“John Ford's masterwork, They Were Expendable, was shot while he was still a Lt-Commander in the USNR; it tells the heroic tale of the men who manned the little torpedo boats during the desperate days when the war was going very badly for U.S. Forces in the Philippines. Written for the screen by Service tragedian Frank “Spig” Wead, They Were Expendable is one of Ford's most powerful and rewarding pictures. Long, slow-paced, and understated, its cumulative effect is simply stunning....” --Michael Goodwin