# Tarawa Beachhead > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tarawa_Beachhead > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tarawa_Beachhead.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarawa_Beachhead > Source revision: 1339346013 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1958 film by Paul Wendkos Tarawa Beachhead Original film poster Directed by Paul Wendkos Written by Richard Alan Simmons Produced by Charles H. Schneer Starring Kerwin Mathews Ray Danton Julie Adams Cinematography Henry Freulich Edited by Jerome Thoms Production company Columbia Pictures Distributed by Columbia Pictures Release date November 2, 1958 (1958-11-02) Running time 77 min. Country United States Language English ***Tarawa Beachhead*** is a 1958 [war film](/source/War_film) directed by [Paul Wendkos](/source/Paul_Wendkos). It stars [Columbia Pictures](/source/Columbia_Pictures) contract star [Kerwin Mathews](/source/Kerwin_Mathews) in his first leading role and the husband and wife team of [Ray Danton](/source/Ray_Danton) and [Julie Adams](/source/Julie_Adams).[1] The [working title](/source/Working_title) of the film was *Flag over Tarawa* and was originally to have starred [Ronald Reagan](/source/Ronald_Reagan).[2] ## Plot Sgt. Tom Sloan sees his Lieutenant Joel Brady kill one of their own Marines, Johnny Campbell on [Guadalcanal](/source/Guadalcanal) after Brady led a disastrous suicidal attack against Japanese entrenched in caves. As the only survivors of the debacle, Sloan does not turn Brady in as he assumes that no one will believe his word against an officer's. With Brady's recommendation, Sloan is later commissioned and assigned as an aide to a general (Onslow Stevens) back in the [2nd Marine Division](/source/2nd_Marine_Division_(United_States)) headquarters in [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand). Lt. Sloan meets Campbell's widow, Ruth (Julie Adams) to bring her letters written by Johnny. However he meets Brady who is keeping company with Ruth's sister (Karen Sharpe). Sloan lands on [Tarawa](/source/Tarawa) with Brady, now a captain; each hating each other more than the Japanese. ## Cast - [Kerwin Mathews](/source/Kerwin_Mathews) as Sergeant (later Lieutenant) Thomas A. 'Tom' Sloan - [Julie Adams](/source/Julie_Adams) as Ruth Nelson Campbell - [Ray Danton](/source/Ray_Danton) as Lieutenant (later Captain) Joel Brady - [Karen Sharpe](/source/Karen_Sharpe) as Paula Nelson - [Onslow Stevens](/source/Onslow_Stevens) as General Nathan Keller ## Production The film was said to contain extensive amounts of actual footage of the [Battle of Tarawa](/source/Battle_of_Tarawa). While some actual footage was used, most of the supposed actual footage were from the 1943 film *[Guadalcanal Diary](/source/Guadalcanal_Diary_(film))* and the 1949 film, *[Sands of Iwo Jima](/source/Sands_of_Iwo_Jima)*. Some footage was also used from the 1951 film *[Halls of Montezuma](/source/Halls_of_Montezuma_(film))*. The [United States Marine Corps](/source/United_States_Marine_Corps) refused to cooperate with the producers, due to the theme of an officer out for glory killing his own men and a sergeant out for revenge.[3] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Tarawa Beachhead (1958) - Paul Wendkos | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie"](http://www.allmovie.com/work/tarawa-beachhead-112693). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_021758b](http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_021758b) [*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*] 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Tarawa Beachhead"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121022133716/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/27546/Tarawa-Beachhead/#notes). Archived from [the original](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/27546/tarawa-beachhead#notes) on October 22, 2012. ## External links - [*Tarawa Beachhead*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052272/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [*Tarawa Beachhead*](https://web.archive.org/web/1/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/27546/enwp) at the [TCM Movie Database](/source/Turner_Classic_Movies#TCMdb) (archived) - [*Tarawa Beachhead*](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/52759) at the *[AFI Catalog of Feature Films](/source/AFI_Catalog_of_Feature_Films)* v t e Films directed by Paul Wendkos The Burglar (1957) The Case Against Brooklyn (1958) Tarawa Beachhead (1958) Gidget (1959) Face of a Fugitive (1959) Battle of the Coral Sea (1959) Because They're Young (1960) Angel Baby (1961) Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) Gidget Goes to Rome (1963) Johnny Tiger (1966) Attack on the Iron Coast (1967) Fear No Evil (1969) Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969) Hell Boats (1970) The Brotherhood of the Bell (1970) Cannon for Cordoba (1970) The Mephisto Waltz (1971) A Little Game (1971) A Death of Innocence (1971) The Family Rico (1972) Haunts of the Very Rich (1972) The Strangers in 7A (1972) The Underground Man (1974) The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975) Special Delivery (1976) The Death of Richie (1977) Good Against Evil (1977) 79 Park Avenue (1979) Betrayal (1978) A Woman Called Moses (1978) The Five of Me (1981) Cocaine: One Man's Seduction (1983) Scorned and Swindled (1984) The Bad Seed (1985) Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife (1987) Six Against the Rock (1987) Right to Die (1987) The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story (1988) The Great Escape II: The Untold Story (1988) Cross of Fire (1989) Blind Faith (1990) The Chase (1991) White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd (1991) A Match Made in Heaven (1997) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tarawa Beachhead](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarawa_Beachhead) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarawa_Beachhead?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.