanding". I liked how Montgomery's character kept bringing up to him (whenever he (Duke) would try to have things his own way) something like... "Are you in this for yourself.. or for some other reason" I know that is not the exact quote... but that's more or less what he said.... It was a great "tether" to help keep the man tied to the mission. And Jack...I went back into a previous post you made elsewhere (around New Years) and reread some of your comments because you always have such great insight into HOW the film was made and HOW it relates to the telling of the story... Your comments about the angles and the close ups were even more interesting in the light of actually getting to see what you were saying for myself. And the whole "closeup" thing is what really got me.. I know you and April and several other more "learned" people on here have said things about Ford using "door frames" to shoot through... In this film it seem like he framed a lot of his faces... with doors, windows, wreckage... even the frame of the beds. It was an interesting way of "capturing" the moment... almost like pouring over an old photo album... I really found this to add to the emotion of the story... which for me is REALLY one of the more surprising aspects of this film... How sentimental it all is at times. This movie has some VERY emotional moments for me.. The young boys...(soft drinks and milk and all) and the way they looked up to the older men. And the way the older men looked after the "kids". Though each and every man had his own distinct personality, it really captured the whole "brothers in arms" idea very well.. "Mini Spoiler" And I liked how Ward Bond's character reacts to the news that there would only be enough seats for Wayne and Montgomery on the airplane out of there at the end... and also the way "rank" did not play a part a little later as to who left or who stayed...when the two "lost" men showed up to claim their seats on the plane as well. So in the end it seemed that for the greater good... EVERYONE was expendable... One of the most emotional aspects of this film really was a HUGE surprise for me... My dad was in the army when I was growing up and he went to Vietnam TWICE... He was w/ the Engineers building roads and maintaining motor pool stuff, etc... and though he never was in actual combat... the fighting was all around him. I was too young to remember the first time he went, but I was 5 when he came back home from the second tour... and for whatever reason... (though I don't usually see a resemblance) The Duke looked an awful lot like my daddy did when he came home that time... same hair cut, same slim build w/ the BROAD shoulders.... same white t-shirt and dogtags... same khaki colored uniform.. That was 40 years ago, but I SWEAR I will never forget how "bigger than life" he looked back then... and this film really brought that all home for me...very unexpectedly. And THAT is all I can say about THAT... as it is STILL very emotional for me to even think about it now... Thanks again Jackie for bringing this one up way back a couple of months ago... and again today as well. (PS... Fxreyman... and Chris too... thanks for the "history" behind the history...surrounding the time and also the filming of the story.. VERY cool! Reyman... I had never heard ANY of that before... what a nice treat to put this all in context.)

I don't know why, but I have always sort of avoided this movie... and I mean it when I say I don't know why... (who can know the inner workings of my whacko mind? ha) Maybe will check it out sometime. :-)

I've never seen Norma Rae ... and I never heard that song before either.... very melancholy!

Bruce Baldwin Oh my golly, Miss G... I just watched that the other night!!! HA!!!! I totally forgot that was his last name!!! :-) I wouldn't put any construction paper over him either....but I MIGHT put some over his MOTHER! Ha.

THANK YOU!!! (I never knew that was a variety of apple... ha.) Until you posted that, THIS was the only other Baldwin I could think of that I wouldn't want to cover over w/ a BIG piece of construction paper... :-)

EEWWW BARB!!!!! UGH.... ICK... Blech... (I know.. so Kathy... tell us how you REALLY feel. Ha) Now I am going to have to get TWO pieces of contruction paper... one for the TV and one for my computer... Ha.

Congrats to Patful. And again.. well done everybody. Great job, Chris... I knew you could do it! :-)

I think I've finally got this hat thing figured out HA!!!!! NOW we know the REAL history of the big round white HAT!!! Message was edited by: rohanaka

A short one: Ah yes, I knew your people, Sean. Your grandfather... he died in Australia.... in a penal colony

Your memory is almost as bad as mine Probably worse. HA! My dad has several hats that all have silly sayings on them.. (again w/ another hat post... ha!) My favorite one is: "My job is so secret even +I+ don't know what I am doing" ;-) But my NEXT favorite one after THAT is: "When your memory goes... FORGET IT!" (probably the story of my life lately.) HA!

Sig Ruman ("Dutchy") Allyn Joslyn("Les" Ha. Good thing you put their names on there.... I wouldn't have known them! (duh) (PS... Dutchy DOES look rather "Harvey Korman-ish" ) :-)

And what do you think you're doing?

But it is exactly my feeling that Cary could look good NO MATTER WHAT...... He usually had a way of making even the "ridiculous" look suave and debonair... (all except maybe that "WAC" uniform. ha.) Ok... back to "Barranca". ..

Hiya Wendy.. My favorite "look" for CG isn't necessarily about his wardrobe....more about his "Look" Ha I LOVE his screwball comedies... He could really make a face! Ha. Arsenic and Old Lace is my favorite film for him of all... And at least he also got to "look" good in that one too. Ha. Ok... this film...NOT his best LOOK here: HA! Probably the film where I think he looked his "BEST" (appearance wise) overall... Let's face it... he gets roughed up, stuffed into a train "sleeper" berth, kicked around, run down by an airplane, and even ends up dangling off the end of a giant president's nose.... and STILL manages to LOOK "mahvelous" the whole entire time... not too many guys could carry THAT off! :-)

Hiya Jack... His head is too square to get away with that shape hat. If they had just tweaked it a little, forming a brim on the side like Cagney's, it wqould have been much better. It might have helped anyway... ha. Perhaps someone got nervous that his character was too dark, and that no one would understand that he was a good guy after all? Talk about an OVERSTATEMENT. :-) He looks great, but the suit looks awful. Did Adrian spend his whole budget on Kate, thus making it impossible to afford a collar for poor Cary? You got me there!! Another one of life's hidden wardrobe mysteries!!! Ha. :-)

Now THAT is a hat!!!

I wonder what Richard Barthelmess would have looked like in that hat HA!!! THAT would have been a whole different movie to be sure!!! PS..if he didn't look any better in the big white hat... maybe he could borrow some of the other WHACKO hats I posted!!! Ha. (how about something from the "HATari" collection. ha.

Wow...I was just sitting here thinking...it has been a solid week since I posted my first little ditty on here about Only Angels Have Wings... what a chat this has been. We certainly could go on from here a lot further... because there are still some interesting follow up discussions we could likely come up w/ regarding Geoff and Bonnie and the whole gang, I am sure. Anyone who has more to add should feel free... I just want to say that I am so pleased w/ the way you folks got into the spirit of this chat. We certainly have covered a lot of ground. I especially want to mention Frank Grimes and Molo... you two gents certainly have been setting the bar awfully high around here lately when it comes to quality rambling... As for me, I believe for the moment I have more or less "rambled" out on this thing... but I want to revisit just one last item here, if I may. And of course that would be....The whole "HAT" thing: First... a confession.... When I sat down to write my first little ramble on OAHW, I must admit I went looking for an "opener"... and the first thing that came to mind (of all things) was Cary Grant's hat. Ha. But I had NO idea that my little passing comment would cause such a "stir" :-) Now I know the hat has gotten a lot of support on here... different people like different things.... But HONESTLY... the STYLE of the hat is not what I was commenting on so much as how "whacko" that style (at least to me) seemed to look on Cary Grant. It is just NOT a hat that I think he wears well... Sad but true... I now officially have WAY too much time on my hands. :-) Because I looked into some of the comments others have made about big round white hats...and found several other film stars who have worn hats like this (or similar ones ) Some of the ones mentioned on here were Clark Cable in Gone with the Wind. (more of a gambler style though) and James Cagney in The Torrid Zone (more "panama" looking). I also found John Wayne sporting a big white hat in both The Searchers AND The Alamo. Rudolph Valentino has also been mentioned here as wearing a "gaucho" style (and I think that one may be the closest representation of the one worn in OAHW). I also thought of one more... a hat worn by Charleton Heston in The Naked Jungle...also very similar to Grant's hat as well... And so WHAT have I discovered about all these similar hats? Only this: They ALL look better on these other men than Cary Grant's hat looked on him... HA! Which brings me back to what I originally intended to say: I had nothing against the STYLE of hat except that it looked really WHACKO on CG. (but more on that in a moment.) Here are some BETTER hat choices I found for Cary Grant... and ANY of these are better than the big white thing... (ha) ;; And for some reason I thought I recalled Cary Grant wearing a TOP hat...but I searched and searched and could not find a picture of him wearing one... this was the closest I found: I even found him making a much bolder fashion statment than OAHW w/ this colorful choice (Ha) So as you can see... Cary COULD look good in a lot of different hats... but NOT necessarily the one in our movie here... so then I got to thinking on why THAT hat in THIS movie?? Ok... the "practical" aspect of being in the tropics came up in this discussion a couple of times... but I will comment on that a bit more in a moment... because all this "thought" on the hat also led me to do some study on Howard Hawks films in general... and you know what I discovered??? Howard Hawks had a LOT of whacko hat choices in his films... May I submit: (walter brennan never looked so tall) Ha. James Caan drew the short straw on hat day here. Ha. And sometimes...even the women got stuck w/ the whacko hat: However... I DID find many other really GOOD hat's in Hawks films. There are WAY too many to list here... but I will take the time to point out a couple.... Look...Gary Cooper is wearing Cary Grant?s hat: (ha!) And then finally... I found THIS little hat... something that I would like to submit as the REAL best choice for Grant as Geoff Carter... because he ALSO wore this hat in the film we are discussing here... AND (sorry Ms.Cutter) THIS one is the hat he wore IN THE RAIN!! (I remember it well because it kept dripping water all over poor Thomas Mitchell during the big "death scene" ... very distracting. ha.) I think THIS hat (more of a fedora style) looks terrific on Cary Grant... And so now we are at the root of the whole issue... The BIG hat was not for "practical" purposes out there in the rain in the tropics (as we have just discovered) but rather... it was all for show... Grant had to portray Geoff Carter a certain way...he had to be bold... he had to be brash.. he had to "stand out" from the rest of the men in this film as "head honcho, top dog...THE MAN"... ..(and MAYBE there was a little of that whole "hiding' business that Frank Grimes brought up too) hence... the BIG hat! But I still submit... as I did way back at the beginning of ALL this whole ramble... Cary Grant was a really good actor... He really did not need THAT much help! HA! Thanks for putting up w/ all my many ramblings folks... "HAT'S OFF" to all of you!! :-) PS..this just in... Thanks to very helpful source... Gary just gave back Cary's hat!!!!

we should start a special fund Sorry... you're on your own. I'm so poor, I can't pay attention.

Hello there "Grey Geoff" :-) I've never seen The Wizard of Oz all the way through WHAT???????????? You are lying to me, now. (and you call yourself an American??) The Wizard of Oz is THE MOST WATCHED classic film of all time.. even little kids who wouldn't know "classic" from the last episode of "Sesame Street" have watched The Wizard of Oz... WHAT am I going to do with you... Get thee to the Netflix and get yourself a copy of this thing and sit down and watch posthaste! And there is a possible "comparison" that could be made w/ Bonnie and "Feathers" I wouldn't say they are EXACTLY alike... but they do have some things in common. Now there's a nice little tease. All "teasing" aside... I think this film would be one you will enjoy a lot.. I want to watch it all the way through again soon myself after all this talk here...because I really can see some similarities in some of these characters. I always get the feeling when Bonnie gets off the boat that 'Tattoo' is going to ask 'Mr. Roarke,' "who is that?" And Roarke would say, "That's Bonnie Lee from Brooklyn. She thinks she knows men but she's in for an eye-opening experience." HA!!! I love it! An accurate portrayal of WHO she really is and what is about to happen to her.. AND a great send up to a classic tv favorite all rolled into one!! (I can just hear "Tattoo" now... "De Plane...De Plane!!!" But as life in Barranca starts to reveal itself, she goes from knowing to wanting to know. Geoff is different and Barranca is different. She can't get on that boat. Too many questions need answers, especially the one in her heart. Again with the mushy "LOVE" talk... where is Frank Grimes and WHAT have you done with him???? HA! Gone With the Wind? That's the trashiest film of all time! It has too much sex, violence, and foul language in it. My tender eyes and ears can only take so much! Gone With the What? Ohhh, I meant to say, Cape Fear. Geoff's tearful scene is similar to "Max Cady's." YEAH... Like THAT's ever gonna happen. HA!

Aw Thanks Chris.. but I know... it's really just a "shameless plug" for my whole "hat vote" campaign. Ha. :-)

Hey there, Movieman!! Such a great read has required me to find this ASAP but by then you guys will be on to something else Hey... no worries... It is never too late for a good ramble, and I know you would have some interesting things to say... Watch it when you can and then pop in here for a chat, if you would.... I'd look forward to your take on all of this. (PS.. it is on youtube, so you could watch it a little at a time if you can't find it anywhere else) As far as the hat goes, as a fashion statement I find it lacking but as a practical piece of gear it is probably indispensable. How is that for waffling? (I think a good fedora would be nice.) Oh for pity's sake...the last time I saw a waffle like that, I had to ask somebody to pass me the syrup. HA!. I have been doing some deep investigative "study" of this whole "hat' thing. I still have some thoughts on it, but I am working out a theory and I am not ready to "spout" about it yet...I have to actually watch a couple of more movies myself first...or at least do some "scanning" anyway... So you still have PLENTY of time to cast a REAL vote... (without the whole "breakfast food angle) ha. :-) All kidding aside, I know you are busy w/ your contest right now, but I hope you do get a chance to watch sometime and will let us know your thoughts on everything. (PS...Cinemafan... Your comments would be most welcome too... no need to stop w/ just the hat!) :-)

52 Jean Arthur: "I'm looking for Cary Grant... we are supposed to be going to a "Dopey Looking Hat' Party together... I can't WAIT to see what HE'S going to be wearing."

they cahn be pretty scary, Lots of things can be scary... but only if you let them get to you. ramb le about it in the westerns section I think way back some time ago there was a ramble on this one in there somewhere, but being so new here, I am sure you wouldn't know this. And since this is a big enough board..there is always room for one more ramble, I am sure.

Hi Ms. Cutter. I am really looking forward to seeing THAHN.. I am not usually a big "Bogie" fan.. but this one comes pretty highly recommended and now reading this from you makes me even more certain I have been missing out on this one... I hope I can get it in at the library soon. :-) I like your comparison between the women in Ford's and Hawks' films. I am still a very "young" student of Ford (though I have enjoyed many of his films for a lot longer) but I have always noticed the "reverence" angle that he gives to women in general. Even the "fallen" women seem to have a higher place up on the ladder for him than you would see in other films by other directors. And though I know even less about Hawks than I do about Ford, I think you choose your wording just right... Ford is more about "reverence"...but w/ Hawks it is a "celebration". The Empire Strikes Back and the relationship in that film of Han Solo and Leia, we can thank Ms. Brackett (and a tip of the hat no doubt to Howard Hawks) for that one. That is an interesting connection. I LOVE the turn that The Empire Strikes Back ends up taking w/ Solo And Leia's characters... It makes sense to me now, but to my teenage mind (because I was only 15 or so when it first came out) it was VERY surprising to see her go for HIM instead of Luke... (but then of course the rest of the stories would have been MUCH different if THAT had happened..ha.) On the whole, she ended up a MUCH different character than the way I first had her pegged (in Star Wars)... but I think even George Lucas may have been at least a little surprised at how she eventually turned out in the end since I am sure he had NO idea what a huge snowball he was going to end up w/ when started the first film rolling down the hill way back when.