Beachhead (film)
Encyclopedia
Beachhead is a 1954 Technicolor
war film
based on Captain Richard G. Hubler
USMCR's 1945 novel I've Got Mine. It was filmed in Kauai
by Aubrey Schenck
Productions, released through United Artists
and directed by Stuart Heisler
.
to create a diversion
for the impending Allied invasion of Japanese held Bougainville Island
.
Four of them (Frank Lovejoy
, Tony Curtis
, Skip Homeier
and Alan Wells) have been selected to do a reconnaissance
patrol
and find a French planter (Eduard Franz
) and his daughter (Mary Murphy
) who have sent a message to the Allies. The patrol must confirm that the message is authentic, and that the planter is still alive, who can give the Marines valuable information needed for a successful amphibious landing by the Allied forces.
from his contract studio of Universal-International. The producers used Hawaiians for many of the roles in the film such as Sam "Steamboat" Mokuahi, Democratic Party
organiser Dan Aoki, and Akira Fukunaga the latter two veterans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team
.
The producers went to the Marine Corps to seek technical assistance for the making of the film. Though the Corps liked the idea of the film, they refused to provide cooperation. As two of the four Marines were killed in the screenplay, the Public Information Officer said that the Marines would not provide any assistance to any film displaying the Corps taking 50 per cent casualties as they were in the midst of a new recruiting campaign emphasising a new less danger seeking image. The producers visited the Pentagon and were provided Navy, Coast Guard, and Hawaiian National Guard assistance in making the film. The film was titled Missione Suicido (Suicide Mission) in Italy.
Mary Murphy felt that Stuart Heisler was trying to make her look like a version of the director's own wife. She also was nearly attacked by a drunken cameraman on the film's isolated Hawaiian location.
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
based on Captain Richard G. Hubler
Richard G. Hubler
Richard G. Hubler born Richard Gibson Hubler 20 August 1912 in Dunmore, Pennsylvania died 21 October 1981 of Parkinson's disease in Ojai, California was a prolific American author of biographies, fiction and non-fiction...
USMCR's 1945 novel I've Got Mine. It was filmed in Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
by Aubrey Schenck
Aubrey Schenck
Aubrey Schenck was a film producer from the 1940s through the 1970s. In the 1930s, Schenck, a nephew of Joseph and Nicholas Schenck, was a practicing attorney in New York City. He wrote a story and submitted it to 20th Century Fox, with whom he had business and legal connections, and they agreed...
Productions, released through United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
and directed by Stuart Heisler
Stuart Heisler
Stuart Heisler was an American film and television director. He worked as a motion picture editor from 1921 to 1936, then dedicated the rest of his career to that of a film director....
.
Plot
In late October 1943, a battalion of U.S. Marines have landed on Choiseul IslandChoiseul Island
Choiseul Island, native name Lauru, is the largest island of the Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands, at .-Description:This island is named after Étienne François, duc de Choiseul....
to create a diversion
Raid on Choiseul
-External links: Also available at:...
for the impending Allied invasion of Japanese held Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
.
Four of them (Frank Lovejoy
Frank Lovejoy
Frank Lovejoy was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He was born Frank Lovejoy Jr. in Bronx, New York, but grew up in New Jersey. His father, Frank Lovejoy Sr., was a furniture salesman from Maine...
, Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
, Skip Homeier
Skip Homeier
-Career:Homeier began acting as Skippy Homeier at the age of six, on the radio show Portia Faces Life. From 1943 until 1944 he played the role of Emil in the Broadway play, Tomorrow the World. Cast as a child indoctrinated into Nazism, who is brought to the United States from Germany following the...
and Alan Wells) have been selected to do a reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
patrol
Patrol
A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as police officers or soldiers, that are assigned to monitor a specific geographic area.- Military :...
and find a French planter (Eduard Franz
Eduard Franz
Eduard Franz , born Eduard Franz Schmidt, was an American actor of theater, film, and television. Franz portrayed King Ahab in the 1953 biblical low-budget film Sins of Jezebel, Jethro in Cecil B...
) and his daughter (Mary Murphy
Mary Murphy (actress)
Mary Murphy was an American film actress of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She was born in Washington, D.C. and spent most of her early childhood in Cleveland, Ohio. Her father, James Victor Murphy, died in 1940. Shortly afterwards, she and her mother moved to Southern California...
) who have sent a message to the Allies. The patrol must confirm that the message is authentic, and that the planter is still alive, who can give the Marines valuable information needed for a successful amphibious landing by the Allied forces.
Cast
- Tony CurtisTony CurtisTony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
as Burke - Frank LovejoyFrank LovejoyFrank Lovejoy was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He was born Frank Lovejoy Jr. in Bronx, New York, but grew up in New Jersey. His father, Frank Lovejoy Sr., was a furniture salesman from Maine...
as Sgt. Fletcher - Mary MurphyMary Murphy (actress)Mary Murphy was an American film actress of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She was born in Washington, D.C. and spent most of her early childhood in Cleveland, Ohio. Her father, James Victor Murphy, died in 1940. Shortly afterwards, she and her mother moved to Southern California...
as Nina Bouchard - Eduard FranzEduard FranzEduard Franz , born Eduard Franz Schmidt, was an American actor of theater, film, and television. Franz portrayed King Ahab in the 1953 biblical low-budget film Sins of Jezebel, Jethro in Cecil B...
as Bouchard, French Planter - Skip HomeierSkip Homeier-Career:Homeier began acting as Skippy Homeier at the age of six, on the radio show Portia Faces Life. From 1943 until 1944 he played the role of Emil in the Broadway play, Tomorrow the World. Cast as a child indoctrinated into Nazism, who is brought to the United States from Germany following the...
as Reynolds - John DoucetteJohn DoucetteJohn Doucette was a film character actor. He was a balding, husky man remembered for playing mob muscle and western bad guys in movies...
as Maj. Scott - Alan WellsAlan WellsAlan Peter Wells is an English cricketer. He played for Sussex from 1981 to 1996, where he was captain from 1992 to 1996. He then played for Kent from 1997 to 2000...
as Biggerman - Akira Fukunaga as Terrified Japanese Sailor (as Sunshine Akira Fukunaga)
- Dan Aoki as Japanese Sniper
- Steamboat Mokuahi as Malanesian, Island native
Production
Filmed on Hawaiian locations, the film was budgeted at US$450,000 with the producers arranging to obtain Tony CurtisTony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
from his contract studio of Universal-International. The producers used Hawaiians for many of the roles in the film such as Sam "Steamboat" Mokuahi, Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
organiser Dan Aoki, and Akira Fukunaga the latter two veterans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team
442nd Regimental Combat Team
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the United States Army, was composed of Japanese-American enlisted men and mostly Caucasian officers. They fought primarily in Europe during World War II, beginning in 1944. The families of many of its soldiers were subject to internment...
.
The producers went to the Marine Corps to seek technical assistance for the making of the film. Though the Corps liked the idea of the film, they refused to provide cooperation. As two of the four Marines were killed in the screenplay, the Public Information Officer said that the Marines would not provide any assistance to any film displaying the Corps taking 50 per cent casualties as they were in the midst of a new recruiting campaign emphasising a new less danger seeking image. The producers visited the Pentagon and were provided Navy, Coast Guard, and Hawaiian National Guard assistance in making the film. The film was titled Missione Suicido (Suicide Mission) in Italy.
Mary Murphy felt that Stuart Heisler was trying to make her look like a version of the director's own wife. She also was nearly attacked by a drunken cameraman on the film's isolated Hawaiian location.
External links
- original film trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P68-QOntSk