Story of GI Joe (United Artists) (1945)

nuch as possible, war vet- were used for roles ill Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” t the .Theatre. ilition, the Army, lent a ;eni of troops complete- ipped with battle regalia ler to give complete au- :ity ti> the h. r scenes are filmed in the pic- demy Award - mance. The res to the late wai this United Art: tively amazing, completely capti HERE'S A PREPARED REVIEW THAT IS A SURE PLANT FOR THE DRAMA PAGE! ERNIE PYLE’S ‘STORY OF G. I. JOE’ EPIC FILM OF PRESENT CONFLICT Appealing Tribute To American Infantry Of the multitude of motion pictures which have emerged from the present world conflict, not one has been able to withstand comparison with “The Big Parade,” the great film of World War I. But in Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G.I. Joe,” the compelling and powerful tribute to the American infantryman which opened yesterday at the . Theatre, there will be few to deny that here is a film which takes its place alongside the immortal production of the 1920’s. It will be recalled that some time ago, the late Lt. General McNair voiced regret that—although every branch of the service had been glorified on the screen—somehow the ordinary foot soldier had been overlooked. Now, this wrong has been righted. It was inevitable that the basis of the film should be Ernie Pyle’s best-seller, “Here Is Your War.” The choice was a happy one, for it was the simple, human reporting of the beloved war correspondent that brought to America the realization of the trials and tribulations of the infantryman. Although there is no central plot around which the thrilling action revolves, this United Artists release depicts the course of the war through the varying fortunes of a half-dozen soldiers, who, together JL , with Burgess Meredith, dominate most of the footage. |L' . SV The story opens in Africa and Meredith, who plays the famous re- mSNM porter, has just joined a combat infantry outfit. At the outset, his pres- MSSMj ence is resented because correspondents heretofore had only been glam- Kkx ourizing the Air Corps. It is*only after he shares with the men a Stuka , /'Jjjjiiri dive-bombing attack that they accept him. F \ jk .ArnlQjjJmW The characterizations are beautifully balanced against one another and the men representing a cross-section of American life, are typi- *" T)Jv cally “G.I.” Everything they say and do follows a natural pattern. For . ' ' w A example, when the bombastic Dondaro bursts into a ruined cafe to es- cape a hail of bullets and sees the sultry, exciting Yolanda Lacca crouch- ing behind the bar—it seems perfectly normal for him to momentarily forget the exigencies of war. ^ The film is studded with scenes of poignance, humor and tragedy, \ presented against a backdrop of such memorable and realistic battles I'/ as Kasserir.e Pass, Salerno and Cassfno. h ’ Burgess Meredith has for many years enjoyed the reputation of being 1 one of America’s finest actors. In his portrayal of Ernie Pyle, he com- pletely captures the simple, human qualities of the great war corre- ' 1 soondent, and makes a strong bid for Academy Award honors. Others in the cast who give sterling performances include Freddie Steele, Robert Mitchum, Wally Cassell, Tito Renaldo and Yolanda Lacca. Producer Lester Cowan deserves unstinted praise for his overall handling of the film. Academy Award-winner William A. Wellman is to be congratulated on his sensitive and understanding direction of the United Artists release. Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G.I. Joe” is a “must” picture for young and old alike. Robert Mitchum scores a smash suc¬ cess by his portrayal of Captain Walker ” ’ * i “Story of G. I. Joe,” the in Ernie Pyle’s outstanding film currently showing •he . Theatre. In this United Artists release, Burgess Meredith stars as Ernie Pyle. Meredith Doffs His Uniform WAR CORRESPONDENTS PORTRAY THEMSELVES 22B—1 Column Scene (Mat .30) In Lester Cowan’s production of Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” the above war correspondents not only served as technical advisors but also play themselves in the film which is currently being shown at the . Theatre. They are, from left to right, Bob Rubin of Reuters, Bob Landry of Life Magazine and Clete Roberts of the Blue Network. This is in line with the coopera¬ tion extended by the nation’s three major wire services — Associated Press, United Press and Interna¬ tional News Service —in order to guarantee complete authenticity for the production. To this end, they loaned their top-flight war correspondents for up-to-the-min- ute technical advice and for real- life roles in the film, which sup¬ plies a long-needed glorification of the American infantry soldier— the plain, foot-weary “G. I. Joe.” Ernie Pyle felt that he was get¬ ting too much glory. He said that many of the war correspondents were doing a bang-up job of re¬ porting the war under extreme dif¬ ficulty. It was at his request that some of the battle scribes men¬ tioned in his best-seller “Here Is Your War,” will appear in the picture. Other correspondents cited by Pyle, and to whom film credit will be given, include Don Whitehead and Hal Boyle of Associated Press, George Lait of International News Service, Chris Cunningham of United Press, Sgt. Jack Foisie of “Stars and Stripes” and Lucien Hubbard of Readers Digest. The Academy Award winner, William A. Wellman, directed Er¬ nie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” in which Burgess Meredith plays the leading role. It is a United Artists release. SHORT FILLERS Because of the magnitude of the task, Producer Lester Cow¬ an spent more than a year in careful preparation before mov¬ ing Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe” into production. This United Artists release, now at the . Theatre, was budgeted at $2,000,000 and stars Burgess Meredith. ★ ★ ★ Burgess Meredith, who por¬ trays the famous war correspon¬ dent in Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. 1. Joe,” current attraction at the . Theatre, vis¬ ited Pyle in New Mexico to study his mannerisms, and brought back the old, frayed clothes worn by the celebrated reporter. He ivears them in the film. Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” which opened at the at the request of the late Lt. General McNair, who asked for “a just hit of glory” for the American infantryman. It is the first film to pay tribute to the foot-slogging soldier of World War II. ★ ★ ★ Dorothy Coonan, who portrays an American nurse in Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” now at the . Theatre, is the wife of William A. Wellman, who directed the film. Ten years ago he asked her to give up her career and become Mrs. Wellman. It was at his request that she returned to greasepaint for her role in the film. As much erans Ernie In ly in order to thenticity to which are ture. war vet- roles in I. Joe,” /l G. I. Joe Takes itoananee TThere He Finds It! PLEASANT INTERLUDE for Wally Cassell, who is featured in Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” now at the.Theatre. His trigger finger relaxes on the sub-machine gun l>ecause the lovely Yolanda Lacca is not the kind of game he’s been hunting. So he declares a PERSONAL ARMISTICE and sets out to convince Yolanda that resist¬ ance is useless. “We come as libera¬ tors, not conquerors,” he’s probably saying. After some persuasion, he succeeds in representing himself as an emissary of good will, with the result that Yolanda accepts the terms OF UNCONDITIONAL SUR¬ RENDER and they proceed to cement relations in a manner that is acceptable all over the world. Produced by Lester Cowan, this United Artists release stars Burgess Meredith as Ernie Pyle. 21C—Three Column Scene (Mat .45) Twice Within Three Years Twice in three years, the Army has directed Burgess Meredith’s acting talent into show channels. The first time, it was to play in “Candida,” with Katherine Cornell in New York for the benefit of the Army Emergency Relief Fund. His role was that of Marchbanks, an 18-year-old poet, in this stage production. Now, once again, he’s been placed on inactive status by the War De¬ partment in order to portray the beloved war correspondent in Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” current attraction at the . Theatre. The film is based on the best-seller, “Here Is Your War,”— a book that contains the columns which Ernie Pyle wrote when he covered the European front. Meredith was chosen from over 500 candidates in a nationwide search that covered the length and breadth of the land. Every aspir¬ ant for the role was tracked down, interviewed and where necessary, given a screen test. This meticu¬ lous care was evident in every phase of the picture’s preparation and production. In addition to a $2,000,000 bud¬ get, Producer Lester Cowan pro¬ vided all the ingredients required to make the film, a just tribute to the unsung American infantryman. William A. Wellman was selected to guide the production to the screen. This director, it will be recalled, won the Academy Award for his handling of “A Star Is Born” several years ago. The Army has further cooper¬ ated by lending a contingent of troops from nearby camps fully outfitted for combat. Wherever possible, actual war veterans of the battle scenes depicted, have been obtained. This United Artists release has been favorably compared with “The Big Parade,” the great war film of the last conflict. SEEING DOUBLE! Before Ernie Pyle’s trip to the Pacific, the fa¬ mous correspondent stopped off on the set of Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” the current film at the .Theatre, to wish Burgess Meredith the best of luck in the actor’s portrayal of Pyle. The pic¬ ture is a United Artists release. 26A&=rlr~Column Scene r (Mat .15) Burgess Meredith Seen As Pyle in Great Film Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” the compelling and powerful tribute to the American infantryman which opened yesterday at the . Theatre, is the only film to emerge from the present conflict that bears comparison with the immortal “Big Parade.” Here at last is a motion picture which fills the vast void among the multitude of war films that have glorified virtually every branch of the service. But strange¬ ly enough, the common foot soldier —the man without whom no vic¬ tories in battle could be won— had been ignored. Happily, the American people have not waited in vain. It was inevitable that the basis of the film should be Ernie Pyle’s best-seller, “Here Is Your War.” For it was the simple, human reporting of the beloved war correspondent that brought home to all the realiza¬ tion of the trials and tribulations of the infantryman. Although there is no central plot around which the thrilling action revolves, the film depicts the course of the war through the varying for¬ tunes of a half-dozen soldiers, who, together with Burgess Meredith as Ernie Pyle, dominate most of the footage. Characterizations are beautiful¬ ly balanefed against one another and the men representing a cross- section of American life, are typi¬ cally “G. I.” Everything they say and do follows a natural pattern. For example, when the bombastic Dondaro burst into a ruined cafe to escape a hail of bullets and sees the sultry, exciting Yolanda Lacca crouching behind the bar—it seems perfectly normal for him to mo¬ mentarily forget the exigencies of war. The film is studded with scenes of poignance, humor and tragedy, presented against a backdrop of such memorable and realistic bat¬ tles as Kasserine Pass, Salerno and Cassino. In his portrayal of Ernie Pyle, Meredith gives an Aca- Award - winning perform- The resemblance he bears late war correspondent in Artists release is posi- In addition, he ires the simplicity SERIOUS STUDY of Burgess Mere¬ dith, who plays the famous war correspondent in Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” the United Artists release now at the. Theatre. Sharing his introspective thoughts is Ayrab, the mascot. 27A—1 Column Scene (Mat .15) and spirit of Ernie Pyle—even to the mannerisms. Included in the cast are Freddie Steele, Robert Mitchum, Wally Cassell, Tito Renaldo and Yolanda Lacca—who all contribute sterling characterizations. Producer Lester Cowan and the Academy Award-winning director, William A. Wellman have com bined their talents to make Err ; Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe” one of the truly epic films of our time. \ITCHUM'S SUCCESS STORY i lad. He scores a smash hit in the film. .21 Page Twenty