Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . shows that 75% of Japanese racists believe that Americans are "lazy" (even though international statistics prove that U.S. workers labor more hours annually than their Asian counterparts). THE GALLANT HOURS serves to drive home this point about Japan's self-delusions in a key historical context. While Japanese military "genius" Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto worked short hours, frittering away his "spare" time on frivolous hobbies such as chess and floral photography, he met his doom at the hands of Workaholic U.S. Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., who graduated in the bottom third of his 1904 Naval Academy class as Yamamoto was the toast of the town in his own 1904 military cohort. But, as Thomas Edison always said, hard work beats brains every time. While Yamamoto was smelling the flowers, Halsey was busy managing the tiniest details of War (such as breaking the Japanese military code) with his hands-on supervision during grueling 16-hour days. As shown here, Yamamoto knew that his year-old code needed urgent updating, but he was too busy with board games and flowers to even delegate the task. His lackadaisical approach to World War enabled Halsey to easily pick him off as he island-hopped on a transparent schedule, turning the tide of the whole WWII Kerfluffle against the inflated-ego bearing Japanese.

SimonJack Movie buffs who crave action may not find this film to their liking. But, those who enjoy history and most war movie fans will enjoy "The Gallant Hours." This is one of the very best war films ever made in which there are no action scenes, battles or combat shown. The plot is excellent, the screenplay is superb, and it's all made quite riveting by the performances of the cast. This is a story about a few weeks of World War II in the Pacific Theater and Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey, Jr. It covers the time under Halsey's watch when the tide of the war turned from Japanese domination to the start of Japan's retreat. James Cagney gives one of the best performances of his career as Halsey. Cagney was a very talented performer. He could act, sing and dance. Unfortunately, he didn't get as many top dramatic or musical films in which he could use his tremendous talents. That's because his star rose during the halcyon years of the public's and Hollywood's fascination with gangsters, organized crime and local government corruption. Cagney is one of those actors who became so identified with the gangster persona that he didn't get many other starring roles. But those he did – comedy, musical, or other action films, all were very good. It does seem ironic indeed, that the Oscar he won was for his role as George M. Cohan in "Yankee Doodle Dandy." Cagney played a lively, magnanimous Cohan – a master entertainer, playwright, composer, singer, dancer and producer. In "The Gallant Hours," Cagney is more reserved as Admiral "Bull" Halsey, to suit the character. But he gives a thoughtful, intelligent performance for the man who was in the spotlight at the time and who's leadership helped set the course for an Allied victory in the Pacific. This film has tremendous historical value in its focus on command decisions, the careful deliberations, the concerns, worries, efforts to discover and outguess enemy plans and tactics, and the risks military commanders and leaders often have to weigh and take. In one scene, Cagney's Halsey says, "There are no great men. There are only great challenges that ordinary men are forced by circumstance to meet." It's a brilliant film all around, and should be in every war film library. Other reviewers have noted a discrepancy in the timing of Japanese Admiral Yamamoto's demise. That should be noted for its misrepresentation in the film. All of the cast excel in this film. It's a fine tribute to a fine man and leader, and to all the Navy brass and other commanders in the Pacific theater for their dedication and service in World War II. This film was worthy of 10 stars but for one thing. The U.S. Naval Academy chorus, however good it may be, was just out of place providing the background music. It quickly became a droning distraction and detracted from the film.

oldgringo2001 I love watching this movie, even if I know it has some deliberate factual errors and gives a completely bogus impression of Halsey's Japanese adversary, Admiral Yamamoto. Other reviews have also noted that in truth Admiral Yamamoto wasn't shot down until April, two months after the last surviving Japanese forces finally withdrew from Guadalcanal and more than four months since the deaths of Admirals Scott and Callaghan. One thing which is not mentioned at all in the film is that Callaghan was given command over Scott, who had won the earlier Battle of Cape Esperance, simply because he was senior in rank.Yamamoto did have an artistic bent, which he expressed through calligraphy, but geisha parties, cards, and chess were more his style, and he insisted his officers join him. Yamamoto was also an adventurous, individualistic man, a nail that stuck out that Japanese society never quite hammered down. He once hitch-hiked from Boston to Mexico!Thomas Lamphier used to be credited for shooting down Yamamoto, but official credit has finally been given to Rex Barber, another P-38 pilot, who is not portrayed in the film.There are many, many books about the Pacific War, Halsey, and the Guadalcanal campaign. My favorite, though it is out of print, is "The Campaign for Guadalcanal" by Jack Hoggins. It has a good mix of material covering sea, air, and land fighting, and is illustrated with fine drawings. For the Japanese perspective, John Toland's "The Rising Sun" has a very large section devoted to the campaign.

JoeytheBrit Former actor Robert Montgomery's contemplative account of William Halsey's involvement in the pivotal Guadalcanal campaign is an unusual war film in that it features no battle scenes and no overt heroics. Much of the 'action' takes place in Halsey's office where he holds meetings with his trusted officers to discuss strategy and tactics. The officers are really only there to provide an alternative – i.e. incorrect – point of view so that the wise old admiral can set them straight, which he always does. Even when he briefly considers changing his mind, he shakes his head and dismisses the idea: 'You don't change your mind,' he asserts, 'you go in a different direction.' This is a Cagney-Montgomery co-production, which might account for the decision to dispense with any battle scenes. Presumably, although MGM distributed the picture, they provided no cash for the budget so that the lack of action is a result of financial prudence rather than any artistic or dramatic reasons. The film suffers as a result. It's almost two hours long, which is too long for a war film that contains no scenes of war. Director Montgomery does open up the film a little with Halsey paying a visit on the troops on Guadalcanal, the strategically vital island that must be held at all costs. Not much happens though, other than Halsey leaving all the guys thinking what a swell guy he is.The story is presented in a semi-documentary style with Montgomery providing the narration. It borders on the superfluous at times: we see Japanese commander Yamamoto photographing a flower, and when you condense Montgomery's narration down to the essentials, pretty much what you get is 'Here is Yamamoto photographing a flower.' When Montgomery isn't describing what we're looking at we're treated to some choral music that would be more at home in some movie about the Arthurian legends than a film set on a battle cruiser.James Cagney plays Halsey – who, it has to be said, is practically unknown in the UK – and he's pretty good, which is just as well because he more or less has to carry the picture. Like the talking pictures, Cagney had matured and refined his performances. Age was turning him into rather a stout fellow, and he could no longer get by on jerky, pugnacious energy, so it was necessary for him to adapt, and he was a wholly better actor for it. Others have noted that he toned down his mannerisms for the film, but he'd been playing most of his roles like this for the best part of a decade.Montgomery's direction is pedestrian at best. The storyline doesn't really give him a lot of scope for variety I suppose, and things fall a little flat at times. The script struggles in its attempts to effectively depict the strains and pressures of command while still presenting Halsey as some flawless, super-human strategist. The nearest it ever comes to relating the psychological burden of making decisions that can send hundreds or thousands of men to their deaths is in one quietly affecting scene when Halsey sits alone in his darkened office, his eyes invisible in the shadows beneath his brow, and listens to the sounds of battle around him.Overall, this isn't a bad film. It's not a particularly memorable one either. When I arrived at its page on IMDb to post this review I discovered that I had already rated it – even though I thought I was watching it for the first time. The rating I had given it then was a 4, but I've upped that now to 5. A sign, perhaps, that you need to be of a certain demographic to appreciate this effort.