Story of G.I. Joe

Celebrated war correspondent Ernie Pyle (Burgess Meredith) chronicles the exploits of the American Army’s Company C, 18th Infantry and befriends its Captain (Robert Mitchum) during World War II.

Story of G.I. Joe was a war film ahead of its time. Made during the war, it lacks the propaganda and flag waiving of so many of its contemporaries, instead showing gritty, dirty, struggle to survive that was the day-to-day life of the American infantry soldier.

Yes, some moments work better than others, and the film can be a bit slow at times, but watching it, you can see the template so many later films would follow; one still used today.

Which is also, unfortunately, one of the film’s biggest weaknesses. You’ve seen this story before, done better, by a film made since. Story of G.I. Joe was a pioneer in getting inside the head of the grunt, but later films, ones not shackled with 1940’s sensibilities and the motion picture code, were able to paint a fuller, truer picture. Granted, they didn’t have Robert Mitchum as a Captain so full of quiet charisma, you want to pick up a rifle and join him, but still, they were better.

Thus, this film will appeal to fans of the genre, and film buffs interested in tracing its evolution, but others would be better served with a later effort.