*****NO SPOILERS HERE*** A cast of some top actresses make up the ensemble of "Cry Havoc," a film about war nurses and volunteers in Bataan, their courage, hard work, and sacrifices. Margaret Sullavan heads the cast in her second to last film. An accomplished stage actress, her last film was in 1950, 10 years before her suicide. She is marvelous as the head nurse with two secrets. She is joined by Fay Bainter, Ann Sothern, Joan Blondell, Ella Raines, Marsha Hunt, and others.
Even today, this is a difficult film to watch, and one can really feel the dirt, the fear, the hunger, the frustration, and the sorrow these women experienced. I can't imagine the impact when it was first released during World War II.
We know that the World War II films produced in the '40s were whitewashed - men who were on the actual Bataan Death March think movies depicting it are a joke, and there was certainly nothing produced like "Saving Private Ryan" back then. I have no idea whether "Cry Havoc" was an accurate depiction of life at war but it presented nothing romantic, desirable, or pretty, except for the very brave nurses who represented the real thing serving our country in World War II.
***SPOILERS AHEAD****
Though the ending of the film is somewhat depressing, nurses who served at Bataan and were taken prisoner were treated with great respect by the Japanese, and worked in an internment hospital until they were evacuated. According to what I've read, all the nurses who were there made it home.
Even today, this is a difficult film to watch, and one can really feel the dirt, the fear, the hunger, the frustration, and the sorrow these women experienced. I can't imagine the impact when it was first released during World War II.
We know that the World War II films produced in the '40s were whitewashed - men who were on the actual Bataan Death March think movies depicting it are a joke, and there was certainly nothing produced like "Saving Private Ryan" back then. I have no idea whether "Cry Havoc" was an accurate depiction of life at war but it presented nothing romantic, desirable, or pretty, except for the very brave nurses who represented the real thing serving our country in World War II.
***SPOILERS AHEAD****
Though the ending of the film is somewhat depressing, nurses who served at Bataan and were taken prisoner were treated with great respect by the Japanese, and worked in an internment hospital until they were evacuated. According to what I've read, all the nurses who were there made it home.