To the Shores of Tripoli

Stepping into the hero/heel part that Tyrone Power specialized in while at 20th Century Fox is John Payne as the spoiled kid of a former Marine officer, Minor Watson. Payne's hoping to get out of the Marines for a nice desk job in Washington, DC, but Watson's hoping that his former sergeant Randolph Scott, now a drill instructor will give Payne the necessary attitude adjustment.

Payne's getting an attitude adjustment in another direction too. He's fallen for pretty nurse Maureen O'Hara even though he's got Washington society girl Nancy Kelly pulling strings for him.

The part is such a perfect one for Tyrone Power that I'm sure it was offered to him and rejected and given to Payne who was hired by Darryl Zanuck because of his resemblance to Power and the fact he could sing opposite Alice Faye and Betty Grable. Power did similar roles in A Yank in the Raf and Crash Dive and in fact did serve in the Marines in the South Pacific after 1943.

The film was shot on location at the San Diego Marine training station and I visited San Diego a few years back and some of it looks pretty much the same. Harry Morgan made his feature film debut and if you look close you'll see that another one of the Marine recruits is the Skipper himself, Alan Hale, Jr.

To the Shores of Tripoli is badly dated and doesn't play real well against today's attitudes. Still it's a great example of a World War II propaganda piece.

After watching this movie, I now know where the "Officer and a Gentleman" screen writers probably got their idea for the character Sgt. Foley. Randolph Scott was the Sgt. Foley of the 1940s. This movie was made during World War Two, but it spares us the jingoistic propaganda associated with most war movies of that era and offers interesting and likable characters, especially Maureen O'Hara as a Navy nurse and John Payne as the recruit. While watching this movie I thought of Richard Gere and how he would have fit in well in this movie. The similarities between this movie and "Officer" must be more than just coincidental. "Officer" was more intense but this movie did not need to rely on such theatrics to maintain audience interest because the star of this movie was the USMC itself.

The plot of "To the Shores of Tripoli" is very, very similar to the very popular "Buck Privates" starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. But, unlike this film from the year before, "To the Shores of Tripoli" is not meant to be a comedy. Like the earlier film, this one starts with an obnoxious and self-assured brat of a man (John Payne) walking into the Marine base--assuming because of his connections that he will be accorded special privileges. But, like the other film, his father goes behind his back and insists that his son needs character building and NO exceptions or special favors should be granted to him. And, like "Buck Privates", the brat manages to make a nuisance of himself until, ultimately, he finds redemption. In the interim, he relentlessly chases a pretty nurse (Maureen O'Hara), tangles repeatedly with his Sergeant and makes a few friends--then alienates them with his boorish attitude.

Overall, the film looks great. It's filmed in full color--the sort of intense 1940s color that doesn't quite look real, but is better in some ways than real life! The acting is excellent (with Payne, O'Hara and Randolph Scott) and there is a nice group of actors who play the recruits such as Harry Morgan (in his first film), "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom and William Tracy (famous for his Sergeant Doubleday films with Hal Roach). As for the story, it's very predictable and formulaic throughout, but it's well-made formula! Mindless but very enjoyable wartime propaganda that must have done a lot to bolster the public behind the war effort.

This plot of this film- selfish rich boy joins the armed forces and by turns is converted into a red-blooded selfless team player- is often called cliche'. However, you have to bear in mind that it wasn't at the time it was made; It was one of the genre of plots that became cliche' latter (In fact, it is basically a color remake of "I Wanted Wings"...a much better film IMHO... substituting the Marines for the Air Corps.)

But what it does have is a great cast, great production values and the distinction of the first pairing the lovely Maureen O'Hara, stunning in beautiful early Technicolor, and John Payne. Arguably this is one of the great, if minor, pairings of the 40's ("Sentimental Journey", "Miracle on 34th Street", etc.) that culminated in a return to the Marine/Tripoli theme: In 1950 the pair would almost single-handedly capture the city in "Tripoli".

Is it great cinema? Nah...but it's a fun picture to watch for buffs.

To the Shores of Tripoli is the kind of movie that I generally don't care for. The title may conjure images of Marines fighting and dying on some foreign shore, but you won't find that here. Instead you'll find a flag-waving recruitment film that makes Marine basic training look like a trip to summer camp. The movie makes it seem that the entire eight week training is made up of little more than marching and doing drills in a parking lot. And when these guys aren't in the parking lot, they're pulling pranks and wooing nurses they've been told to leave alone. Abbott and Costello's Buck Privates has more in the way of military realism than To the Shores of Tripoli.

Yet despite all its shortcomings, forced patriotism, and light as air plot, I enjoyed To the Shores of Tripoli. I was somehow able to put my brain on hold and go along for the ride. It's harmless, good-natured fun. Most of my enjoyment probably comes from the three main leads. John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, and Randolph Scott do a solid job with what they're given to work with. Much of the comedy works, particularly the hospital scene where Payne fakes an injury to be near O'Hara. And, To the Shores of Tripoli has an innocence to it that you don't find in movies anymore that I find appealing.