They Were Expendable (1945)

Directed by John Ford · Cinematography by Joseph H. August

Approved135 min65 frames

DramaWar

A Tribute to Those Who Did So Much... With So Little!

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Stills, screencaps & shots from They Were Expendable

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They Were Expendable (1945) — © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

They Were Expendable — official trailer

What is They Were Expendable about?

After a demonstration of new PT boats, navy brass are still unconvinced of their viability in combat, leaving Lt. "Rusty" Ryan frustrated. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, Ryan and his buddy Lt. Brickley are told they can finally take their squadron into battle. The PT boats quickly prove their worth, successfully shooting down Japanese planes, relaying messages between islands, and picking off a multitude of enemy ships.

They Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne, and featuring Donna Reed. The film is based on the 1942 novel of the same name by William Lindsay White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a United States PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese invasion during the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42) in World War II.

Second paragraph from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where can you watch They Were Expendable?

US availability for They Were Expendable (1945). Data by JustWatch, listings on TMDB. Availability changes — check the provider for current listings.

Who stars in They Were Expendable?

Who made They Were Expendable?

What does the cinematography of They Were Expendable look like?

Sampled across 65 frames, the coverage of They Were Expendable leans on medium shots (48% of the sample) and close-ups (25%). Cinematographer Joseph H. August keeps 48% of it in soft, low-key light. Night and dusk account for 60% of the frames. Vintage glass shapes the frame. Focus stays shallow in 55% of the frames, isolating subjects from their surroundings. The production design places the film in the 1940s.

What is the color palette of They Were Expendable?

The dominant colors across the sampled frames of They Were Expendable (1945) are #040404, #2f2f2f, #8e8e8e, #6c6c6c, #cacaca, #4c4c4b — measured from the per-frame color data FrameThrower extracts for every film.

  • #040404
  • #2f2f2f
  • #8e8e8e
  • #6c6c6c
  • #cacaca
  • #4c4c4b

See the full They Were Expendable colour palette — every hex with its share, plus warmth, saturation and luminance.

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