GUNG HO is an American propaganda film about a battalion of marine raiders whose job is to capture a significant island from the Japanese during WWW2. The film follows a standard template; the first half is all about the training and characterisation of the men involved, while the second is all action as the troops put said training into action. The propaganda is most noticeable at the climax, in which a rousing speech promises that America will continue to stand proud and firm against its enemies.
For a low budget black and white production that looks cheap and dated, I thought this was pretty good; certainly up there with the '60s-era men-on-a-mission movie that had bigger budgets and better production techniques to recommend them. The training scenes are notably brutal although the story is dragged down early on by boring romance stuff, most notably a love triangle that goes nowhere and adds nothing. J. Carrol Naish and Robert Mitchum are two of the young recruits, while western star Randolph Scott does his square-jawed thing as their colonel.
The action is where this film hots up and it has a noticeably violent and ruthless edge. These guys spare no mercy for the Japanese, an enemy mainly made up of Filipino actors, and when they do try to be nice, it backfires. The usual gamut of heroism and heroic death ensues, along with genre tropes like the blowing up of the enemy base. The most imaginative bit is when a steam engine, of all things, is called into play. It's certainly exciting enough, and worth the build up.
For a low budget black and white production that looks cheap and dated, I thought this was pretty good; certainly up there with the '60s-era men-on-a-mission movie that had bigger budgets and better production techniques to recommend them. The training scenes are notably brutal although the story is dragged down early on by boring romance stuff, most notably a love triangle that goes nowhere and adds nothing. J. Carrol Naish and Robert Mitchum are two of the young recruits, while western star Randolph Scott does his square-jawed thing as their colonel.
The action is where this film hots up and it has a noticeably violent and ruthless edge. These guys spare no mercy for the Japanese, an enemy mainly made up of Filipino actors, and when they do try to be nice, it backfires. The usual gamut of heroism and heroic death ensues, along with genre tropes like the blowing up of the enemy base. The most imaginative bit is when a steam engine, of all things, is called into play. It's certainly exciting enough, and worth the build up.