Wake Island
by John Farrow
from Universal Studios
Wake Island, a sandbar rising 21 feet out of the South Pacific, was among the first U.S. outposts to be hit by the Japanese, virtually simultaneously with Pearl Harbor. Wake Island the movie was among Hollywood's earliest responses to America's being attacked and drawn into WWII. The Marine Corps defenders of Wake became instant war heroes, akin to the martyrs of the Alamo. Nothing could be done to rescue or even to reinforce and resupply them, and they fought on through air attacks and naval bombardment for two weeks until, finally overrun, they were wiped out.
That searing historical context had a lot to do with the movie's impact in 1942, and the sight of the dark forms of enemy planes coming over the horizon for the first time still carries a shock. Wake Island's a decent film, and it doesn't dishonor its subject with sham heroics and grandstanding. But the New York Film Critics voted John Farrow best director of 1942, and that's a reach. The first half hour sets up the allegory of America as melting pot (there's even a corporal named Goebbels), establishes horseplay as the coin of democratic discourse (especially for gyrenes Robert Preston and the Oscar-nominated William Bendix), and fosters familiar friction between new commander Brian Donlevy and civilian construction supervisor Albert Dekker. Then shortly after a beaming Japanese peace envoy has stopped by for dinner, things get rough. The scenes of warfare are more than adequate, but they'd soon be outdone, sometimes in films much less worthy than Wake Island. --Richard T. Jameson
WWII Movie Classics
by Roger Corman
from St. Clair Vision
Gung Ho
by Ray Enright
from Alpha Video
The treacherous sneak attack on Pearl Harbor was fresh on their minds...
Gung Ho! dramatically tells the story of the Second Marine Raider Battalion, the group formed six weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The battalion's purpose was to raid Japan
G-Men vs. The Black Dragon
by William Witney
from Cheezy Flicks Ent
- Spies! Intrigue! Action! Thrills!
- 15 Thrilling Action-Packed Episodes
- A Super Serial!
G-Man Rex Bennett (Rod Cameron) must seek out and destroy the deadly Black Dragon Society in this fast-moving, thrill-packed classic serial from Republic Pictures. This 15 episode saga of espionage and intrigue in wartime America is filled with oriental torture chambers, futuristic robot planes, and explosives-laden speedboats. Director William Witney and Special Effects Supervisor Howard Lydecker deliver non-stop thrills in all 15 action-packed episodes.
Salome Where She Danced
by Charles Lamont
from Reel Enterprises
The camp classic drama that catapolted De Carlo into stardom. During the Austrian-Prussian war, Anna Marie (De Carlo) is a dancer who is forced to flee her country after she is accused of being a spy. She ends up in a lawless western town in Arizona, where she uses her charms and dancing skills to transform herself into "Salome" during her dance routines. She makes such an impact on the town, eventually taming it, that they re-name the town "Salome, Where She Danced." Later on, she moves to San Francisco, where she meets a wealthy Russian man, seduces him, and has him build her her own opera house to perform in. Anna Marie spends her life manipulating one man after another to get what she wants, and they fall fall for her.
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50s Sci-Fi Double Feature: The Jungle/King Dinosaur
by Bert I. Gordon
from Vci Video
From Lippert Pictures two Sci-Fi adventures! King Dinosaur: Ten million miles away, astronauts discover another "earth" inhabited by huge animals, reptiles, dinosaurs, and a giant antisocial iguana. Bert I. Gordon special effects, too! From the original 35mm widescreen negative. The Jungle: A Princess, her advisor, and an American hunter trek deep into the jungles of India seeking the source of elephant raids on native villages. They soon discover that prehistoric wooly mammoths are running rogue over the natives! Filmed on location in India. From the original 35mm negative. First time on DVD. Bonus Features: Scene selection| Original theatrical trailers| Bios| Scenes censored from the British release| Sample pages from the original script, with director's notes| Marie Windsor Remembers "The Jungle" as told to Tom Weaver| Trivia| Photo Gallery: Theatre Lobby Cards| Behind the Scene Shots. Specs: DVD9; Dolby Digital; 132 minutes; B&W / Sepiatone; 1.85:1 / 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year -