A Howard Hughes war spectacular, made with the co-operation of the US Marines, which probably accounts for the brilliance of the photography of the Guadalcanal aerial dogfights, superbly captured in that sharp bright Technicolor which today's colour processors never seem able to reproduce. Otherwise, it's loud and in-your-face. John Wayne and Robert Ryan are the officers whose inevitable feud extends from the wartime Pacific to peacetime America, and grizzled veteran Jay C Flippen provides stalwart support. That icy blonde Janis Carter is completely wasted in a worthless role as Wayne's wife.

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