Halls of Montezuma

"The everlasting story of the everlasting glory of the UNITED STATES MARINES!"

1951 1h 53m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 44

WarDrama

Synopsis

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Richard Widmark leads an all star cast of marine leathernecks including Jack Palance, Robert Wagner, Karl Malden, Richard Boone and Jack Webb into battle on a heavily fortified island. This action-packed story follows the squad as they pick their way through enemy-infested jungles on a time sensitive mission to find the source of the enemy rockets. As the mission progresses, the squad and leader overcome many challenges as they are transformed into an effective and efficient fighting unit.

“The everlasting story of the everlasting glory of the UNITED STATES MARINES!”

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Cast

Richard Widmark
Lt. Carl Anderson
Jack Palance
Pigeon Lane
Reginald Gardiner
Sgt. Randolph Johnson
Robert Wagner
Coffman
Karl Malden
C.E. "Doc" Jones
Richard Hylton
Stuart Conroy
Richard Boone
Lt. Col. Gilfillan
Skip Homeier
Riley "Pretty Boy" Duncanon

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lewis Milestone
Writers: Michael Blankfort
Languages: Japanese, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

75 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lewis Milestone, shot by Harry Jackson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Sol Kaplan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor William Reynolds shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Richard Widmark and Jack Palance and Reginald Gardiner carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The everlasting story of the everlasting glory of the UNITED STATES MARINES!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0042539 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lewis Milestone directs. Harry Jackson behind the camera. Sol Kaplan scores. William Reynolds cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Japanese, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

175 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, English.
3Directed by Lewis Milestone, shot by Harry Jackson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Sol Kaplan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor William Reynolds shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Richard Widmark and Jack Palance and Reginald Gardiner carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The everlasting story of the everlasting glory of the UNITED STATES MARINES!".
8IMDB entry: tt0042539 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 44 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Harry Jackson
Original score: Sol Kaplan
Editing: William Reynolds
Makeup / hair: Thomas Tuttle
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Halls of Montezuma (1951)

Also by

Lewis Milestone

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-04-06
★ 7.5/10
From the Halls of Montezuma. To the Shores of Tripoli. U.S. Marines battle to take control of a Japanese held island in the Pacific… Directed by Lewis Milestone, Halls of Montezuma is unabashed in its flag waving paean to the U.S. Marines. With a strong ensemble cast to act out the play, Milestone intercuts real war footage with skilled recreations of the guts and glory mission undertaken by the men. Film is very keen to let us know what sort of men are fighting this war, keeping the characterisations intimate, it’s a roll call of the brave, the stupid, the scared and the insane. Flashbacks help fill in the gaps of the men’s psychological make ups, and the futility of war message is deftly handled by the astute director. Colour photography is glossy and impressive, even if it strips away some of the grittiness the story needs to thrive on, and the musical score is kept to a minimum and suitably deals in plays on army anthems. All told it’s a thoroughly engrossing and potent war movie and highly recommended to fans of such fare. 7.5/10

Production companies