Halls of Montezuma poster & wallpaper
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Richard Widmark, Jack Palance, Robert Wagner, Karl Malden, Jack Webb ... see more see more... , Richard Hylton , Reginald Gardiner , Richard Boone , Skip Homeier , Don Hicks , Bert Freed , Neville Brand , Marion Marshall , Martin Milner , Philip Ahn , Howard Chuman , Frank Kumagai , Fred Coby , Paul Lees , Fred Dale , Chris Drake , George Conrad , Harry McKim , Bob McLean , William H. Hawes , Roger McGee , Clarke Stevens , Helen Hatch , Michael Road , Richard Allan , Harry Carter , Rollin Moriyama , Jack Lee

In Halls of Montezuma, Richard Widmark stars as Lt. Carl Anderson, a former schoolteacher who serves as a no-nonsense Marine officer during WW II. Anderson leads his patrol to a Japanese-controlled is... read more read more...land, where the enemy has set up an experimental rocket base. The patrol's mission is to capture prisoners for interrogation, which proves a near-insurmountable task given the fact that the Americans are heavily outnumbered. Among the grime-covered Marines are Walter (Jack) Palance, Robert Wagner, Karl Malden, Richard Boone, Skip Homeier and Neville Brand. Jack Webb is a chain-smoking war correspondent, while Reginald Gardiner shows up as an aristocratic--but very tough--British officer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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50% liked it

1,462 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

6 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 53 min.

Directed by: Lewis Milestone

Release Date: January 1, 1950

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DVD Release Date: November 6, 2001

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Stats: 38 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (38)

  • flixsterman
    May 30, 2011
    flixsterman
    Remember when Hollywood depicted war as glorious and romantic?

    This is Richard Widmark storming the beaches of pacific islands, taking out Jap pillboxes with a machine gun in one hand and a pistol in the other. This is navy corpsman Karl Malden patching up wounded comrades and ... read moreprivate Jack Palance lobbing grenades from a foxhole. This isn't just a post-WWII action film, it's a God damned two hour recruiting poster!
  • garyX
    November 24, 2007
    garyX
    Lewis Milestone made some great war films, but this WWII drama about a marine platoon commanded by Richard Widmark doesn't measure up to his best. The action is all smoke and noise, with little pause for any character development and the supporting cast overact their badly melodr... read moreamatic, overly stereotypical roles to a rather cringeworthy degree (Jack Palance's performance in Batman is comparatively understated compared to this!) The technique of using flashbacks to contrast the soldier's pre-war lives is also clumsy, and Widmark too often looks more like a social worker dishing out Werther's originals than a battle hardened lieutenant. The lack of humanity in the script is highlighted particularly in a scene where a tank sprays napalm on Japanese positions with no thought or mention of it's victims, as the marines look on cheerfully as if they're watching a sunday afternoon barbecue. It does have moments; particularly in the scenes involving the Japanese prisoners, but as a whole it's too simplistic and cliched.

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Critic Reviews

Steve Crum
January 3, 2005
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan

How can flag waving, the Marines, and Richard Widmark go wrong?

Scott Weinberg
December 17, 2001
Scott Weinberg, Apollo Guide

Although the movie grinds down to a snail's pace on occasion, there's more than enough patriotic gunplay for a WWII buff to get behind. Full Review

Walter Chaw
November 13, 2001
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

I thought of maverick Samuel Fuller and his no-nonsense 'tabloid' approach to cinema. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 1, 2000
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The film doesn't pretend to be more than a routine WW11 war film reflecting the political mood of when it was made. Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 17, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Carol Cling
August 22, 2003
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

Derek Adams
March 11, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

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