Editing They Were Expendable (section)

{{short description|1945 film by John Ford, Robert Montgomery}}
{{for|the rock group originally called They Were Expendable|The Expendables (New Zealand band)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = They Were Expendable
| image          = They Were Expendable poster.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release insert poster
| director       = [[John Ford]]
| producer       = John Ford
| based_on       = {{based on|''They Were Expendable''<br />1942 book|[[William Lindsay White]]}}
| screenplay     = [[Frank Wead]]<br />{{Interlanguage link multi|Jan Lustig|de}} ''(uncredited)''
| starring       = [[Robert Montgomery (actor)|Robert Montgomery]]<br />[[John Wayne]]<br />[[Donna Reed]]<br />[[Jack Holt (actor)|Jack Holt]]<br />[[Ward Bond]]
| music          = [[Herbert Stothart]]
| cinematography = [[Joseph H. August]]
| editing        = Douglass Biggs<br />[[Frank E. Hull]]
| studio         = [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]
| distributor    = [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment|Loew's Inc.]]
| released       = {{film date|1945|12|19}}<ref name=tcm>{{tcmdb title|2070|They Were Expendable}}</ref>
| runtime        = 135 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $2,933,000<ref name=mannix>{{cite journal|first=H. Mark|last=Glancy|title=MGM film grosses, 1924-1948: The Eddie Mannix Ledger|journal=Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television|volume=12|number=2|year=1992|pages=127–144|doi=10.1080/01439689200260081}}</ref><ref name=mannixa>{{cite journal|first=H. Mark|last=Glancy|title=Appendix|journal=Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television|volume=12|number=S2|year=1992|pages=1–20|doi=10.1080/01439689208604539}}</ref>
| gross          = $4,347,000 (worldwide rentals)<ref name=mannix /><ref name=mannixa />
}}

'''''They Were Expendable''''' is a 1945 American [[war film]] directed by [[John Ford]], starring [[Robert Montgomery (actor)|Robert Montgomery]] and [[John Wayne]], and featuring [[Donna Reed]]. The film is based on the 1942 novel of the same name by [[William Lindsay White]], relating the story of the exploits of [[Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three]], a United States [[PT boat]] unit defending the Philippines against Japanese invasion during the [[Battle of the Philippines (1941–42)]] in [[World War II]].

While a work of fiction, the book was based on actual events and people.<ref name=tcm /> The characters John Brickley (Montgomery) and Rusty Ryan (Wayne) are fictionalizations of PT-Boat Squadron Three Commander [[John D. Bulkeley]], a [[Medal of Honor]] recipient, and his [[executive officer]] [[Robert Kelly (naval officer)|Robert Kelly]], respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/ReviewComplete.asp?FID=134984|title=Empire Magazine}}</ref> Both the film and the book, which was a best-seller and excerpted in ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' and ''[[Life (magazine)|LIFE]]'',<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UEEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA114 | title=They Were Expendable | magazine=Life | date=October 26, 1942 | access-date=November 22, 2011 | author=White, W. L. | pages=114}}</ref> depict certain combat-related events that were believed to have occurred during the war, alongside those which did not;{{efn|Including claims known by Cmdr. Buckeley to have been false when he made them, as well as those subsequently disproven or shown to have been highly exaggerated, again most notably by Buckeley, in promoting the PT-boat as an effective naval weapon to both the Navy and potential PT flotilla recruits.<ref>[https://www.historynet.com/john-f-kennedys-pt-109-disaster/] "The Truth About JFK ad his PT Boat's Collision With a Japanese Destroyer in WWII", ''Historynet.com'': "Bulkeley was a freshly minted national hero [...] earning a Medal of Honor and fame in the book ''They Were Expendable''. Bulkeley claimed his PTs had sunk a Japanese cruiser, a troopship, and a plane tender in the struggle for the Philippines, none of which was true. He was now touring the country promoting war bonds and touting the PT fleet as the Allies’ key to victory in the Pacific."</ref>}} nonetheless, the film is noted for its relatively accurate and detailed depiction of naval combat for the era in which it was made.