They Were Expendable (1945)

​

 

BACKGROUND

​

During the war Ford was so busy running the Field Photographic Section for the OSS and Navy that when the script for They Were Expendable came across his desk he had no interest in directing it. Yet despite his reluctance, he was given direct orders by the Navy to fly to Hollywood and take charge of the film. The reason for the high command’s decision remains a mystery. The film was considered necessary to boost support for the war during that late stage but there were other directors in Hollywood who could have just as easily tackled the assignment.

 

It has been speculated that Ford’s enemies in Washington wanted him out of the way. As a watchdog who offered a direct conduit of information to Roosevelt through Bill Donovan, it is possible that the right-wing elements within the government and armed forces were eager to limit Roosevelt’s access to information after the liberation. They seem to have known for many years that the fascists they had backed were going to loose the war which allowed them to plan for their espionage assault to begin the moment peace was declared. How much Ford’s role as a supervisor of those gathering surveillance and documentary footage was a cover for his work as an internal spy for FDR is anyone’s guess. 

​

PLOT SUMMARY

​

A Navy commander works to prove the worthiness of the PT boat at the start of World War II and helps in the evacuation of the Philippine Islands.