Salute to the Marines
| Salute to the Marines | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Directed by | S. Sylvan Simon |
| Produced by | John W. Considine, Jr. |
| Written by | George Bruce |
| Starring | Wallace Beery |
| Distributed by | MGM |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Salute to the Marines is a 1943 Technicolor World War II propaganda war film drama from MGM, produced by John W. Considine, Jr., directed by S. Sylvan Simon, and starring Wallace Beery. The film co-stars Fay Bainter, Reginald Owen, Ray Collins, Keye Luke, and Marilyn Maxwell. Beery's older brother Noah Beery, Sr. also appears in the film. The film is set in the Philippines just prior to the beginning of the Pacific War.
After 30 years in the United States Marine Corps, NCO Sgt. Maj. William Bailey (Beery) is retired a few months prior to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.
When the Japanese invade the Philippines shortly thereafter, Bailey confronts and strangles a Nazi secret agent living among them, who is spreading pro-Japanese propaganda. The spy had posed as a pacifist until a devastating Japanese air attack caused many casualties against the unarmed civilians that Bailey had been living among along with his wife and daughter (Maxwell).
Bailey then takes command of the Filipino militia that he had earlier trained just prior to his retirement. They fight a series of delaying actions against a Japanese ground invasion force, slowing their attack, while waiting for the U.S. Marine island forces to arrive and counter-attack.
Later, while wearing his one time "dress blues" uniform jacket, he takes out an enemy machine gun emplacement as Marines blow up a vital bridge, halting the Japanese advance. Sgt. Major Bailey is suddenly killed by an air bombing attack after his heroic delaying actions have succeeded.
Years later at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, CA, Sgt. Major Bailey is posthumously awarded, by his former commander in the Philippines, the Corps' highest medal for valor. His daughter, now a sergeant in the Marine Corps, gratefully accepts the medal for her late father, as the entire base's assemble corps passes in review.
...
Wikipedia