Very Cool!!!

Truly Dreadful Film

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Calling this movie a propaganda film is no insult--it was released very shortly after the actual fall of Wake Islan and was an effective way to put a face on these doomed defenders and energize the people at home in the war effort. Since it was completed so quickly, the exact details of the final doomed days of the soldiers was a bit murky so the studio filled in the gaps with fictionalized accounts of this struggle.The film begins just before December 7, 1941 and the island is in the process of being turned into a military base. Civilian engineers and soldiers cover the barren island and they are unaware that they were directly in harm's way. Soon, the troops on the island would face invasion and annihilation.As I said, the individual accounts of heroism were fictionalized through the creation of some characters such as those played by William Bendix and Robert Preston (who seem like an old married couple with their banter) as well Albert Dekker (who, as usual, plays a loudmouth patriot), Brian Donlevy and Macdonald Carey. The acting was very effective even though by today's standards some of the stories seem a bit clichéd--they were perfect for the time.While far from one of the very best war films made during WWII, it was better than average and is well worth a look. Excellent quality and a rousing script make for a very good film.A final note because I am an aviation nut. I hated one part of the film--the aerial scenes were often bad, as monoplanes (with a single wing) often magically became biplanes in mid-air (with two wings). While I could forgive them making Japanese planes that looked nothing like the real thing, having them change so radically in mid-flight was unforgivable. Did they think the audiences wouldn't notice?

I'm a big fan of classic movies, but Wake Island is one of those buddy-buddy wartime films that doesn't quite fall into place for me. At the onset we're treated to a cast of M.A.S.H.-like characters with their pranks and foibles and stereotyped personalities, and the rest of the movie is basically combat. True to its age, Wake Island doesn't show any of the realism in warfare - typically we see the dirt get shot several feet in front of the actor and then the actor falls over - and we are treated to the overdone jingoism of the time. They've chosen the most uncharismatic actors to portray the Japanese and dress them up rather ridiculously. The actual history of the event is grossly misportrayed.Make no mistake, this is an entertaining hour and a half to be sure. But while the story is interesting and the acting is more than capable, this film could have benefited from twenty minutes more of character development and twenty minutes less of explosions. Though nominated for Best Picture, that award rightly went to The Magnificent Ambersons.

The film glorifies the American fighting spirit at its best: an isolated contingent of dedicated soldiers, cutoff, with no hope of rescue, resupply, or reinforcement. The movie is essentially factually correct, particularly the thwarting of the first Japanese attack by holding fire until the invading fleet was within a few thousand yards of the island. The film omits the fact that a large number of civilian construction workers and soldiers were captured, most to be sent on the "death march," some to remain behind as captive labor until the end of the war, and then summarily executed by their Jap captors. Neither does the film show the conscious decision by the Navy to abandon any attempt at rescue because of fear of another attack on Pearl Harbor. Too bad, they probably could have been saved. But, then we never would have heard of Wake Island.

While nowadays this may seem quite indistinguishable from the many flagwavers rushed into production in its day, at the time WAKE ISLAND was very well received garnering 4 major Academy Award nominations (Best Film, Best Direction, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor - William Bendix); true, the characters and situations are pretty stereotypical but even so, it is certainly well enough made and well-cast (Brian Donlevy, Macdonald Carey, Albert Dekker, Robert Preston, Walter Abel) to be remembered when WWII films are discussed. Once the Pearl Harbor attack gets underway, it becomes an engrossing and poignant depiction of men-in-war facing insurmountable odds; the downbeat ending was quite fresh at the time and seems to have led to a spate of similarly pessimistic WWII movies like BATAAN (1943), SAHARA (1943), THEY WERE EXPENDABLE (1945), etc.