They Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne, and featuring Donna Reed. The film is based on the 1942 book by William Lindsay White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese invasion during the Battle of the Philippines in World War II. While a work of fiction, the book was based on actual events and people. The characters John Brickley and Rusty Ryan are fictionalizations of the actual subjects, John D. Bulkeley and Robert Kelly, respectively. Both the film and the book, which was a best-seller and excerpted in Reader's Digest and Life, depict events that did not occur, but were believed to be real during the war; the film is noted for its verisimilitude.
Plot
In December 1941, Lt. John "Brick" Brickley leads a squadron of U.S. Navy PT boats, based at Cavite in the Philippines, in a demonstration of its capabilities, but the admiral in command is unimpressed. One of Brick's men, Lt. J.G. "Rusty" Ryan becomes disgusted and is writing his request for a transfer when news arrives of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Brickley and Ryan are frustrated for a time as they are assigned to mostly messenger duty. Eventually, their superiors send them to attack Japanese vessels. As they are about to leave on a mission to take on a large Japanese cruiser, Brick orders Rusty to the hospital when it is discovered that he has blood poisoning. At the hospital, Rusty begins a romance with Army nurse Sandy Davyss. Brick's boats sink the cruiser, after which the squadron meets with more and more success, though at the cost of both boats and men. But the American forces are fighting a losing battle, and it is only a matter of time before the Philippines fall. With the mounting Japanese onslaught against the doomed American garrisons at Bataan and Corregidor, the squadron is sent to evacuate General Douglas MacArthur, his family, and others. This done, they resume their attacks against the Japanese, who gradually whittle down the squadron. Crews without boats are sent to fight as infantry. Finally, the last boat is turned over to the Army for messenger duty. Brickley, Ryan and two ensigns are airlifted out on the last plane because the PT boats have proved their worth and they are needed stateside as trainers. The remaining enlisted men, led by Chief Mulcahey, are left behind to continue the fight with remnants of the U.S. Army and Filipino guerrillas.
Since the acquisition of the film rights of William L. White's They Were Expendable MGM sought Ford to direct a film based on the book; Ford continually refused due to his serving in the Navy Field Photographic Unit. During this time Ford met Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley during the preparation of the Normandy Invasion and later sighted Bulkeley's former executive officer Robert Montgomery on D-Day. According to Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz, Ford, a notoriously hard taskmaster, was especially hard on Wayne, who did not serve in the armed forces. During production, Ford fell from a scaffolding and broke his leg. He turned to Montgomery, who had actually commanded a PT boat, to temporarily take over for him as director. Montgomery did so well that within a few years he began directing films. The film, which received extensive support from the Navy Department, was shot in Key Biscayne, Florida and the Florida Keys. This region closely approximated the South West Pacific Theater. Actual U.S. Navy 80-foot Elco PT boats were used throughout filming, albeit re-marked with false hull numbers in use in late 1941 and early 1942. Additional U.S. naval aircraft from nearby naval air stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Key West were temporarily remarked and used to simulate Japanese aircraft in the film. Ford's onscreen directing credit reads, "Directed by John Ford, Captain U.S.N.R."; Frank Wead's onscreen credit reads: "Screenplay by Frank Wead Comdr. U.S.N., Ret"; Montgomery's onscreen credit reads: "Robert Montgomery Comdr. U.S.N.R."
