So Proudly We Hail! (1943)

So Proudly We Hail! - 1943

Our next film is 1943's "So Proudly We Hail!", starring Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, and Veronica Lake.  It's the story of a group of nurses who head to the South Pacific in World War II.  They encounter both love and war in the course of their duties.  It's based on the true story of what some of the nurses in WWII went through.

The film's supporting cast includes George Reeves, Barbara Britton, Walter Abel, Sonny Tufts, Mary Servoss, Ted Hecht, and John Litel.

The film opens with a bunch of nurses on their way home from the front lines of the war.  They're physically and mentally exhausted.

One of them Lt. "Davy" Davidson (Colbert) is wheelchair bound and does not respond to anything.  The doctor doesn't know if she'll make it.  He asks the girls if they'll tell him about their experiences during the war, hoping he can use the information to help Davy get well.

The girls take him back to when they first came together on a boat headed to Honolulu.  The devastation at Pearl Harbor makes it impossible for them to go to Hawaii, and now must head to the Philippines.

On board, one of the nurses, Joan (Goddard) meets up with a guy named Kansas.  The two hit it off, and are rarely apart for the rest of the voyage.

It's a sweet romance, with Kansas pursuing Joan until she gives in and falls head over heels in love.

While on their way, the convoy is attacked, and the nurses realize just how close to danger they are.  Several ships are blown up right before their eyes.

Among the survivors they pick up is another nurse named Olivia (Lake).  She seems to have a huge chip on her shoulder, and none of the other girls can bring themselves to like her.  She secludes herself in her room, and doesn't ever smile or socialize.

Another recovery is Lt. John Summers, who takes an instant liking to Davy.  The feeling is mutual, though she tries to deny it, not wanting to let personal feelings get in the way of the job she has to do.  Although he doesn't want to at first, Davy forces him to have a sponge bath, and he's another of the characters that falls head over heels in love.

The nurses and the soldiers celebrate Christmas on board the ship.  Lt. Summers sends Davy a special Christmas present: a cake of soap in memory of the time they first met.  She smiles and tucks it away.

That night we find out the reason Olivia has been so standoffish.  This was supposed to be her wedding day, but her fiance was killed after the Japanese loaded him with sixty bullets.  She wants revenge and vows to kill any Japanese she can get her hands on.  It's a heartbreaking scene, but Olivia starts to break down the walls and become friendly with the other girls.

Eventually, Davy finds out where she and the other girls are to be stationed.  Bataan is their destination, where some of the heaviest fighting is going on.

Davy says goodbye to John, who is going to join a different medical team as a technician.  They share a kiss, and that seals the deal for Davy.  She's all in when it comes to the romance department.

The girls land at Bataan, where a lot of activity is going on.  It's sort of an emergency base.  The girls are thrilled to be on solid ground again, despite the fact that they are not safe at any moment.

Once they get to the field hospital, Olivia goes to the woman in charge, Capt. "Ma" McGregor, and asks to be assigned to the prisoner of war tent.  Ma says that could be arranged, and Olivia heads off to relieve the nurse on duty.

Once Davy finds out where Olivia has been placed, she runs there to make sure she hasn't killed anyone.  She finds Olivia at a desk with her head in her hands.  She couldn't go through with it.  Davy and the rest breathe a sigh of relief.

John visits the camp, and Davy is thrilled.  After her shift, she walks with him in the moonlight, and after a Japanese air raid, stays the night with him in a bomb shelter.

Davy is in trouble with Ma the next morning.  Ma tells her that if she's caught doing anything like that again she'll be dishonorably discharged.  Ma gives Davy orders that she's to help with evacuating the field hospital.  She must be ready to go by night, because the Japanese are in the area and closing in fast.

They are the last truck out.  However, the Japanese advance too quickly.  Their driver killed, the girls huddle in a dark building.  Olivia decides to hide grenades in her coat.  She surrenders to the Japanese.  Once she gets close to them, she detonates the grenades, selflessly sacrificing herself so the other girls can escape.  Everyone is devastated, but quickly leave the area.

The girls come to a jungle hospital.  There aren't enough buildings for beds, so many of the soldiers are placed under the trees with nets over their beds.  It's even more primitive than the field hospital where they were originally working.

Davy doesn't hear from John.  The only word she gets is from a wounded soldier who brings her a present from him: a pet monkey.

The girls are dropping like flies from overwork and malaria.  But they press on, even with high fevers.

Of course, the enemy finds them there and begins a horrific bomb drop.  Even though the camp is clearing marked as a Red Cross camp, the enemy shows no mercy.

Davy burns her hands as she searches for survivors in the surgical tent.  She's heartbroken to discover one of her nurses has been shot to death.  She keeps soldiering on for the group's sake.

They are ordered to the coast to evacuate to a friendly island.  While there, the enemy keeps shelling them with bullets and bombs without mercy.  While all of this is going on, John is there, having been wounded in the bombing of the jungle hospital.  He has to endure having a piece of bomb shrapnel come out of his leg without any anesthesia.  He passes out and Davy loads him into a boat as they try to get to the island safely.

Even there, the enemy continues to bomb them.  In between bombings, the girls and some of the soldiers come out of their shelter (a series of tunnels built into solid rock) for a bit of sunshine.

John recovers well enough to be sent on a top secret mission to find more medical supplies.  Before they go, he and Davy are married by the chaplain.  As a wedding gift, Ma gives them a bottle of wine, peanut butter, and some bread.  They are thrilled as they go off for their one night together.

John tells Davy to wait for him on the island, and they'll leave together once he gets back.  She promises him to wait and then sends him on his way towards an unknown future.

After several days without any word, the nurses are ordered off the island.  Everyone is very sad to be leaving, especially Davy and Joan.

Joan goes to find Kansas and say goodbye.  "If you don't wait for me, I'll break your neck," he jokes.  "Oh, be sure you don't break yours," she says as they part.

As they are boarding the boats to leave, Davy refuses to go, saying she made a promise to John and she intends to keep it.  Ma orders her to get into the boat.  She tells Davy that John is probably dead.  No one has heard from them in days and know the army considers them officially lost.  Davy is heartbroken.  As they stand on the dock, bombers come and send a volley down on the girls.  Everyone is okay, but Davy is stunned and has to be placed into the boat.

And so the girls finish telling the doctor their story.  Davy has neither spoken nor made any movements since they put her in the boat.  The doctor thanks the girls and then tells them he has something that may help her: a letter from someone named John.

As he reads the letter to Davy, hope begins to glimmer in her eyes.  John's letter speaks of a farm he's left to her and says he'll be waiting for her there, or if she gets there first, she can wait for him.  The letter speaks very movingly about the war and why it's being fought.  At the end, Davy smiles and utters John's name as the sun breaks through the clouds.

Cast rundown:

   Claudette Colbert..............................Lt. Janet "Davy" Davidson

   Paulette Goddard..............................Lt. Joan O'Doul

   Veronica Lake...................................Lt. Olivia D'Arcy

   George Reeves.................................Lt. John Summers

   Barbara Britton.................................Lt. Rosemary Larson

   Walter Abel......................................Chaplain

   Sonny Tufts......................................Kansas

   Mary Servoss...................................Capt. "Ma" McGregor

   Ted Hecht........................................Dr. Jose Bardia

   John Litel.........................................Dr. Harrison

And that's all for So Proudly We Hail!  Paulette Goddard was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Lt. Joan O'Doul.  It's a film I think everyone needs to watch, just so we can take a moment and remember what those men and women went through for us in World War II.

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