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Jungle Patrol (1948)
In Joseph M. Newman's rarely-seen, stage-bound war
drama set in a WWII remote airstrip in New Guinea in 1942, with impressive
off-screen audio from a radio (to re-enact dogfight battle sequences
against the Japanese during WWII):
- the film's opening (voice-over) narration: "This
is not a story of war, but of men, boys really. Eight of them who
were here in New Guinea, not because they wanted to be, but because
there was a job to be done, and someone had to do it. In the fall
of 1942, the Japanese were less than 30 miles from our base at
Port Moresby - our first step on the long and bitter struggle to
Tokyo. This base was surrounded by only a few airstrips such as
this one. Here there were no more than eight airplanes, expected
every morning and every evening, to intercept the Japanese flights
that threatened Australia"
- the film's cast: a group of eight US AF
officer-pilots in the fall of 1942 during WWII were stationed in
a remote outpost at Port Moresby, New Guinea; they were flying heroic
daily missions against Japanese bombers and fighter planes threatening
Australia; the ace pilots mostly talked about their loved ones at
home, their interest in the opposite sex, or the effects of fate
each day as they faced their destiny and death
- the first to be specifically introduced: Lt. "Mace" Willard
(Arthur Franz in his film debut); the pilots were led
by squadron leader Major "Skipper" Wright
(Ross Ford), their "old man" CO or flight commander
- so far, there had been no casualties, although
they superstitiously believed their invincibility and luck was
running out after over 100 successful runs (with no deaths); it
was regarded as "a pretty good score" but also "could
be a jinx" if a 'Scoreboard' (keeping tally of the carnage) was
kept out in the open
- the mentioned similarities between the squadron
and the film Death Takes a Holiday (1934) by Lt. Dick Carter
(Richard Jaeckel); in the film, the character of Death took a brief
vacation, as "Mace" mused: "If you get a bullet
in the head, you may die. If you don't, you may not. There's no
guarantee either way. If you're a guy whose luck is bad, you're
taking just as many chances walking in the park as you are sticking
your neck into a prop"
Major Characters
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Lt. "Mace" Willard
(Arthur Franz)
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Major "Skipper" Wright (Ross Ford)
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Some of the Pilots
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(l to r): Skipper, Jean, Mace
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- the unexpected arrival of pretty blonde USO entertainer
Jean Gillis (Kristine Miller) on a supply plane from Brisbane (Australia);
at the sight of his first female in 6 months, Lt. Louie Rasti's (Mickey
Knox) first reaction was that she was a suspected Japanese "booby
trap"!; she was a Broadway actress and former anti-war activist who
joined the USO after her husband Tom's death at Dunkirk
- the tense scene of ace pilot Lt. "Ham" Hamilton
(Tommy Noonan) presumably
shot down by a Japanese plane - pictured only by off-screen audio-radio
transmissions and a view of the radio's speaker, although he eventually
radioed back that he was unharmed (he had been chased by two Jap
planes into a cloud); when he landed back at the base, he reported
that the flames of his plane suddenly and mysteriously extinguished
- the sequence when Jean updated the 'Scoreboard' and
displayed it prominently in the primitive Officers Club - to the
consternation of most of the crew; when she asked: "Aren't you proud
of it?" - the men met her with stony silence; the Skipper finally
answered her: "Nobody's that good"; however, a vote was taken and
the Scoreboard remained in place
- the scenes of Jean's growing
closeness to the group of men, when she learned
about the pilots' wives and girlfriends and their hopes for the future
after the war
- the sequence of Jean's improvised and impromptu one-girl
entertainment show for the men (when
three other members of her female troupe and a piano player were
grounded in Townsville, Queensland, Australia); after performing
some songs for the all-male audience, she ordered the men to stand
in line to wait their turn for a short dance with her on the stage
(with different musical styles); she also performed in a conga-line
with all of them
Jean's One-Girl Entertainment Show
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- the scene of Jean's late-night delivery of an emotional
song in the privacy of the Officers Club quarters after the show: "Forever
and Always" - when the entire group of eight fliers experienced
a nostalgic epiphany
- in the film's sole romantic sequence, the Skipper
escorted and walked Jean back to her tent for the night, and they
shared mutual feelings about being "scared"; their discussion about
his plane's speed that "takes your breath away" was a veiled reference
to his feelings about her, and they kissed before a fade to black
- in the film's ending, the squadron
was "scrambled" to defend the airstrip from a swarming attack, while
"Mace" took over ground control from the "Skipper" who decided to
join his men in the air (Jean kissed him to wish "good luck"
and was distraught that he might be killed during the mission); the
pilots were outnumbered and
began to suffer casualties; when two of the pilots were killed,
"Mace" felt compelled to fly; then reports came in that all of the
pilots had been shot down, and that "Skipper" was missing; suddenly
however, "Skipper" appeared after landing his plane safely and took
control of the radio - he learned that "Mace" was surrounded by enemy
Japanese fighters and doomed to crash and die, and all the others
were lost
- at the airstrip (under attack by numerous Japanese
planes), Jean
huddled together with "Skipper" - her romantic love interest; she
bolstered up his spirit as the remote airstrip was being destroyed:
("You did your best. Darling, no one can do more than their best");
the two faced a very ambiguous future as the base was completely
obliterated, and the Officers Club was bombed
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Jean and "Mace" Listening to Vicious Dogfights on
Radio
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Jean Kissing "Skipper" Good Luck
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Jean and "Skipper" Huddled Together During Destructive
Attack on Base
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- the narrator's final words: "These boys did more
than their best. Theirs is the spirit that led to victory"
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Opening Prologue (Slow Zoom Into a Map of New Guinea)
One of the US AF Airplanes on Port Moresby Airstrip, Surrounded by Jungle
Most of the Crew Members at Breakfast Before the Day's Mission
The Casualty Scoreboard
Jean Gillis (Kristine Miller)
Radio Transmission of Conflict With a Japanese Plane
Jean's Display of Scoreboard: "Aren't you proud of it?"
Jean's Song: "Forever and Always"
Romance Between Jean and Skipper
Last Image: Scoreboard Under Ruins of Officers Club
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