mark.waltz A cast of familiar actors (none of them stars) take you on a journey through the real horrors that is war. Imagine being the parent of a soldier in the South Pacific, unaware of what was going on other than what was permitted to be printed, and sitting in a movie theater during the middle of a world war and wonder if your boy would return home complete, minus a limb or in a box. Nearly 75 years later, numerous wars later, and countless deaths, these themes still resonate and the impact is still massive.Done in a semi-documentary style, this is powerfully narrated by ... and features a dozen or more familiar faces, yet as real as the home sprung young men who really were over there. MGM had "Bataan"; Paramount "Wake Island", and Warner Brothers "Destination Tokyo", and this 20th Century Fox historical documentation of a real battle, making it one of the very best of the hundreds of war films released up until the end of the war just two years later. Combination of slice of life and riveting action, this has a storyline (if not a fully fleshed out plot line) that probably packed the theaters each and every showing.Of the cast, Preston Foster (as the troop minister) was probably the best known at the time, with Anthony Quinn perhaps the biggest name to rise from this. William Bendix is the most memorable, totally bombastic as a good natured, if overly chatty Brooklyn native. Richard Conte, Lloyd Nolan, Lionel Stander and Richard Jaeckel are other familiar faces who each get moments to shine. The film shows them first relaxing on their way to their assignment, laying around on each other's shoulders and chests as they bond before battle. They deal with the unknown, the impact of killing a supposed enemy, and their own mortality. It's poetic and beautiful.

writers_reign Though I've never actually counted I'm willing to bet the farm that there have been at least four other films featuring Guadalcanal so I can justify my summary. However many there actually were they'd be hard pushed to eclipse this effort which has several things going for it; it was produced less than a year after the events it portrays and at a time when the war - in terms of US involvement - was more or less at the halfway point and to add to the authenticity it was based on a first-hand account - or, as Historians say - Primary Source material by war correspondent Richard Tregaskis. Throw in an excellent cast, none of whom was really a leading man but were the cream of supporting actors led by Lloyd Nolan, William Bendix and Preston Foster and the result is one of the finest of the First Wave of World War II movies.

Jeff (actionrating.com) See it – This war classic has plenty of action if that's what you're looking for. You might have to deal with some corny acting and screenplay. Also, this is one of the most racist war movies I've ever seen. The Japanese aren't even considered human. However, you realize this is all propaganda considering this movie was made mere months after the actual Battle of Guadalcanal ended! After watching it, I can see why it was so popular back in the day. Unfortunately, it may not have translated very well over the generations since. And the only household-name actor is Anthony Quinn. But some good combat scenes redeemed this one for me.

bkoganbing War correspondent Richard Tregaskis's memoir of the battle for the strategic island of Guadalcanal provides the basis of this film with a solid cast of players. Tregaskis himself is played unnamed in the film by Reed Hadley, who's rich narrative voice greatly enhances the film.Guadalcanal Diary unfortunately has not aged well. It was made the year after Guadalcanal, together with its key airfield Henderson Field was finally cleared of Japanese. It was a slow, steady war of attrition, on both land and sea. While this film concerns the Marines on the island, at sea our navy was battling with the Japanese Navy in what was euphemistically called 'the slot' which was a channel that bisected the Solomon chain neatly in half. Our Marines dealt not only with the Japanese on the ground, but from Naval bombardment from the Japanese Fleet whenever they snuck in. The Japanese positions were in the jungle and further in land and were less affected by off shore shelling from us.All the types you expect from World War II are there, the tough Marine sergeant Lloyd Nolan, the Marine from Brooklyn, where else, William Bendix, the young recruit, Richard Jaeckel in his first film playing a teenager when he actually was one. Preston Foster plays the Catholic chaplain, a wise and compassionate fellow who once played football for Notre Dame. It's a page out of Pat O'Brien's Father Duffy portrayal from The Fighting 69th and Foster is the best one in the film.Sad to say that the Marines do refer to the Japanese as less than human on a few occasions. It's why the film doesn't age well, especially after Clint Eastwood's latest films about the Pacific Theater.Guadalcanal Diary still is a good film for those who are fans of World War II films made in the World War II years.