"The Story of Dr. Wassell" is an excellent film non-combatant war film. But there's still plenty of wartime action. It takes places in the Asian theater and South Pacific. It's the story of an Arkansas country doctor, Corydon Wassell, who went to China as a medical missionary in 1913. In 1936, he went on active duty with the U.S. Navy reserves, serving in the Far East. When World War II broke out, he was serving as medical officer for two destroyers that were lost off the coast of Java.This is a wonderful story of a different type of hero than the one who charges enemy positions. Wassell stays behind when the American forces on Java are ordered to evacuate. That is, all except the wounded who can't walk. So he's a hero of self-sacrifice and great love for his fellow man that he wouldn't leave his wounded men behind to be captured by the Japanese.This is a harrowing film at times, and at others times it has humor. It was based on interviews and recollections of many of the men, and of Dr. Wassell himself. His decision to stay behind with his men goes against his direct orders. Yet he finds one situation after another of being able to move his men to a port where they can be evacuated. Obviously, it has a happy ending. And when he is called to meet the admiral in Australia, he expects to get a lecture and maybe face a court marital. Instead, brass of all kinds are in the room waiting as they listen to a radio broadcast in which President Franklin Roosevelt tells of examples of American heroism, and the story he tells is that of Dr. Wassell.In the introduction to the film, Cecil B. DeMille is listening to that very broadcast. He says that that inspired him to make the movie about Dr. Wassell and his heroism. American author James Hilton wrote a novel shortly after Wassell's efforts made the news. Wassell served as an adviser for the movie.Wassell earned the Navy Cross for his actions. There is a gratuitous romance aspect in the film, but it's OK and fictitious. Wassell didn't mind it because his wife was back home during this time.The film was released on July 4, 1944, in theaters across the U.S. It was an obvious morale-builder. But before that, it had a premier showing on April 29, 1944 in Wassell's home time of Little Rock, AR.All of the roles are done well. As with some other war movies of the time, this one has one character who is over-the-top silly, clowning, etc. After a while that can grate on a person. It's OK to have someone like that — if there was in fact such a person. If not, I question his inclusion because it seems that he's pushing or forcing a lighter side in the film. I thought just one short scene was quite hokey and hard to believe. That was Wassell's standing before a huge Buddha in the jungle and asking Buddha to make the distant convoy sounds anything other than Japanese. If he was a medical missionary, he more likely might have said the Lord's Prayer, or prayed to God in some other way. Well, it may have happened that way, or it might have been a Hollywood insert with some specific intent in mind.This is a fine film about sacrifice and caring for one's fellow man in terrible times. And an excellent film for any war collection.

I never heard of this movie until I spotted the title via a CECIL B de MILLE search on this site yesterday. DeMILLE made few movies in the 1940's and 1950's and this was the only one I hadn't seen.Two years in production, this dreadfully-dull-titled movie is a big screen epic Technicolor production depicts a seemingly small act of heroism --- a Navy doctor from Arkansas rescues 12 survivors of the USS Marblehead who are trapped on Java with the Japanese closing in on all sides, during the early part of World War II when America was still losing badly. DeMille brings the story together with a first rate mix of spectacular action, human drama, romance, and typical GI humor.This is a REAL World War II movie, made during an era when Hollywood had neither Sean Penn, nor George Clooney, nor Steven Spielberg; and all of Hollywood was solidly behind America (not Japan)--- this era produced numerous real life war heroes who were also screen actors, directors, writers. More recently we have the revisionist history guys, such as Jerry Bruckheimer's PEARL HARBOR which "justified" the attack by the Japanese for the clearly stated reason of grabbing up bigger Japanese box office. Like most Americans (I think) I'd never have seen that movie if I'd known they'd stick a knife in the back of America and re-write the war against us.Warning to girlie-man liberals: Dr Wassell is loaded with 2007-style Political Incorrectness. The GI's flirt with nurses, smoke cigarettes like mad, call their cigarettes "fags," call the Japanese enemy Japs; worse still they reflect patriotic attitudes and carry religion so far as to pray. Ohmygawd! This movie is difficult but not impossible to find. It was released by MCA/Universal in VHS many years ago. Specialty video shops like Video Vault in Alexandria, VA have it for rent. No listings on eBay right now, but it's worth a shot. Seek and you shall find!

Gary Cooper did four films with Cecil B. DeMille and this is easily the best of them. Although World War II is now history at the time this film was made, the incidents described were two years old. The attack sequences were brilliantly staged in the best DeMille manner, a kind of preview of 3-D.DeMille in his autobiography admitted that the romantic flashbacks concerning Dr. Wassell were completely made up. The real Corydon Wassell and his wife were married all the time the action of the film took place. He described as a white lie, I think one's marital status is a bit more than that. Having said that the teaming of Cooper and Laraine Day was worked well and the romance fits in nicely.Dr. Corydon Wassell was an early hero of World War II who was a doctor in the US Navy having been previously a medical missionary in China. He was ordered to abandon his stretcher cases as the Allies were evacuating Java in 1942 before the Japanese advance. He stayed and got themsafely evacuated with a few adventures along the way. He was decorated by President Roosevelt and FDR's radio message concerning Wassell's courage inspired DeMille to make this film.DeMille said he could only envision Gary Cooper for the part. I'm sure that was the case because of DeMille's past success with Coop, but also because the Arkansas born and bred Wassell was similar to Cooper's own Oscar winning character of Tennessee native Sergeant York. The rest of the cast performs admirably. The most poignant scene in the film involves a woman being shot during the Japanese aerial attack on the Dutch freighter Janssen in front of her little boy. As she urges the kid to go on and not look back, if a tear doesn't come to your eye you are made of stone. DeMille's films, especially his costume pictures sometimes have some stilted Victorian dialog, but in this one there is none.Also I'd like to single out from the supporting cast Paul Kelly who plays one of the stretcher cases. He's a griper and a complainer all the way through, but when that kid's mother is shot as I previously described, he takes charge of the little boy in a scene that is the best in the film. Also Philip Ahn who plays Cooper's oriental confidante does it with strength and dignity which were his hallmarks as an actor when so many Asian players were stereotyped.Even if you don't like DeMille, you'll like this film.

As WWII becomes part of 20th Century History, we now look back upon the Hollywood films depicting WWII as over-sentimental and patriotic. But this film is different, it was not about a great Allied victory but an Allied defeat and how one man, an American doctor single-handedly risked his life to save American sailors too injured to be moved during the pending invasion of Java by the advancing Japanese fleet. It is these real-life stories that are absent of any propaganda that will make this film survive. Although a bit glamourized for WWII moviegoing audiences, this film holds up well and it covers a part of WWII with respect to the Dutch involvement rarely discussed. Finally, Cecille B. DeMille, Gary Cooper and Technicolor still make this film an engaging experience.