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February 19 . . .
On this day in 1945, on a small island 650 miles from Tokyo, 30,000 Marines landed on the Japanese-occupied island of Iwo Jima in the Pacific. In the battle that followed, the Japanese were nearly decimated and Americans lost over two-thirds of their troops. After weeks of bloody fighting and staggering losses, the Marines finally took control of Mt. Suribachi. Four Marines raised the American flag, and AP photographer Joe Rosenthal snapped a photo that would become nearly mythic in its evocation of solidarity, teamwork and bravery. Rosenthal later admitted the photo had been staged.
The same could be said of John Wayne’s career as the quintessential, tough all-American soldier: It was pretty much staged. Contrary to popular opinion, John Wayne did not personally win World War II. He didn’t even fight in it. Unlike fellow Hollywood stars like Jimmy Stewart, Glenn Ford and Clark Gable, the Duke managed to avoid serving in the armed forces, preferring to do his patriotic duty on the comfy sound stages of Hollywood. Some say he did more for American morale by staying home; that’s one back-handed compliment to his abilities as an actor.
‘Sands of Iwo Jima’ (1949) is vintage Wayne (the film earned him his first Oscar nomination) and vintage WWII-era propaganda. As tough Marine Sgt. Stryker, Wayne is not one of the soldiers who raises the flag – he gets killed by a sniper’s bullet before it goes up, just as he’s lighting up a victory cigarette (and they said smoking those things wouldn’t kill you . . )
‘Sands of Iwo Jima’ is one of those quintessential pieces of patriotic agit-prop movies where all the ‘Japs’ are cartoon villains and all the American soldiers are straight and upright. It’s still undeniably entertaining in a simplistic, manipulative way – and a lesson in negative typecasting that should not be forgotten or forgiven. Directed by silent film veteran Alan Dwan.
On this day in 1945, on a small island 650 miles from Tokyo, 30,000 Marines landed on the Japanese-occupied island of Iwo Jima in the Pacific. In the battle that followed, the Japanese were nearly decimated and Americans lost over two-thirds of their troops. After weeks of bloody fighting and staggering losses, the Marines finally took control of Mt. Suribachi. Four Marines raised the American flag, and AP photographer Joe Rosenthal snapped a photo that would become nearly mythic in its evocation of solidarity, teamwork and bravery. Rosenthal later admitted the photo had been staged.
The same could be said of John Wayne’s career as the quintessential, tough all-American soldier: It was pretty much staged. Contrary to popular opinion, John Wayne did not personally win World War II. He didn’t even fight in it. Unlike fellow Hollywood stars like Jimmy Stewart, Glenn Ford and Clark Gable, the Duke managed to avoid serving in the armed forces, preferring to do his patriotic duty on the comfy sound stages of Hollywood. Some say he did more for American morale by staying home; that’s one back-handed compliment to his abilities as an actor.
‘Sands of Iwo Jima’ (1949) is vintage Wayne (the film earned him his first Oscar nomination) and vintage WWII-era propaganda. As tough Marine Sgt. Stryker, Wayne is not one of the soldiers who raises the flag – he gets killed by a sniper’s bullet before it goes up, just as he’s lighting up a victory cigarette (and they said smoking those things wouldn’t kill you . . )
‘Sands of Iwo Jima’ is one of those quintessential pieces of patriotic agit-prop movies where all the ‘Japs’ are cartoon villains and all the American soldiers are straight and upright. It’s still undeniably entertaining in a simplistic, manipulative way – and a lesson in negative typecasting that should not be forgotten or forgiven. Directed by silent film veteran Alan Dwan.
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