Guadalcanal Diary (film)

Guadalcanal Diary
1943 film poster
Directed by	Lewis Seiler
Produced by	Bryan Foy
Written by	Richard Tregaskis (book) Lamar Trotti (screenplay) Jerome Cady (adaptation)
Starring	Preston Foster Lloyd Nolan William Bendix Richard Conte Anthony Quinn Richard Jaeckel
Music by	David Buttolph
Cinematography	Charles G. Clarke ASC
Editing by	Fred Allen
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	October 27, 1943
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

1948 re-issue half-height poster

Guadalcanal Diary is a 1943 World War II war film starring Preston Foster, Lloyd Nolan, William Bendix, Richard Conte, Anthony Quinn and the film debut of Richard Jaeckel. It was directed by Lewis Seiler and based on the book of the same name by Richard Tregaskis.

The film recounts the fight of the United States Marines in the Battle of Guadalcanal, which occurred only a year before the movie's release. While the film has notable battle scenes, its primary focus is on the characters and back stories of the Marines.

The movie was produced by Bryan Foy, who also produced Berlin Correspondent (1942), Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas (1943), and PT 109 (1963).

Plot summary

Concentrating on the personal lives of those involved, a war correspondent takes us through the preparations, landing and initial campaign on Guadalcanal during WWII.

Cast

• Preston Foster as Father Donnelly
• Lloyd Nolan as Gunnery Sgt. Hook Malone
• William Bendix as Corporal Aloysius T. "Taxi" Potts
• Richard Conte as Captain Don Davis
• Anthony Quinn as Private Jesus "Soose" Alvarez
• Richard Jaeckel as Private Johnny "Chicken" Anderson
• Roy Roberts as Captain James Cross
• Minor Watson as Colonel Wallace E. Grayson
• Ralph Byrd as Ned Rowman
• Lionel Stander as Sergeant Butch
• Reed Hadley as War correspondent / Narrator
• John Archer as Lieutenant Thurmond

Production notes

• Production Dates: 14 May-late July 1943
• The majority of the film was shot on location at Camp Pendleton, near Oceanside, California. Many of the Marines stationed there were filmed while on maneuvers and a substantial number appeared in the picture in small speaking parts or as extras.
• The picture marked the screen debuts of stage actor Robert Rose and Richard Jaeckel, who was a studio messenger boy when he was cast in the production.
• On February 28, 1944, Foster, Bendix, Nolan and Jaeckel reprised their roles for the Lux Radio Theatre presentation of Guadalcanal Diary.

External links

• Guadalcanal Diary at the Internet Movie Database
• Guadalcanal Diary (film) at AllRovi
• Guadalcanal Diary at the TCM Movie Database
• Original movie trailer