Sands of Iwo Jima is a 1949 war film directed by Allan Dwan. The film stars John Wayne and John Agar. It is set in the Pacific theater of World War II, and features a notable reenactment of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Director: Allan Dwan
Production Company: Republic Pictures
Distributor: Republic Pictures
Cast: John Wayne, John Agar, Forrest Tucker, Adele Mara
US Box Office: $12,500,000 ($260,100,000 adjusted for inflation)
Film Format: Black & White
Genre: War
Release Date: December 14, 1949 (premier)
Plot Summary: John Stryker (John Wayne) is a tough marine sergeant. His new squad initially dislikes him, including private Pete Conway (John Agar) who especially despises him because Stryker served with and admired Conway’s estranged father. However, after they serve with Stryker and learn of his troubles, the squad learns to trust and respect him. The film follow’s Stryker’s squad in training, on leave, and to the battles of Tarawa and Iwo Jima.
Production: In the late 1940s Republic Pictures president Herbert Yates decided to create a film based on the the role of Marines late in the Pacific Theater of World War II, specifically at the Battle of Iwo Jima. Yates based Sands of Iwo Jima on a story written by Harry Brown, and the film was written by Brown and James Edward Grant. Allan Dwan was chosen to direct the film. Kirk Douglas was the first actor considered for the role of Stryker, but Dwan thought that John Wayne, who was a much bigger star, would be better suited for the part. Wayne originally didn’t want to take the part because he felt that he was too old (42) and he had previously starred in many World War II films during the war. However, Wayne liked the script’s patriotism and he agreed to take the part.
Sands of Iwo Jima was filmed by Republic Pictures from July to August of 1949. Parts of the film were shot at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Leo Carrillo State Beach (both in south California) and on several islands off the coast of California (including Santa Catalina Island). The United States Marine Corps approved of the film’s script and helped with the production. Over 2000 Marines served as extras in the film. Sands of Iwo Jima used actual war footage from the Battles of Tarawa and Iwo Jima alongside scenes shot by the cast and crew. This served two purposes, to make the film more realistic and to lower production costs. John Agar and the younger cast members got along well with Wayne, and often went drinking together after filming.
Fun Facts and Trivia: The line, “Life is tough, but it’s tougher if you’re stupid” is commonly attributed to be a line spoke by John Wayne’s character Stryker in Sands of Iwo Jima, however he never says this line, or even a variation of it in the film. In fact, Wayne never says this line in any of his films. The film features many combat veterans from Iwo Jima playing themselves. Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, and John Bradley, who rose the first flag on Iwo Jima (and were credited at the time to have also risen the second flag in the famous Associated Press photograph “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima”) appear as themselves and are handed the flag by Stryker near the end of the film. Sands of Iwo Jima is the first film to use the military term “lock and load” which basically means “prepare your weapon.”
Reception: Sands of Iwo Jima was very popular with audiences due to its patriotism and intense battle scenes. It was one of the top ten highest grossing films of 1949. Due to the film’s success, Wayne was quickly cast in two upcoming World War II films, Operation Pacific and Flying Leathernecks (both 1951) At the time critics were mixed on the film as a whole, but gave considerable praise to John Wayne’s performance. Critics that had previously dismissed Wayne’s acting were impressed by his performances in Sands of Iwo Jima, Red River (1948), and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949).
Oscars: Sands of Iwo Jima was nominated for four Academy Awards. John Wayne was nominated for Best Actor, and the film was also nominated for Best Film Editing (Richard Van Enger), Best Sound Recording (Daniel J. Bloomberg) and Best Story (Harry Brown). Sands of Iwo Jima did not win any Oscars. Wayne was proud to have received his first Academy Award nomination, but felt that he should have been nominated for She Wore a Yellow Ribbon instead, because he put more effort into that role. Twenty years later, Wayne would finally win Best Actor for his role in True Grit (1969).
Why You Should See It: Sands of Iwo Jima is a great patriotic war film, that features a number of stand-out performances. The film also features some incredible battle scenes for a film of that time, greatly helped by the editing combining archive footage with the director’s work. I would definitely recommend it to John Wayne fans.