The Gallant Hours

I liked a lot this good, solid American war film telling the story of one of principal US commanders during Pacific War - Admiral Halsey. Below, more of my impressions, with some SPOILERS.The work on this ambitious film began in 1957, when many veterans of Guadalcanal campaign were still alive and well - and that included Halsey himself, who was extensively (and with greatest respect) consulted. In the beginning the purpose was to make a larger biographic study about this great but controversial man, but ultimately the producers decided to focus on what was certainly both his and the whole US Navy MOST GALLANT HOURS - the Guadalcanal campaign.It was decided on purpose to make the film black and white, as the public was used to see and recognize Halsey's unique face on old war time chronicles. James Cagney was selected to play Halsey in large part because of his somehow similar features but also because he was Hollywood's specialist of tough and rough guys - and real Halsey was certainly both... Sadly, Admiral Halsey died on 16 August 1959, before the film was ready - therefore this movie became indeed a homage - but a posthumous one...You will find here a brief reminder of his career, BEFORE Guadalcanal campaign (and therefore before the beginning of this film):---------Fleet Admiral William Frederick Halsey, Jr., GBE, was born on 30 October 1882 in the good town of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Following the traces of his father, a Captain in US Navy, he entered the US Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1900, graduated in 1904 and had a good, solid career on battleships, torpedo boats and destroyers (and a period of service as Naval Attaché in Berlin) for the next 30 years.In 1934, having reached the rank of Captain, he was offered the command of aircraft-carrier USS "Saratoga", at the condition of succeeding a training as air observer. Instead, Halsey volunteered for the pilots training and graduated successfully the same year, as the oldest person in US Navy ever to do it - at that time he was 52... This was also a major turning point in his career, as he would become with time the leading American commander of aircraft-carriers. Unlike many officers of his age Halsey immediately understood the importance of naval aviation and did everything he could to become the leading expert in this matter. His performance as commander of carriers was recognized by his promotions to Rear-Admiral in 1938 and Vice-Admiral in 1940.On 7 December 1941 Halsey was on board of his flagship USS "Enterprise", returning to Pearl Harbor after delivering planes to island of Wake. Seeing the destruction caused by Japanese raid, Halsey said those famous words "Before we are through with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell!"... Soon after, on 10 December 1941, planes from USS "Enterprise" symbolically "opened the score" by sinking large Kaidai-class submarine "I-70", the first Japanese warship destroyed by Americans during World War II.In the months following Pearl Harbor, Halsey took his aircraft carriers on numerous raids against Japanese positions in Pacific, following the instructions of Nimitz to NOT let the enemy have the monopoly on offensive operations. Those orders suited Halsey just fine, as his idea of warfare was to be always on the attack - he is famous for having said once "As long as I have one plane and one pilot to fly it, I will remain on offensive". Attacking relentlessly Japanese positions from January to May 1942 he put in practice his personal motto "Hit hard, hit fast, hit often!" and "bloodied" his until then unexperienced sailors and air-crews (the Japanese by comparison had already behind them four years of total war in China).Those months of frantic activity took their toll on 60-years old Halsey and in the middle of May 1942 his health deteriorated so badly that at one moment his vital prognostic became engaged. He was then mercilessly ordered to the hospital both by doctors and Nimitz, notwithstanding his extremely violent protestations. This was the reason why he was not present at the crucial battle of Midway - admirals Fletcher and Spruance commanded instead. To the end of his days Halsey considered missing Midway as the greatest disappointment of his whole life.Even after releasing him from hospital, US Navy doctors vetoed Halsey's return to active duty, asking that he completes a minimum of two month period of convalescence in July and August. During this time Nimitz launched on 7 August 1942 the operation "Watchtower", the first allied counter-offensive in the Pacific. The target was a territory covered with savage jungle and rotten swamps, dirt-poor, undevelopped, little known and considered until recently of having absolutely not importance - the island of Guadalcanal...Even if the initial landing and battles of Eastern Solomons and Cape Esperance soon after were successes, with time the campaign became an excruciating, nightmarish, and extremely bloody push-and-shove match and in the beginning of October 1942 American troops on Guadalcanal were fighting not so much for the conquest of the island but for their own SURVIVAL. Vice-Admiral Ghormley, commander of allied forces in South Pacific Area, admitted on 15 October that he may not be able to hold Guadalcanal and that the island may have to be evacuated. It was precisely at that moment, that Halsey, finally released back to active duty by doctors at the end of September, was travelling to the South Pacific to take command of US carriers operating in the area.Admiral Nimitz's reaction to Ghormley's analyse of the situation was immediate and radical - on the 18 October he relieved him from command and gave his post to Halsey, who just arrived to New Caledonia and was completely surprised to find out that he was now in charge of the whole South Pacific Area. Although you will not see it in this film, Halsey exclaimed himself after reading Nimitz orders ""Jesus Christ and General Jackson! This is the hottest potato they ever handed me!". What made the situation even more awkward, was that Halsey and Ghormley were good friends...-----------------------It is AT THAT MOMENT, that "Gallant hours" begins - and I will not say much more about what follows, to avoid spoilers. One thing however - DO NOT expect any battle scenes. In this film, war is shown from the perspective of the commander in chief who is in charge of a whole large area, and not from the point of view of front line combatants. Four extremely dramatic and costly (for both sides) major naval battles (Santa Cruz, First Naval Guadalcanal, Second Naval Guadalcanal, Tassafaronga), as well as a great number of land and air fights (including the decisive battle of Lunga Point), will be waged before this film ends,- but they will be shown through dispatches and reports...James Cagney offers a GREAT performance here - he literally IS Admiral Halsey! There is however one difference: Halsey was loud, high spoken, potty-mouthed and very aggressive and especially wouldn't recognize diplomacy even if it sat on his nose - but in this film, by common agreement of Cagney and the director, he is shown as a slightly calmer and more subdued person.There are many good dialogs, many very tense, moving and tragic moments and yes, there even is some (very dark) war time humour - try particularly not to miss some of the writings US Marines places on their bunkers on Guadalcanal... This film also shows very well how Halsey's nomination immediately improved the morale amongst American sailors and Marines during this campaign (and they REALLY needed it as the decisive battles were approaching) and how his agressive style of waging war proved to be better adapted to the situation than the more cautious approach of his predecessor. I also particularly recommend the low-key, low-drama scene in which Halsey meets admirals Scott and Callaghan just before the First Naval Guadalcanal - this is a very special and moving moment..."Gallant hours" sticks mostly to the real history, but there is ONE huge difference. In the film Guadalcanal campaign ends with death of Yamamoto - but the real Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese commander of Combined Fleet (all major surface warships of Imperial Navy) and therefore Halsey's top opponent since December 1941, met his fate in April 1943, two months AFTER Guadalcanal campaign ended. As far as I can say however the rest of events was described very faithfully to real history. In particular we never hear the stupid nickname "Bull" American press gave to Halsey, as he hated reading it in the newspapers and absolutely nobody ever dared to call him like that in his presence...Bottom line, this is a GREAT war film and a most excellent portrayal of a very talented and efficient (albeit controversial) soldier, who in his career went as far as it was possible - indeed Halsey retired with the rank of Fleet Admiral, the highest a man can reach in US Navy (only three others EVER reached it - Nimitz, Leahy and King).I will keep this DVD preciously for another viewing in the future. Enjoy!

classic

I love this movie. I received it a couple of weeks ago and have watched it a half dozen times.The story presents the weight of leadership in a very realistic way, focusing specifically on Halsey's leadership in the 1942 struggle between the United States and Japan over the island of Guadalcanal and environs. Unlike most shoot-em-up war movies, there are no actual battle scenes (though we do hear explosions and gunfire in the background when Halsey is visiting Guadalcanal). Rather, we see Admiral Halsey and his staff struggling with hard decisions in a fluid situation, with the ultimate outcome very much in doubt. Seventy years later we look back and know how it all came out, but we get to see how Halsey and his staff behaved when they were outgunned by Japanese forces. We also get to see Admiral Yamamoto struggling with the other issues of motivation. Yamamoto's staff are overconfident because they seem to have all the high cards in their poker game with the US, but Yamamoto brings them down to earth. In the scenes where we see Halsey, and later Yamamoto, looking at similar charts showing overwhelming Japanese naval superiority, one wonders how it is that the Japanese didn't get their act together and actually kick the US off of Guadalcanal. While US industrial power eventually overwhelmed the Japanese with superior surface and air power, that had not yet happened in 1942.Cagney is magnificent as Halsey. He sheds most of his stereotypical tough guy mannerisms and plays Halsey with real power as a vulnerable man with heavy responsibilities. The best scenes are where Halsey motivates staff, both individually and in groups. He varies his approach depending on whom he's dealing with. The carrier air group commander who has lost his confidence gets one approach, the starchy aide who wants to go "by the book" a very different approach, young combat marines still another. An especially effective scene is when the US loses the carrier Hornet and Halsey's staff are wondering whether they are beaten. He agrees that, yes, tactically the Japanese won, but strategically, the US has won because, guess what?, the US still holds onto Guadalcanal. Cagney's portrayal in this scene is note perfect. Some scenes are poignant, such as when we find out that a young Marine was killed soon after he meets Halsey, another is rendered a paraplegic, and so on.Some reviewers are bothered by the choral music that forms the soundtrack. I was, too, at first, but have grown to like it. It's certainly a change from the stereotypical martial music we generally get with war films. I wonder if the writer and producers wanted to remind us that real wars aren't fought with trumpets and drums blaring in the background! Instead, we see dedicated people working hard in a very tough environment to be successful against long odds.While the movie's history is generally accurate, there are some instances of dramatic license: the decision to shoot down Yamamoto was made by FDR, not Halsey. He retired in 1947, not 1945 as shown in the movie. The Japanese codes were not broken in Nouméa by Halsey's subordinates. But, really, it doesn't matter. It's a great movie.

excellent movie

buena película que muestra como un almirante da las órdenes y tiene que afrontar las consecuencias de sus decisiones

It is out of area of europe and its not mentioned anywherewonderfull movie though also had to pay import on it making it a very expensive movie i cannot play

Great historical view and showing of World War 2 and the Japanese occupation of Guadalcanal.

Well directed and top casting. James Cagney one of the most underrated of actors. All chess players will appreciate that strategy and keen insight are needed to engage the enemy.