Whether they’ve actually seen the movie or not, I doubt many classic film fans need it explained that 1945’s Story of G.I. Joe has no direct connection to the Hasbro toy company’s popular action figure line. This isn’t a prequel to the adventures of Snake Eyes, Destro, or Cobra Commander. However, Hasbro did take inspiration from this film’s title when choosing the name for “America’s Moveable Fighting Man” in 1964. In sharp contrast to a children’s toy that glamorizes the military, the original Story of G.I. Joe is a rather grown-up and somber meditation on the harsh realities of war.
On the subject of the film’s title, this one has a few variations. Although commonly marketed and packaged as The Story of G.I. Joe, the title card on screen actually reads Ernie Pyle’s Story of G.I. Joe and has no “The” in it. Ironically, in one of the last things he wrote before his death just prior to the movie’s opening, the real Ernie Pyle bemoaned that he didn’t care for the title, but couldn’t think of anything better.
| Title: | Story of G.I. Joe (a.k.a. The Story of G.I. Joe or Ernie Pyle’s Story of G.I. Joe) |
| Year of Release: | 1945 |
| Director: | William A. Wellman |
| Watched On: | Amazon Prime Video |
| Also Available On: | Blu-ray DVD Kanopy PlutoTV Roku Channel Tubi |
Story of G.I. Joe is also notable as an early breakout role for Robert Mitchum, a studio contract player who’d toiled away in supporting parts and B-movies but would soon become an iconic leading man for his work in the film noir genre. While Mitchum is not the lead here, his performance as the battle-weary Lt. (later Capt.) Walker is the heart of the film and, remarkably, scored the actor the only Oscar nomination in his long career.
There’s no single Joe in this Story of G.I. Joe. Produced while World War II was still raging, and released to theaters barely a month after VE Day, the film is a tribute to the fighting men of the American infantry, based on the newspaper columns by Pulitzer-winning war correspondent Ernie Pyle. While the flyboys in the Air Force frequently hogged the majority of press coverage and had their daring exploits heroized on the silver screen, Pyle felt a kinship with the troops on the ground, the grunts so often treated as expendable cannon fodder ushered from one hellish battleground to another where they stood little chance of surviving, and less still of being remembered. By telling their stories, Pyle put a face on the anonymous G.I. Joe and brought the war back home to the public in America so removed from it.
Burgess Meredith, later famous for his colorful supporting characters in the Batman TV series and the Rocky movie franchise, stars as Pyle, the newspaper journalist who embedded himself with several infantry divisions throughout the European campaign of the war. The (slightly fictionalized) plot of the film covers his time with Company C, 18th Infantry, which serves as a composite of a few different units. Although the movie has a couple battle sequences, including a rather elaborate one in Italy, the majority of screen time is spent on the long stretches between the fighting, the seemingly mundane and perhaps even dull periods when the men do a lot of marching, making camp, keeping themselves sane however they can, and waiting around for orders to come. In fact, the first battle, in which the company is badly defeated in Tunisia, happens mostly off-screen.
During this time, we get to know the men, witness their camaraderie, and see the toll the war takes on them – especially Walker, a pragmatic, stalwart man who grows increasingly dead-eyed as familiar faces are hauled away in body bags and fresh young ones step in under his command for the cycle to repeat itself again and again. All the while, Pyle travels along with the company, observing and making friends with the men to ensure that he does them justice when telling their stories to the world.
Directed by William Wellman, whose Wings had won the first ever Best Picture Oscar in 1929, Story of G.I. Joe is neither a pro-war nor anti-war film. The plot has no singular villain other than the terrible necessity of the war itself. It’s simply a depiction of what war is, and what it does to those brave enough, whether of their own choosing or not, to endure it for however long they can, or however long the war allows them to.
Sadly, despite cooperating with the production and approving the casting of Meredith (who was decidedly not a traditional rugged leading man – hence the addition of Mitchum in a major supporting role), the real Ernie Pyle did not live to see the movie’s release. He was killed in action during the Battle of Okinawa two months earlier and buried between two infantrymen. His remains were later transported to Honolulu and interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Video Streaming
Story of G.I. Joe is a production that has suffered the ravages of time. The film’s Original Camera Negative deteriorated long ago. According to information from current license holder Ignite Films, the best preservation element was created by the Motion Picture Academy from a duplicate nitrate negative that was in “good but not terrific shape.” Ignite Films then undertook its own digital restoration work based on that preservation element (a third-generation source). The result was released on Blu-ray in July of this year. That Blu-ray comes with several bonus features that seem worthwhile, but if you’d like to sample the movie or the new transfer before committing to a purchase, the Ignite restoration is currently streaming in 1080p high-definition on Amazon Prime Video with subscription.
As you’d expect for a movie of this age and condition, the approximately 1.34:1 black-and-white image varies considerably in sharpness during the running time. In addition to the loss of the camera negative, the movie has a great many optical process shots and some stock footage inserts that don’t help matters much. Nonetheless, detail and clarity are sometimes very good. In fact, the restoration is quite impressive in that regard for the most part. The gray scale and contrast also look very natural.
From the examples Ignite has shared, the restoration was able to stabilize or clean up the worst of the damage to the existing film element. Even so, some streakiness, flicker, speckles, and other visual defects remain – all of which are forgivable. None are too distracting. Grain has also been somewhat reduced from the heavy coating present on the preservation element, but in a judicious manner careful not to wipe too much away. (James Cameron had nothing to do with this restoration, thank you very much.) The movie is still quite grainy much of the time.
The monaural soundtrack is a little bright, but suitably clear despite some minor but persistent hiss. Dialogue is all intelligible, music sounds good, and the battle sounds come across well.
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Great review, Josh! Haven’t seen this one, but it’s always been on the list. Glad to hear it’s readily available. I’ll have to check it out soon.
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