In Harm's Way (1965)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

James Bassett (novel)
Wendell Mayes (writer)

Release Date:

6 April 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Stripped of everything - they lived and loved and fought as if there were no tomorrow...

Plot:

A naval officer reprimanded after Pearl Harbor is later promoted to rear admiral and gets a second chance to prove himself against the Japanese.

Plot Keywords:

Pearl Harbor | Naval Officer | Admiral | Para Marine | Mess Hall

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

John Wayne	...	Capt. Rockwell Torrey
Kirk Douglas	...	Commander Paul Eddington Jr.
Patricia Neal	...	Lt. Maggie Haynes
Tom Tryon	...	Mac McConnell
Paula Prentiss	...	Beverly McConnell
Brandon De Wilde	...	Ens. Jeremiah 'Jere' Torrey
Jill Haworth	...	Ens. Annalee Dorne
Dana Andrews	...	Admiral Broderick
Stanley Holloway	...	Clayton Canfil
Burgess Meredith	...	Commander Egan Powell
Franchot Tone	...	Admiral Kimmel
Patrick O'Neal	...	Commander Neal Owynn
Carroll O'Connor	...	Lt. Commander Burke
Slim Pickens	...	C.P.O Culpepper
James Mitchum	...	Ensign Griggs

Runtime:

165 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Norway:16 | USA:Approved | West Germany:12 (f) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company:

Otto Preminger Films

Trivia:

The islands identified by Torre as Gavabutu, Levu Vana and Tokaroa are actually San Cristobal, Guadalcanal and Malaita. Pala Passage would become known as Ironbottom Sound because of the number of ships that would be sunk there in coming battles. Cape Titan probably refers to the Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain, about 650 miles from Guadalcanal. The battle for Guadalcanal began on 7 Aug., 1942 and would not end until February, 1943. Although they say that the majority of forces are with MacArthur in the Solomons, Guadalcanal, is in the eastern Solomons. The dividing line between MacArthur's area of responsibility and Nimitz's was the 159 degrees east.

Goofs:

Continuity: The Japanese submarine in the Pearl Harbor attack changes appearance radically between shots -- different models -- at 0:23:16 and 0:23:54.

Quotes:

[Torrey is receiving a damage control report after being torpedoed]
Captain Rock Torrey: Full report.
Ensign Griggs: Well, we've halted the fires up forward where we took the first torpedo, sir, and we've stopped the flow of water at Hatch 26. Commander Eddington says to tell the Old Man that - I'm sorry, sir, the Captain, sir - that he'd better start thinking about a tow. May I also say, sir, that Commander Eddington is hell on wheels, sir.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Bass on Titles (1977)

All-star action, spectacle and personal romances, with excellent battle scenes...

War, it is often said, brings out the best and the worst in man... Stanley Kubrick clearly considered 'Path of Glory' as an effective comment on men exposed to repulsive circumstances…

The threatening morning of December 7, 1941—a quiet Sunday—is shattered by waves of Japanese planes bombing U.S Navy's base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, sending all its battleships to the bottom of the ocean... The scene is taken in brief, with few shots of airplanes and some explosions in the ocean...

Among the few ships that escape, in one piece, is the destroyer Cassidy protected by Lieutenant William McConnel(Tom Tryon).

Out on patrol, in high seas, a cruiser, commanded by Captain Torrey Rockwell (John Wayne), is having gunnery practice... It is this ship that serves as temporary operational headquarters for the survivors of the aerial attack...

In the aftermath of the surprise military strike, Torrey receives orders to amass his small fleet of warships and engage the enemy…

Photographed in black and white, the film has several characters, most of them very mature and realistic...

Paul Eddington (Kirk Douglas), a commander whose drunken wife (Barbara Bouchet) has committed adultery with a pilot (Hugh O'Brien). He relieves his anger by brutally raping a young nurse (Jill Haworth), and later, to save from being a total failure, defies orders by flying a reconnaissance plane and takes off alone to situate the hidden Japanese fleet in a very hazardous mission...

Egan Powell (Burgess Meredith), a sardonic wartime officer and a peacetime script writer who gives moments of sane observation, specially in a scene with Wayne discussing danger...

Patricia Neal, a mature and understanding Navy nurse who loves Captain Torrey and informs him that his son from whom he hasn't seen since for many years, is a naval officer on the island...

Brandon De Wilde is Jere, the young opportunist hoping to keep out of the way his PT boat assignment by leading a soft staff job… Henry Fonda is the admiral in command of the Pacific theater; Dana Andrews is the weak Admiral Broderick and Patrick O'Neal is a well-connected congressman-turned-officer Cmdr. Neal Owynn...