the audience applauded

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

HALLS OF MONTEZUMA is yet another Hollywood WW2 movie of the 1950s that sees a squad of US soldiers landing on a Japanese-occupied island in the Pacific and attempting to take down the enemy. They're led in this case by Richard Widmark in the type of role that could easily have been played by John Wayne or one of the other contemporary action stars of the era. Their goal is to find and destroy a Japanese rocket base that has been sending out a wave of rockets decimating their troops.The film boasts the likes of Robert Wagner, Neville Brand, Jack Palance, Karl Malden, and Richard Boone in support. Most of the actors get at least one scene of emoting to themselves. The battle scenes are depicted in a vivid and realistic way with the intercutting of real-life battle footage to add to the realism. The film also explores the relationship of the soldiers with the enemy as some of the troops are driven to the edge by having to take prisoners instead of killing them outright. It's fairly engaging stuff, with a handful of hard-hitting moments to see it through.

Entertaining look at combat from the viewpoint of a small band of Americans slugging it out with the Nips over a dinky, but important, section of real estate on some nothing little island. I chuckled mirthlessly at the "no shoot" landing the jarheads made against a handful of sneaky, albeit useless, soldiers of the Imperial Army. The Americans were fortunate to have had that old building to base in; it took rocket after rocket and was little the worse for wear after a couple of days of constant shelling. I really appreciated the robotic, killing machine gyrene sarge who lost his eyes but valiantly stated: "just point me in the right direction and I'll keep fighting". What a hoss! As usual, we had to have the comic relief: this time in the form of a hard drinking, harder fighting GI who actually carried his private still around with him. I enjoyed seeing some of the old faces, but Widmark was the only bright spot in the entire production. Fun but corny.

Halls of Montezuma takes a look at the lives and phscye of the individual soldiers trying to locate a missile battery on a Japanese held island in the south pacific in WWII. The technicolor footage is lush and the special effect are great for a movie of this era.It shows how the men become to depend on each other and their leader to help save the next landing of troops. While the acting is not as up to par as the rest of the film there are a few surprises in store. Jack Palance gives a good performance as a prize fighter looking out for a kid from the wrong side of the tracks. The shock is the rough and tumble Jack of later years comes off here as effeminate, soft-spoken and possibly gay (not that there is anything wrong with that), with his love for pretty boy. A real shock for those used to his later films.This film takes the tradition set forth in "All Quite On The Western Front" and updates it for WWII. If you are a fan of war films you must see this one.

My husband and I were particularly impressed by the camera technique used to transition from foxhole (or ship deck) to a scene in an earlier part of each soldier's life. We were so taken by Milestone's excellent direction and the film's incredible cinematography that the first time we saw it we just had to rewind and watch it over from the very beginning.Our only regret was that we did not watch the wide screen version.