September 8 - MacArthur

Today’s movie is a biographical drama with a scene that happens on September 8. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

MACARTHUR                       

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur is giving a speech at West Point. He thinks back on his career.  After the Japanese attack on the Philippines he moves his headquarters to Corregidor. He is later ordered to go to Australia and says, “I shall return”. He refuses to countenance any further withdrawals and insists on carrying the war to New Guinea. MacArthur’s staff carries on a full-scale press offensive promoting him. He proposes a campaign of bypassing Japanese strong points and cutting them off from supplies.  At a meeting at Pearl Harbor, MacArthur forcefully presses for an early invasion of the Philippines. He is given permission to invade the islands and orders a landing on Leyte. He has a highly publicized landing and advances to the front lines, where he learns he’s gotten his fifth star. Truman becomes president and orders the atomic bombing of Japan. MacArthur presides at the Japanese surrender. On September 8, 1945 [1:18:29 to 1:20:11] MacArthur arrives in Tokyo to take over as occupation leader. He pushes a progressive governmental, economic and social agenda. MacArthur prevents a Soviet move to occupy part of Japan. Then the North Koreans attack the South and MacArthur organizes the resistance. He proposes and carries out a landing at Inchon behind the lines and carries the war into the north. At Wake Island he tells Truman that the chances of a Chinese invasion is minimal. The Chinese do attack and after he makes public statements contrary to US policy, Truman relieves him of command. He receives a hero’s welcome on his return, but soon fades into obscurity.   

A decent bio. However it doesn’t cover any of Macarthur’s pre-World War II biography. It is balanced and avoids being either a coronation or a smear job.

The Years of MacArthur: Triumph and Disaster by D. Clayton James (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1985) t page 4 gives the date of his arrival

Producer - Frank McCarthy

Director - Joseph Sargent

Screenplay - Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins

Runtime – 2 hours 10 minutes

Released – July 15, 1977

Starring –

Gregory Peck as General of the Army Douglas MacArthur

Ed Flanders as President Harry S. Truman

Dan O'Herlihy as President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Ivan Bonar as Lieutenant General Richard K. Sutherland

Ward Costello as General of the Army George C. Marshall

Nicolas Coster as Colonel Sidney Huff

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.