evanston_dad "The Story of G.I. Joe" is a tribute to the anonymous grunts who made up the U.S. infantry during WWII. It's an odd film in many ways compared to other war movies of the time. It's light on the propaganda and morale boosting, and doesn't really even have a plot. It's rather an episodic series of vignettes that shows what a day in the life of an infantry soldier could consist of. It's even a bit surreal in the way that I imagine war can be, where one moment you're having a conversation about something mundane, the next moment you're dodging bullets and bombs, and the moment after that you're back to your mundane conversation. There's not a mission to anchor the plot, and there's no conclusion either. These guys just wander around, doing what they're told and never really seeming to be sure (or really care for that matter) what they're objective is. I imagine that also is very much the way war is for the average soldier.If you need main characters in your movies, I suppose those played by Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum will do, but this film isn't really about those two men any more than it is about any one of the other men. We get to know the soldiers the way another soldier in the company would, by one or two defining traits, not by any intimate knowledge of their inner lives. Makes it easier to say goodbye to them when they die.The always reliable William Wellman directed "The Story of G.I. Joe," and he gives it a realistic, newsreel look that's also very different from the usual studio sets of the era."G.I. Joe" was nominated for four Oscars in 1945: Best Supporting Actor (Mitchum), Best Screenplay, Best Dramatic or Comedy Score, and Best Original Song, for the short tune "Linda" that hauntingly is used in the film as part of a German radio broadcast designed to demoralize American troops.Grade: A

Benedito Dias Rodrigues Forget all those heroes in war movies that telling untruthful facts and things to the audience,this one is about a real guys with fears,dreams and hope to go back alive to their homes.they talk about your parents.brothers and girlfriends,but in war they meet death and hopeless,an old newspaperman as war correspondent played magnificent by Meredith follow them and wrote all those terrible happenings,Mitchum plays an ordinary Lieutenant which everybody trust,the infantry has a best good mascot a white little dog...touching picture!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.25

Thomas Fasulo The quote uttered by Captain Walker in the film,"The new kids that come up, that's what gets you. The new ones, some of them have just got a little fuzz on their faces. They don't know what its all about. Scared to death. You know, Ernie, I know it ain't my fault that they get killed, but it makes me feel like a murderer. I hate to look at 'em, the new kids." was based on something told to Ernie Pyle by Sergeant Buck Eversole of the 34th Infantry Division, as reported in a biography of Ernie Pyle in the book "Ernie's War: The Best of Ernie Pyle's World War II Dispatches." BTW: the story of "Captain Walker" as show in the movie was essentially true, even about how his men felt about his death, but the real captain was named Henry Waskow.

trwillett Don't understand the other writer's comment about it being 'endless mud.' Yeah, it was, and so was the war. The film shows the weariness, the dirt, the cold and--above all--the futility of war. To think we are still doing it...still sending men and women to lob bombs and bullets at each other...is unbearably sad.Mitchum is excellent as a battlefield-promoted leader. And Meredith is outstanding as Pyle--the actor conveyed the compassion of the correspondent with the lift of an eyebrow, a softly spoken word.This film should be seen in all high schools along with Battleground. Then let the students discuss what they saw and how it applies to today's situation.When will we ever stop throwing rocks/bombs/bullets at each other?