The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) | |
| Director(s) | William A. Wellman |
| Producer(s) | Lester Cowan, David Hall (associate) |
| Top Genres | Biographical, Drama, Film Adaptation, War |
| Top Topics | Army, Book-Based, Italy, World War II |
Featured Cast:
The Story of G.I. Joe Overview:
The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) was a Biographical - Drama Film directed by William A. Wellman and produced by Lester Cowan and David Hall.
SYNOPSIS
Mitchum's big break came in Wellman's harrowing biopic of WWII correspondent Ernie Pyle. Pyle (Meredith) follows an exhausted platoon as they fight their way from town to town in Italy. The platoon's captain (Mitchum) becomes the focus of his men's lives and of the film. Privately, he anguishes over having to send his men into mortal danger and writes letters to the mothers of all the soldiers who have died under his command. Pyle records the emotional breakdowns and physical courage of the common foot soldier, a point of view that endeared him to the soldiers and his readers. Pyle saw only a rough cut of this fine war drama before he was killed in a Pacific battle.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.The Story of G.I. Joe was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2009.
Academy Awards 1945 --- Ceremony Number 18 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Supporting Actor | Robert Mitchum | Nominated |
| Best Music - Scoring | Louis Applebaum, Ann Ronell | Nominated |
| Best Music - Song | Music and Lyrics by Ann Ronell | Nominated |
| Best Writing | Leopold Atlas, Guy Endore, Philip Stevenson | Nominated |
The Story of G.I. Joe BlogHub Articles:
Quotes from The Story of G.I. Joe
Ernie Pyle: (Voice-over): For those beneath the wooden crosses, there is nothing we can do, except perhaps to pause and murmur, "Thanks pal, thanks."
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Facts about The Story of G.I. Joe
William A. Wellman, nicknamed "Wild Bill", was a fighter pilot in World War I and hated the infantry, and therefore had no interest in making a film about them. Producer Lester Cowan tried several times to convince Wellman to direct the film, including showing up uninvited at Christmas with gifts for Wellman's children. Wellman finally agreed to take the job only after meeting and spending several days with Ernie Pyle at Pyle's home in New Mexico, where he saw how much former infantrymen revered him.
The extras in the film were real American GIs, in the process of being transferred from the war in Europe to the Pacific. Many of them were killed in the fighting on Okinawa - the same battle in which Ernie Pyle was killed by a Japanese machine gunner - never having seen the movie in which they appeared.
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