Cry ‘Havoc’ (1943)

“How do you knock on a tent?” one of the civilians jokes as she arrives at the military hospital. They are out of their element, scared, but also overconfident and wisecracking—some of them. A group of women who are stranded in the Philippines as the Battle of Bataan commences are without the best options, and so they’re recruited to volunteer at an overwhelmed military hospital. Not only are the doctors and nurses too few, and exhausted—they are being bombed. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s rampant disease, including malaria. It’s as grim as can be. An ensemble of fine actresses playing average women—there’s seven of them—including top billed Ann Sothern, Joan Blondell, and Margaret Sullavan—who plays one of the military nurses who is suffering from malignant malaria but insists on staying on there. They’re all pretty intense.

I read that it was based on a play, which is obvious—you can almost see the curtain come down between scenes—and off-screen action and time is condensed between dramatic scenes—not a bad thing, necessarily. Any kind of high point is quickly followed by a low—really quickly—and sometimes really, really low. Yet they keep finding ways to joke, laugh, and get excited about things. One of the real high points is when one of the women comes up with a bar of soap! They’re all freaking out—and when Ella Raines gets ahold of it, she identifies it: “Fels Naptha!” That leads to a few of the woman bathing in a lagoon, using the new soap, and swimming—one of the nicest scenes in the movie—and one of the few times we’re out of the grim encampment. But remember what I said about the rollercoaster nature of the storylines? I can’t say more without including one of those silly disclaimers.

Ella Raines is the biggest wimp of all of them, but then undergoes the biggest transformation—after a particularly devastating attack, and she tries to comfort a dying soldier, who happens to be played by Robert Mitchum! The total change in her character, after that point, is both understandable and believable. Naturally the movie has a patriotic slant, but it’s hard not to see it as tragic and grim. Sure, the spirit and heroism of the women is inspiring, but the end comes as they’ve all been captured, and we’re left with the horrifying reality of war. I guess that’s realistic, and at least they didn’t tack on a happy-go-lucky fantasy feelgood conclusion simply rake in those extra dollars that accompanies not bumming audiences out. The movie stays true to what it is.

5.22.24