Guadalcanal Diary (film)

Guadalcanal Diary
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLewis Seiler
Screenplay byLamar Trotti
Jerome Cady
Based onthe book
by Richard Tregaskis
Produced byBryan Foy
StarringPreston Foster
Lloyd Nolan
William Bendix
Richard Conte
Anthony Quinn
Richard Jaeckel
CinematographyCharles G. Clarke
Edited byFred Allen
Music byDavid Buttolph
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • November 5, 1943 (1943-11-05) (United States)[1]
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.7 million (US rentals)[2] or $3 million[3]

Guadalcanal Diary is a 1943 World War II war film directed by Lewis Seiler, featuring Preston Foster, Lloyd Nolan, William Bendix, Richard Conte, Anthony Quinn and the film debut of Richard Jaeckel. It is based on the book of the same name by Richard Tregaskis.

The film recounts the fight of the United States Marines in the Battle of Guadalcanal, which occurred only a year before the movie's release. While the film has notable battle scenes, its primary focus is on the characters and back stories of the Marines. The film adapted the story of the Goettge Patrol, led by Lieutenant Colonel Frank Goettge.

The movie was produced by Bryan Foy, who also produced Berlin Correspondent (1942), Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas (1943), and PT 109 (1963).

  1. ^ Hanson, Patricia King, ed. (1999). American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1941-1950. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 948. ISBN 0-520-21521-4.
  2. ^ "Top Grossers of the Season", Variety, 5 January 1944 p 54
  3. ^ Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History Rowman & Littlefield, 2002 p 220