Maddyclassicfilms So Proudly We Hail! is directed by Marc Sandrich and written by Allan Scott. The film stars Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake, Barbara Britton and George Reeves.This powerful film set and made during the Second World War focuses on army nurses. Soldiers get a lot of attention in real life and in films but the services and courage of frontline medical personal often gets overlooked. These doctors and nurses also put their lives at risk and try to save lives, mend broken bodies and try and heal the broken minds of wounded soldiers. They see horror just like the soldiers do and work so hard to bring comfort to the injured and dying.This film made at the height of the Second World War focuses on a group of American nurses lead by the strong Lt. Davison(Claudette Colbert). They are aboard ship on their way to Pearl Harbour when news of the attack there comes through, they are transferred to Bataan in the Philippines. The group of very different women become friends as they work together to try and do what they can to help the wounded and dying in the Philippines.For the time there's some very graphic scenes in this including the attack on the hospital in which a nurse is killed and the unforgettable moment where another nurse sacrifices herself so that her trapped colleagues get a chance to escape to safety.The film also shows how difficult it is for the nurses to deal with the horrors they face and how uncertain the safety of medical personal was just like that of the soldiers.The entire cast are superb but the standout performances for me are Paulette Goddard as the fun loving Joan, Claudette Colbert as the head nurse trying to look after her girls and the glamorous Veronica Lake as the traumatised Olivia, her storyline is very dark and truly unforgettable and Lake proves here what a good actress she was. George Reeves (the TV Superman)is good as a soldier who falls in love with Lt. Davison.

irish23 You pretty much know you're getting an heroic picture about Americans in battle when watching a war movie from 1943, so that helps set the stage up-front. The characters are idealized and thin, though certainly not as much as they could have been, and the pacing and narration don't quite hang together.This picture is best seen as a collection of stories, some of which are so disturbingly human that they must be true. Veronica Lake does an outstanding job in her role, which consists of little dialogue but tremendous meaning. Claudette Colbert is perfect in her role, as are many of the other actors. The two main male lead characters were almost painful to watch, with rotten dialogue and not much acting ability to pull it off. The overall messages of the film are a real eye-opener compared to the propaganda we hear today (2008) regarding America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Themes of compassion, tolerance, and "sentimental virtues" make one realize just how far we've fallen in the last 60 years. As others have commented, it was surprising and at times shocking to see how far the filmmakers went to expose the horrors of war and the many ways people respond to it. It was wonderful to see women of the same rank as men, and being portrayed as competent leaders and essential contributors. Courage and ingenuity shine through in memorable vignettes, reminding us that everyone near a war zone is affected by that war -- whether officially military or not.My only wish is that the overall picture held together better as a whole. It's definitely essential viewing for its historical value, but isn't a classic film on its own.

Debbie Thus movie is based on a true story taken from the book, "I Served On Bataan," written by nurse Juanita Hipps, a WWII nurse. She served in Bataan and Corrigedor during the time when McArthur withdrew to Australia. This unprecedented American withdrawal was a huge temporary defeat for our forces and ultimately led to the surrender of US and Philippine troops to Japan. Those prisoners of that surrender were the ones subjected to the infamous Bataan Death March.The action and pathos of this film feel real because they are based on real human beings faced with critical issues of life, death, hatred, love and courage in the face of fire.So worth your viewing time!

kenpat54 I saw this film when it first came out. I liked it then and I like it now. Some argue that its a little too heavy on the patriotism. But if you remember it was made at a time when we weren't sure how the war would come out, the context keeps patriotism in perspective. Back then most everyone supported the war effort and the doubters kept their doubts to themselves. There were virtually no families without at least one member in the service and most of the non-service people worked in defense jobs. "So Proudly We Hail" was a timely film when it was made and 60+ years later its message is still relevant as an historical event.