Halls of Montezuma (film)

Halls of Montezuma is a 1951 World War II war film starring Richard Widmark, Richard Boone, Jack Palance and Karl Malden. The film, which is about U.S. Marines fighting on a Japaneseheld island, was directed by Academy Awardwinner Lewis Milestone. It also starred Robert Wagner in his first credited screen role and featured Richard Boone in his feature film debut. Real color combat footage from the war in the Pacific was incorporated into the films cinematography.

During World War II, a Marine battalion prepares to land on a large Japaneseheld island in the Pacific. Lieutenant Colonel Gilfillan Richard Boone warns the men that it will be a tough mission, and that they have been ordered to take prisoners in order to gain information about the Japanese fortifications. Below deck, veteran Lieutenant Carl A. Anderson Richard Widmark, a chemistry teacher in civilian life, questions his former student, Corporal Stuart Conroy Richard Hylton, who complains that he is ill and cannot fight. Anderson assures him that he has shown courage before and can do so again. In the landing boat heading to shore, Navy corpsman C. E. Doc Jones Karl Malden is worried because Anderson has been suffering from psychological migraines for months. Anderson and his platoon have been fighting since Guadalcanal, and now only seven men remain of the original platoon. Although Doc urged Anderson to seek treatment in the United States, Anderson refuses to leave his men and has been relying on Doc to supply him with painkillers.The men hit the beach and successfully dig in, despite an initial burst of resistance. As four days pass, the seven oldtimers in Andersons platoon, including Doc, Pigeon Lane Jack Palance, Sergeant Zelenko Neville Brand, Slattery Bert Freed, Coffman Robert Wagner and the unstable Riley Pretty Boy Duncannon Skip Homeier, grow weary of the constant threat of hidden Japanese snipers. One day, the men try to take a ridge of hills, but are beaten back by Japanese rockets, which come as an unpleasant surprise to the commanding officers. When Coffman whom Anderson saved from drowning at Tarawa is killed, Anderson is forced to take some more of Docs pills. ........

Source: Wikipedia