Sands of Iwo Jima
Encyclopedia
Sands of Iwo Jima is a 1949 war film
that follows a group of United States Marines
from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima
during World War II
. It stars John Wayne
, John Agar
, Adele Mara
and Forrest Tucker
. The movie was written by Harry Brown
and James Edward Grant
and directed by Allan Dwan
. It was produced by Republic Pictures
.
It was nominated for Academy Awards
for Best Actor in a Leading Role
(John Wayne), Best Film Editing
, Best Sound, Recording (Daniel J. Bloomberg) and Best Writing, Motion Picture Story
.
John Stryker (John Wayne) is greatly disliked by the men of his squad, particularly the combat replacements, for the rigorous training he puts them through. He is especially despised by Private Peter Conway (John Agar), the arrogant, college-educated son of an officer under whom Stryker served and admired, and Private Al Thomas (Forrest Tucker), who blames him for his demotion.
When Stryker leads his squad in the invasion of Tarawa
, the men begin to appreciate his methods, except Conway, who considers him brutal and unfeeling when he apparently abandons a wounded comrade to the enemy. During the battle, Thomas goofs off when he goes to get ammunition for two comrades, stopping to savor a cup of coffee. As a result, he returns too late — the two Marines, now out of ammunition, are overrun; Hellenpolis is killed, Bass badly wounded. When Stryker discovers the truth, he forces Thomas into a fistfight. This is seen by a passing officer, but Thomas unexpectedly gets Stryker out of trouble for hitting a subordinate by claiming that he was being taught judo
. His conscience ravaging him, Thomas breaks down and abjectly apologizes for his dereliction.
Stryker shows his soft side while on leave in Honolulu
. He picks up a bargirl
and goes to her apartment. He becomes suspicious when he hears somebody in the next room, but when he investigates, all he finds is a hungry baby boy she is supporting the best way she can. He gives the woman — the widow of a marine — all his money and leaves.
Later, during a training exercise, a recruit drops a live hand grenade
. Everybody drops to the ground, except Conway, who is distracted reading a letter from his wife. Stryker knocks him down, saving his life, and then proceeds to bawl him out.
Stryker's squad fights in the battle for Iwo Jima, witnessing the iconic flag raising
on Mount Suribachi. (The flag used was the actual one raised on Mount Suribachi after the battle. It was loaned by the U.S. Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia
.) Afterward, while the men are resting during a lull in the fighting, Stryker is killed by a sniper
. His men find a letter on him, addressed to his son, saying the things he wanted to say, but never got around to.
, Ira Hayes
and John Bradley
, the three survivors of the five Marines and one Navy
corpsman who raised the second flag on Mount Suribachi during the actual battle, appear briefly in the film just prior to the re-enactment. Hayes was also the subject of a film biography, The Outsider, and Bradley the subject of a book by his son James, Flags of Our Fathers
.
Also appearing as themselves are 1st Lt. Harold Schrier, who led the flag-raising patrol on Iwo Jima, Col. David M. Shoup
, later Commandant of the Marine Corps
and recipient of the Medal of Honor
at Tarawa, and Lt. Col. Henry P. "Jim" Crowe, commander of the 2nd Battalion 8th Marines at Tarawa, where he earned the U.S. Navy Cross
.
Southern rock
band Drive-By Truckers
has a song titled "The Sands of Iwo Jima" on its album The Dirty South
. It is sung from the perspective of a young boy who loves John Wayne movies. He asks his great-uncle, a World War II veteran, if The Sands of Iwo Jima represents the war properly; the old man smiles, shakes his head and responds, "I never saw John Wayne on the sands of Iwo Jima."
In the television show King of the Hill
, Sands is the favorite film of Cotton Hill
, father of main character Hank Hill
. Hank recalls that, during his childhood, his father would travel around Texas
searching for showings of this film.
The episode "Call of Silence" in season 2 of NCIS
references the film and a documentary as shared background to Marine history and legacy. The episode shows the character Timothy McGee
watching the documentary "To the Shores of Iwo Jima
" when Anthony DiNozzo
comes up and starts talking about the movie Sands of Iwo Jima since parts are from the documentary.
Several of the actors would be re-united in the 1970 western Chisum
. John Wayne, John Agar, Forrest Tucker, and Richard Jaeckel.
. Although the original use and implied meaning may be disputed, it typically described preparations for charging the M1 Garand
semi-automatic rifle by first locking the bolt back by pulling the charging handle rearward and then loading an 8-round en bloc clip into the now open magazine.
The phrase "lock and load" appears also in "Platoon", uttered by Tom Berenger. The phrase is also spoken in the pilot of the TV series "Tour of Duty" by Terrence Knox, who portrayed Staff Sergeant Zeke Anderson.
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
that follows a group of United States Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It stars John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, John Agar
John Agar
John George Agar was an American actor. He starred alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but was later relegated to B movies, such as Tarantula, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Flesh and the Spur, and Hand of Death...
, Adele Mara
Adele Mara
Adele Mara , born Adelaide Delgado, was an American actress, singer and dancer who appeared in films during the 1940s and 1950s. During the 1940s, the blond actress was also a popular pinup girl....
and Forrest Tucker
Forrest Tucker
Forrest Tucker was an American actor in both movies and television from the 1940s to the 1980s. Tucker, who stood 190 cm tall and weighed 93 kg , appeared in nearly 100 action films in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:Forrest Meredith Tucker was born in Plainfield, Indiana, a son of...
. The movie was written by Harry Brown
Harry Brown (writer)
Harry Peter McNab Brown, Jr. was an American poet, novelist and screenwriter.-Life:Born in Portland, Maine, he was educated at Harvard University, where he was friends with American poet, Robert Lowell...
and James Edward Grant
James Edward Grant
James Edward Grant was an American short story writer and screenwriter who contributed to more than fifty films between 1935 and 1971....
and directed by Allan Dwan
Allan Dwan
Allan Dwan was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:...
. It was produced by Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
.
It was nominated for Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(John Wayne), Best Film Editing
Academy Award for Film Editing
The Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
, Best Sound, Recording (Daniel J. Bloomberg) and Best Writing, Motion Picture Story
Academy Award for Best Story
The Academy Award for Best Story was an Academy Award given from the beginning of the Academy Awards until 1957, when it was eliminated in favor of the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay, which had been introduced in 1940.-1920s:...
.
Plot
Tough-as-nails career Marine SergeantSergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
John Stryker (John Wayne) is greatly disliked by the men of his squad, particularly the combat replacements, for the rigorous training he puts them through. He is especially despised by Private Peter Conway (John Agar), the arrogant, college-educated son of an officer under whom Stryker served and admired, and Private Al Thomas (Forrest Tucker), who blames him for his demotion.
When Stryker leads his squad in the invasion of Tarawa
Battle of Tarawa
The Battle of Tarawa, code named Operation Galvanic, was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II, largely fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region....
, the men begin to appreciate his methods, except Conway, who considers him brutal and unfeeling when he apparently abandons a wounded comrade to the enemy. During the battle, Thomas goofs off when he goes to get ammunition for two comrades, stopping to savor a cup of coffee. As a result, he returns too late — the two Marines, now out of ammunition, are overrun; Hellenpolis is killed, Bass badly wounded. When Stryker discovers the truth, he forces Thomas into a fistfight. This is seen by a passing officer, but Thomas unexpectedly gets Stryker out of trouble for hitting a subordinate by claiming that he was being taught judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
. His conscience ravaging him, Thomas breaks down and abjectly apologizes for his dereliction.
Stryker shows his soft side while on leave in Honolulu
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
. He picks up a bargirl
Bargirl
A bargirl is a woman who works as a hostess or dancer in bars to provide company or sexual services to patrons; the exact nature of services and varieties of bar varying by country/region. In most cases, these cater mostly to male clients, although in some cases women are also clients...
and goes to her apartment. He becomes suspicious when he hears somebody in the next room, but when he investigates, all he finds is a hungry baby boy she is supporting the best way she can. He gives the woman — the widow of a marine — all his money and leaves.
Later, during a training exercise, a recruit drops a live hand grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
. Everybody drops to the ground, except Conway, who is distracted reading a letter from his wife. Stryker knocks him down, saving his life, and then proceeds to bawl him out.
Stryker's squad fights in the battle for Iwo Jima, witnessing the iconic flag raising
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is a historic photograph taken on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal. It depicts five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the flag of the United States atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.The photograph was extremely...
on Mount Suribachi. (The flag used was the actual one raised on Mount Suribachi after the battle. It was loaned by the U.S. Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia
Quantico, Virginia
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there are 561 people, 295 households, and 107 families living in the town. The population density is . There are 359 housing units at an average density of .-Racial composition:...
.) Afterward, while the men are resting during a lull in the fighting, Stryker is killed by a sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
. His men find a letter on him, addressed to his son, saying the things he wanted to say, but never got around to.
Cast
- John WayneJohn WayneMarion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
as Sgt.SergeantSergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
John M. Stryker - John AgarJohn AgarJohn George Agar was an American actor. He starred alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but was later relegated to B movies, such as Tarantula, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Flesh and the Spur, and Hand of Death...
as PFCPrivate First ClassPrivate First Class is a military rank held by junior enlisted persons.- Singapore :The rank of Private First Class in the Singapore Armed Forces lies between the ranks of Private and Lance-Corporal . It is usually held by conscript soldiers midway through their national service term...
Peter Conway - Forrest TuckerForrest TuckerForrest Tucker was an American actor in both movies and television from the 1940s to the 1980s. Tucker, who stood 190 cm tall and weighed 93 kg , appeared in nearly 100 action films in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:Forrest Meredith Tucker was born in Plainfield, Indiana, a son of...
as PFC Al Thomas - Wally CassellWally CassellWally Cassell is an American character actor.- Biography :Castellano was born in Agrigento, Sicily, and moved with his family to the United States at the age of two....
as PFC Benny Regazzi - James BrownJames Brown (Rin Tin Tin)James E. Brown was an American film and TV actor best known for his role as Lieutenant Ripley "Rip" Masters in all 166 episodes of the 1954-1959 ABC Western television series, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin....
as PFC Charlie Bass - Richard WebbRichard Webb (actor)Richard Webb was a film, television and radio actor. He was born in Bloomington, Illinois.He appeared in more than fifty films, including many westerns and films noir including Out of the Past , Night Has a Thousand Eyes , I Was a Communist for the FBI and Carson City...
as PFC Dan Shipley - Arthur FranzArthur FranzArthur Franz was a B-movie actor whose most notable role was as Lieutenant, Junior Grade H. Paynter, Jr. in The Caine Mutiny. He also appeared in Roseanna McCoy , Invaders from Mars , Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man and The Unholy Wife , among others...
as CorporalCorporalCorporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
Robert Dunne / Narrator - James HoldenJames Holden (actor)James Holden was an American actor, best known for playing Clay Baker in the TV series Adventures in Paradise.- External links :*...
as PFC Soames - Peter Coe as PFC George Hellenpolis
- Richard JaeckelRichard JaeckelRichard Hanley Jaeckel was an American actor of film and television.-Life and career:Jaeckel was born in Long Beach, New York. A short, but tough guy, he played a variety of characters during his fifty years in movies & television and became one of Hollywood's best known character actors...
as PFC Frank Flynn - William MurphyWilliam Murphy (actor)William “Bill” Murphy is an American actor active from the 1940s through the 1970s.The eccentric actor was a long-time friend of John Wayne and Robert Mitchum and spent many nights together with Elvis Presley and his guys from the Memphis Mafia, and regarded Hollywood as an open invitation to party...
as PFC Eddie Flynn - George Tyne as PFC Harris
- Hal Baylor as PFC "Sky" Choynski
- Adele MaraAdele MaraAdele Mara , born Adelaide Delgado, was an American actress, singer and dancer who appeared in films during the 1940s and 1950s. During the 1940s, the blond actress was also a popular pinup girl....
as Allison Bromley - Julie BishopJulie Bishop (actress)Julie Bishop was an American film and television actress. She appeared in over 80 films between 1923 and 1957....
as Mary
Actual Marines
Rene GagnonRene Gagnon
Rene Arthur Gagnon was one of the U.S. Marines immortalized by Joe Rosenthal's famous World War II photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.-Early life:...
, Ira Hayes
Ira Hayes
Ira Hamilton Hayes was a Pima Native American and an American Marine who was one of the six men immortalized in the iconic photograph of the flag raising on Iwo Jima during World War II. Hayes was an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community in Sacaton, Arizona, and enlisted in the Marine...
and John Bradley
John Bradley (Iwo Jima)
John Henry "Jack" "Doc" Bradley was a United States Navy corpsman during World War II, and one of the six men who took part in raising the Flag on Iwo Jima...
, the three survivors of the five Marines and one Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
corpsman who raised the second flag on Mount Suribachi during the actual battle, appear briefly in the film just prior to the re-enactment. Hayes was also the subject of a film biography, The Outsider, and Bradley the subject of a book by his son James, Flags of Our Fathers
Flags of Our Fathers
Flags of Our Fathers is a New York Times bestselling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers about the five United States Marines and one United States Navy Corpsman who would eventually be made famous by Joe Rosenthal's lauded photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima, one of the costliest and...
.
Also appearing as themselves are 1st Lt. Harold Schrier, who led the flag-raising patrol on Iwo Jima, Col. David M. Shoup
David M. Shoup
General David Monroe Shoup, Hon. DSO was a World War II Medal of Honor recipient and the twenty-second Commandant of the United States Marine Corps . After his retirement, he was a vocal critic of the Vietnam War.-Early years:David Monroe Shoup was born on December 30, 1904 in Battle Ground, Indiana...
, later Commandant of the Marine Corps
Commandant of the Marine Corps
The Commandant of the Marine Corps is normally the highest ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...
and recipient of the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
at Tarawa, and Lt. Col. Henry P. "Jim" Crowe, commander of the 2nd Battalion 8th Marines at Tarawa, where he earned the U.S. Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
.
Later acknowledgements
Compared to most combat films of its time, Sands of Iwo Jima was fairly nuanced in its view of war and military people. Ironically, many references to it in mass media and popular culture depict it as the quintessential "flag-waving" World War II film. This may have less to do with the movie than with star John Wayne's later identification with conservative politics.Southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
band Drive-By Truckers
Drive-By Truckers
Drive-By Truckers are an alternative country/Southern rock band based in Athens, Georgia, though three out of six members are originally from The Shoals region of Northern Alabama, and the band strongly identifies with Alabama. Their music uses three guitars as well as bass, drums, and now...
has a song titled "The Sands of Iwo Jima" on its album The Dirty South
The Dirty South (album)
The Dirty South is the fifth album by Alabamian alternative country/Southern rock group Drive-By Truckers, released in 2004. The Dirty South is Drive-By Truckers' third concept album...
. It is sung from the perspective of a young boy who loves John Wayne movies. He asks his great-uncle, a World War II veteran, if The Sands of Iwo Jima represents the war properly; the old man smiles, shakes his head and responds, "I never saw John Wayne on the sands of Iwo Jima."
In the television show King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
, Sands is the favorite film of Cotton Hill
Cotton Hill
Colonel Cotton Lyndal Hill was an American fictional character in the animated series King of the Hill. He is the father of Hank Hill, Good Hank Hill or "G.H.", and Junichiro . He is also a World War II veteran who had his shins "blowed off by a Japanman's machine gun" in combat, and later had his...
, father of main character Hank Hill
Hank Hill
Henry Rutherford "Hank" Hill Age 50 animated series King of the Hill. Hank lives in Arlen, Texas and works at the fictional Strickland Propane selling propane and propane accessories. Hank's voice is provided by series creator Mike Judge. The Economist named Hank Hill as one of the wisest people...
. Hank recalls that, during his childhood, his father would travel around Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
searching for showings of this film.
The episode "Call of Silence" in season 2 of NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
references the film and a documentary as shared background to Marine history and legacy. The episode shows the character Timothy McGee
Timothy McGee
Timothy "Tim" McGee is a fictional character from the CBS television series NCIS. He is portrayed by Sean Murray. Timothy McGee is a special agent investigating crime in this police procedural show...
watching the documentary "To the Shores of Iwo Jima
To the Shores of Iwo Jima
To the Shores of Iwo Jima is a 1945 Kodachrome color short war film produced by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. It documents the Battle of Iwo Jima, and was the first time that American audiences saw in color the footage of the famous flag raising on Iwo Jima.-Overview:The...
" when Anthony DiNozzo
Anthony DiNozzo
Anthony "Tony" D. DiNozzo Jr. is a fictional character from the CBS TV series NCIS. He is portrayed by Michael Weatherly.-Background:Tony comes from a wealthy family from Long Island, New York. He is an only child, but has been cut off from his family's fortune. His mother, maiden name Paddington,...
comes up and starts talking about the movie Sands of Iwo Jima since parts are from the documentary.
Several of the actors would be re-united in the 1970 western Chisum
Chisum
Chisum is a 1970 Warner Bros. Technicolor western motion picture starring John Wayne, Forrest Tucker, Christopher George, Ben Johnson, Glenn Corbett, Geoffrey Deuel, Andrew Prine, Bruce Cabot, Patric Knowles, and Richard Jaeckel....
. John Wayne, John Agar, Forrest Tucker, and Richard Jaeckel.
Idiom
The first recorded use of the phrase "lock and load" is in this film: twice as a metaphor for "get ready to fight" and once as a humorous invitation to drink alcohol (get loaded). As a period term, it similarly appears in the more recent film Saving Private RyanSaving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
. Although the original use and implied meaning may be disputed, it typically described preparations for charging the M1 Garand
M1 Garand
The M1 Garand , was the first semi-automatic rifle to be generally issued to the infantry of any nation. Called "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General George S...
semi-automatic rifle by first locking the bolt back by pulling the charging handle rearward and then loading an 8-round en bloc clip into the now open magazine.
The phrase "lock and load" appears also in "Platoon", uttered by Tom Berenger. The phrase is also spoken in the pilot of the TV series "Tour of Duty" by Terrence Knox, who portrayed Staff Sergeant Zeke Anderson.