Sands of Iwo Jima (film)

• Release Date: 1949
• Director(s): Allan Dwan
• Writer(s): Harry Brown ; James Edward Grant
• Principal Actors and Roles: John Wayne (Sgt. John M. Stryker); John Agar (PFC Peter Conway); Forrest Tucker (PFC Al Thomas)

Sands of Iwo Jima is a fictionalized account of World War II’s Battle of Iwo Jima, and follows a unit of Marines throughout their training and time in combat.

The film’s producer, Edmund Grainger, wished to create a wartime film that focused on the United States Marine Corps, a branch of the military that had not yet received the Hollywood spotlight. While reading the newspaper, Grainger read the phrase "sands of Iwo Jima" and thought it would make a great movie title. With the title in mind, Grainger was also reminded of the famous photo from the Battle of Iwo Jima, which depicts several Marines raising the American flag at the top of Mount Suribachi, and imagined this as the final scene of the film. With just these two elements in place, Grainger created a treatment of the film, and pitched it to Republic Pictures as a moneymaking guarantee, in addition to being a good publicity piece for the Marines.

Once a final script was drafted and the Marines had approved its content, producers began searching for an actor to portray the lead role of Sergeant John M. Stryker. When John Wayne was approached to play Stryker, he was not immediately on board with the project and turned down the role, citing his age and the public’s oversaturation of war films as reasons for his decision. Eventually Wayne came around, and his performance in Sands of Iwo Jima garnered him an Academy Award nomination, as well as helping to launch his long career as a Hollywood star.

Plot

The film begins as group of Marines is training during World War II. Sergeant John M. Stryker, a tough leader who is not well liked by his subordinates, leads the unit, putting his men through strict training exercises. It is revealed that Stryker has an estranged family, and is clearly distraught about his lack of relationship with his son. One of Stryker’s men is Private Peter Conway. Stryker served under and admired Conway’s father, Colonel Sam Conway. Stryker attempts to connect with Conway over this fact, but instead receives disdain, learning that Conway did not get along with his father and finds similar faults with Stryker. In addition, Private Al Thomas takes issue with Stryker, believing the sergeant is responsible for his recent demotion.

A day after Conway marries Allison, a girl who he met and fell in love with during his leave, the men learn that they are being deployed to the Battle of Tarawa in the Pacific. Upon arrival, the unit immediately suffers the loss of two men who Stryker orders on a dangerous mission, and then proceeds to complete alone. Later on in the battle, Thomas makes the mistake of leaving two of his men while he drinks a cup of coffee, an error that has devastating consequences. Alone, the two men, Hellenopolis and Bass, are ambushed, and Hellenopolis dies while Bass is badly wounded. The next morning, after the unit is forced to listen to Bass’s cries for help without being able to assist him for fear of giving away their position, Stryker and Thomas fight over Thomas’s error, causing Thomas to eventually break down and admit his guilt over the ordeal.

While on leave in Hawaii, Stryker comes to the realization that he has been blaming himself for the loss of his family for too long. Tensions between Conway and Stryker improve after Stryker saves the private’s life during a dangerous training exercise. Soon, the unit is deployed to the Battle of Iwo Jima in Japan, where many men in the unit soon die in perilous conditions. Conway returns the favor and saves Stryker’s life, telling his sergeant that he plans to name his newborn son after his father. The men finally reach the top of Mount Suribachi, where Stryker tells the men to raise the American flag. However, Stryker is shot by a Japanese soldier and falls to the ground, dead. Conway embraces Stryker’s body and finds an unfinished note to his son, a confession and explanation of his actions over the years. Conway completes the letter in honor of Stryker.

Significance

The producers of the film sought to make it as realistic and faithful to the actual circumstances surrounding the battles as possible. Many earlier war films romanticized and crafted a polished version of the realities of war, but Sands of Iwo Jima did not make attempts to glamorize war. To add authenticity, the film was shot at Camp Pendleton and other military locations around southern California. There, the crew crafted elaborate sets, complete with fake palm trees, thousands of feet of barbed wire, and elements that would simulate the volcanic nature of the Japanese island. In addition, more than 2,000 actual Marines appeared in the movie as extras in combat sequences. Per director Allan Dwan’s insistence, the film’s actors also endured rigorous training by the toughest drill sergeant at Camp Pendleton.

For the film’s battle scenes, Dwan incorporated actual news footage of the action taken during both the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Tarawa. In addition, for the recreation of the iconic raising of the flag, three out of the five original Marines who raised the flag appeared on screen. The Marines also let the filmmakers use the real flag from Iwo Jima, which was normally kept at the Marine Museum in Quantico, Virginia.

The producers relied on budgetary assistance from the Marines to make the film, as the Corps had a personal interest in the success of the film. Despite receiving these considerable contributions, the filmmakers exceeded the film’s original budget of $1 million by nearly 50 percent, making it the most expensive film Republic Pictures had made to date. Upon its release, the film was a popular success, earning about $4 million in rental sales in the United States alone. Additionally, the film’s performance at the box office secured its position as one of the top ten most popular films of 1949. Sands of Iwo Jima was also a critical success, and the film was nominated for four Academy Awards including best actor (John Wayne), best sound, best editing, and best screenplay.

Awards and nominations

Nominated

• Academy Award (1949) Best Actor: John Wayne
• Academy Award (1949) Best Sound Recording
• Academy Award (1949) Best Film Editing
• Academy Award (1949) Best Writing: Harry Brown

Bibliography

Eyman, Scott. John Wayne: The Life and Legend. New York: Simon, 2014. Print.

Lev, Peter. Transforming the Screen, 1950–1959. Berkeley: U of California, 2003. Print.

Lombardi, Frederic. Allan Dwan and the Rise and Decline of the Hollywood Studios. Jefferson: McFarland, 2013. Print.

Roberts, Randy, and James S. Olson. John Wayne: American. New York: Free, 1995. Print.

"Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)." Turner Classic Movies. Turner Entertainment Networks, 2015. Web. 22 Aug. 2015. <http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/23383/Sands-of-Iwo-Jima/>.