Story of G.I. Joe

"The mightiest action drama ever filmed !"

1945 1h 48m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 50

DramaWar

Synopsis

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War correspondent Ernie Pyle joins Company C, 18th Infantry as this American army unit fights its way across North Africa in World War II. He comes to know the soldiers and finds much human interest material for his readers back in the States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 2000.

“The mightiest action drama ever filmed !”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Burgess Meredith
Ernie Pyle
Robert Mitchum
Bill Walker
Freddie Steele
Sgt. Steve Warnicki
Wally Cassell
Pvt. Dondaro
Jimmy Lloyd
Pvt. Spencer
John R. Reilly
Pvt. Robert 'Wingless' Murphy
William Murphy
Private Mew
Dorothy Coonan Wellman
Nurse Lt. Elizabeth 'Red' Murphy (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: William A. Wellman
Writers: Philip Stevenson, Leopold Atlas, Guy Endore
Languages: Italian, 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

81 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by William A. Wellman, shot by Archie Stout. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum and Freddie Steele carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The mightiest action drama ever filmed !".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0038120 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 50 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

William A. Wellman directs. Archie Stout behind the camera. Albrecht Joseph cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Italian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

181 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, English.
3Directed by William A. Wellman, shot by Archie Stout. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Albrecht Joseph shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum and Freddie Steele carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The mightiest action drama ever filmed !".
7IMDB entry: tt0038120 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 50 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "journalist", "army", "italian", "world war ii".

The technical file

Cinematography: Archie Stout
Editing: Albrecht Joseph
Makeup / hair: Bud Westmore
Sound: Edward Nelson
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Story of G.I. Joe (1945)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

William A. Wellman

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-07-21
★ 7/10
A little like Australian wartime reporter Damien Parer, this story of a renowned American equivalent is also something that makes us realise just how perilous the job of correspondent really was. This film focuses on the segment of Ernie Pyle’s career when he (Burgess Meredith) joins an American company moving from North Africa to be at the vanguard of the invasion of Italy. He is paired up with Lt. Walker (Robert Mitchum) and across those gruesome theatres of war he reports honestly to his readers at home whilst befriending many of the war-weary soldiers. The production is interspersed with actuality which adds a richness to the engaging characterisations that illustrate really effectively just how ordinary these soldiers were, and therefore just how they reacted - each to their strengths and vulnerabilities - to the relentless onslaught and deprivations of war. These men are fighting tenaciously through the sand or the snow for every inch they can obtain, and this film doesn’t shy away from showing us the personal costs of war. Their enemies are well entrenched, well armed and ready for what is coming. Meredith himself fought in the war and presents a considered and personable performance of a brave and often sickened man, and he works well with an authentic looking Mitchum and a solid and small cast of supporters with whom Pyle became good friends. It’s not without it’s optimism, and there’s even a tiny bit of romance, but essentially it’s a grim indictment of a modern and indiscriminate conflict.

Production companies