Alex da Silva The film starts with a ship full of marines in the South Pacific. They are bonding and joking around and you may well feel that this is a film about homosexuality and that it's actually called GuadalAnal Diary. Well, after the scene has been set, it actually turns into a war film. The cast of characters are assigned a mission and attack a Japanese occupied island. What lies ahead of them? This is based on a campaign that happened for real.It's a good film with memorable scenes including a platoon's total annihilation bar one soldier – Anthony Quinn (Soose) – who literally runs for his life. The most memorable character is probably William Bendix (Taxi), possibly because he is the loudest, but he provides an effective everyman speech as the end looks imminent for him and his comrades as they are holed up sheltering from a bombing campaign. The words are simple and they are followed by an "Amen" that is said by Lloyd Nolan (Hook) . I think it's Nolan – I can't remember. Someone says it though. It switches the scene from being potentially corny to being a moving episode.Definitely one of the best war films of this year (1943) along with "Hostages", "A Guy Named Joe", "Bataan", "The Adventures of Tartu", "Five Graves To Cairo", "The Strange Death of Adolph Hitler" and "The Silver Fleet". Check them out.

SimonJack "Guadalcanal Diary" came out smack dab in the middle of the U.S. fighting in WW II. It was made the year after the actual events portrayed in the film. It's based on a book by the same title, written by Richard Tregaskis. He was a war correspondent who covered the taking of Guadalcanal. One can appreciate this film for its reality and straightforward portrayal as written by the author. This was before Hollywood began to fantasize and over dramatize many of the battles and the war action in later films. The narration is a nice touch, with an actor representing the author who tells us about the story as it unfolds. Others have commented on the excellent cast. All actors did a superb job in portraying a bunch of American Marines who hadn't yet seen war and had no idea of what to expect. Onboard ship somewhere in the South Pacific, we see the men lying around and waiting and wondering. The usual hijinks and talk about girls back home, baseball and family take place. Finally, we see the naval bombardment, the beach landing unchallenged by the Japanese, and then the battles as the Marines move inland and route the enemy. Some other nice touches of realism are in the lines by various actors. Lloyd Nolan as Sgt. Hook Malone cautions the men about not going after Japanese souvenirs because they could be booby-trapped. Preston Foster as the chaplain, Father Donnelly, is a paternal figure for the men who will be right beside them in the first wave to hit the beach. Col. Grayson tells the men it will be a tedious, tough job to route the enemy, because the Japanese soldiers are tough. We see ordinary men fighting, getting wounded, and being killed – on both sides. When Army replacements arrive, the Marines welcome them. The battle action sequences are very realistic, and the movie makers must have received actual film footage of the naval bombardment from the Navy. It's very impressive. Some people quibble about racial slurs. We must remember that this film is an accurate portrayal of what really happened, and what it was like for and with our troops. Later modern sanitized films were scripted to be politically correct, but in the process they sacrificed some of the truth and realism of the times and events. Movie companies today put disclaimers on older films for various portrayals, especially regarding race and culture. They point out the inappropriate language, behavior or treatment of some people in the older films, by today's standards. And, they note that to expunge or change the film to eliminate such material after the fact, would be a denial of the facts and truth that such things had occurred in history as portrayed. Therefore, they have significant historical value in educating society about those times and behaviors of the past. This film is a must for any serious war film collection.

kngpanther Guadalcanal Diary is one of those rare films made during World War Two (1939-1945) that manages to show the audience what it was like for the men on the front lines, albeit not in the fashion of movies about this time that would be made years later. What really makes Guadalcanal Diary work and make it a classic, is the strong performances of its cast, mainly Preston Foster, Lloyd Nolan, William Bendix, Richard Conte, Anthony Quinn and Richard Jaeckel. The actors manage to convey the wide eyed wounder that many of the men had when going into battle for the first time, then how the grim reality of war changed them and the reality that not all of them may make it out alive.The later is best shown during the night attack by the Japanese air and naval forces. During the attack, Cpl. Aloysius "Taxi" Potts (William Bendix) gives a monologue in which he states that he is scared and doesn't care who hears him say it. "I can't tell them bombs to hit somewhere else." he says to his fellow Marines. During his speech, Potts states that this is all over his head and that its up to someone bigger then him. "Like I said before, it's up to somebody bigger than me, bigger than anybody. What I mean is I...I guess it's up to God. And I'm not kidding when I say I sure hope he knows how l feel. I'm not going to say I'm sorry for everything I've done. When you're scared like this, the first thing you do is start trying to square things. If I get out of this alive, I'll probably go out and do the same things all over again. The only thing I know is I didn't ask to get in this spot. And if we get it...and it sure looks that way now....then I only hope He figures we did the best we could and lets it go at that." This, along with Anthony Quinn's line "Its not so much dying, its having to sit here and take it!" really ram home what it was like for the men who fought at Guadalcanal. In the end, Guadalcanal Diary is a strong, character driven movie. At the same time, while the battle scenes are "clean" and the hardships endured by the Marines are not fully emphasized, the film still manages to show what it took for them to win this battle.

clman065 I just finished watching this film on AMC; I had not seen it in years.The movie features a fine cast of wartime actors such as Willliam Bendix as the obligatory wisecracker from Brooklyn, Anthony Quinn playing a Mexican American marine with a thick accent and Richard Jaeckel as the baby faced kid.Is it my imagination or was Richard Jaeckel in every war film of the era?Not a bad career-from Guadalcanal to Baywatch.Though the film has some historical inaccuracies it must be remember that it was made shortly after the real battle ended and did it's bit to keep wartime morale up.I enjoyed all that was realistic about the film; the real Grumman Wildcat fighters zooming over the beach, the fact that the marines were still equipped with Springfield bolt rifles. Compare the accuracy of this movie to the Thin Red Line where the soldiers are swimming with the natives and admiring the wildlife.