The Naked and the Dead (1958) on Netflix
Lieutenant Hearn argues with General Cummings, who holds that fear keeps men in line. Sent to lead a platoon that Sergeant Croft once commanded, Hearn takes on a soldier known for cruelty.
- Watch on NetflixThis title is not on Netflix right now. Please check back later for updates.
- Watch on NordVPN
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb6.4/102,058 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes83%
Trailer
Plot summary
Robert Hearn, a lieutenant in the Pacific during World War II, works as aide to General Cummings, a commander who treats him like a son and a friend. Cummings argues that officers must make their men afraid of them to keep discipline, and Hearn answers that rank should not stand in the way of mutual respect among soldiers. Cummings transfers Hearn to a platoon bound for a hazardous intelligence and reconnaissance mission, the unit Staff Sergeant Sam Croft once commanded. Croft, a soldier with a name for cruelty, now serves under Hearn, whose idealism clashes with Croft's will to win at any cost.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Naked and the Dead (1958)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Press releases announced that Robert Mitchum was to star, with Charles Laughton directing, Paul Gregory producing and Walter Schumann composing the score, in a film to be made after The Night of the Hunter.
- After The Night of the Hunter flopped at the box office, Raoul Walsh replaced Charles Laughton as director and recruited an uncredited writer to rewrite the Sanders Brothers screenplay, while Joseph LaShelle took over from cinematographer Stanley Cortez.
- The film was shot on location in Panama with 250 American soldiers as extras; Hawaiian-born soldiers of Japanese descent were cast as Japanese soldiers, and local actors from the Canal Zone Theatre Guild also appeared.
- The film is one of the last made by RKO before the studio closed, and the last that Raoul Walsh directed for Warner Bros.
