Coming up on Saturday at the Described Movies: They Were Expendable, and Tarzan the Ape Man.
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http://www.mushroomfm.com/escape
From this Saturday at 12am Eastern, that’s 5pm Saturday in NZ, 2pm in Sydney and 5am in the UK, and repeated every four hours throughout the day, it’s the described movies They Were Expendable from 1945, and Tarzan the Ape Man from 1932.
They Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne, and featuring Donna Reed.
The film is based on the 1942 novel of the same name by William Lindsay White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a United States PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese invasion during the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42) in World War II.
While a work of fiction, the book was based on actual events and people.
The characters John Brickley (Montgomery) and Rusty Ryan (Wayne) are fictionalizations of PT-Boat Squadron Three Commander John D. Bulkeley, a Medal of Honour recipient, and his executive officer Robert Kelly, respectively.
Both the film and the book, which was a best-seller and excerpted in Reader's Digest and Life, depict certain combat-related events that were believed to have occurred during the war, alongside those which did not; nonetheless, the film is noted for its relatively accurate and detailed depiction of naval combat for the era in which it was made.
Directed by: John Ford.
Screenplay by: Frank Wead, and Jan Lustig.
Based on: They Were Expendable 1942 book by William Lindsay White.
Produced by: John Ford.
Starring: Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed, Jack Holt, and Ward Bond.
Cinematography: Joseph H. August.
Edited by: Douglass Biggs, and Frank E. Hull.
Music by: Herbert Stothart.
Production company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Distributed by: Loew's Inc.
Release date: 19 December 1945.
File Length: 135 minutes.
Country: United States.
Language: English.
Box office: $3,250,000 (US rentals).
Tarzan the Ape Man is a 1932 pre-Code American action-adventure film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, C. Aubrey Smith, and Maureen O'Sullivan.
It was Weissmuller's first of 12 Tarzan films.
O'Sullivan played Jane in six features between 1932 and 1942.
The film is loosely based on Burroughs' 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, with the dialogue written by Ivor Novello.
The film was directed by W.S. Van Dyke.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released two remakes of Tarzan, the Ape Man in 1959 and in 1981, but each was a different adaptation of Rice Burroughs' novel.
It is also the first appearance of Tarzan's famous yell.
Directed by: W.S. Van Dyke.
Written by: Cyril Hume.
Based on: Tarzan of the Apes 1912 magazine by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Produced by: Irving Thalberg.
Starring: Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, Maureen O'Sullivan, and C. Aubrey Smith.
Cinematography: Clyde De Vinna.
Edited by: Tom Held, and Ben Lewis.
Music by: George Richelarie.
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Distributed by: Loew's Inc.
Release date: 2 April 1932.
File Length: 100 minutes.
Country: United States.
Language: English.
Budget: $652,675.
Box office: $2.8 million (rentals).
Any questions, comments, or ideas for future described movies: e-mail me: anthony at mushroomfm dot com (e-mail address written that way to cut down on
spam)
Enjoy the movies,