Recensioni degli utenti

"In Harm's Way" was about the last of the major films made from those big, best-selling novels about WW2 that were written by men who had "been there".

The 1950s was their time: "Battle Cry", "The Young Lions", "From Here to Eternity", "The Caine Mutiny ", "Between Heaven and Hell", "In Love and War" and others.

In 1965, Otto Preminger's "In Harm's Way" made from James Bassett's novel was somewhat of a throwback despite contemporary hairdos and other anachronistic touches. That era of movies had passed. Those authors who had served in the war had got "The Great American War Novel" out of their systems.

With that said though, 55 years later, "In Harm's Way" holds up pretty well.

The place names and battles in the story are fictionalised. The film gives a feeling for the power plays and the command structure, and you can half recognise the campaigns it was based on, but the fake names weakened the credibility in the same way as did Norman Mailer's fictional island in "The Naked and the Dead" (1958).

The conflict between Admiral "Rock" Torrey (John Wayne) and his son Jeremiah (Brandon de Wilde) sits more comfortably within "In Harm's Way" than does the similar father/son conflict played out in the supposedly historically accurate "Midway" (1976).

Preminger knew the benefits of going on location; the film looks fabulous in wide-screen B/W. Real ships and planes gave it authenticity even if military buffs can pick the modern substitutes. Apparently Preminger threatened to use the Brazilian Navy if the U. S. Navy didn't come to the party.

Preminger also knew the value of music. Jerry Goldsmith composed a cracking score for this one. It had nothing to do with the 1940s or even the 1950s for that matter, but it has punchy themes such as "The Rock", and cool ones like "Native Quarter".

Preminger pushed the censorship boundaries. Petite Jill Haworth's character draws men like a magnet resisting three separate gropes. The scene with Kirk Douglas is disturbing, but the Hollywood Production Code, which ended a few years later, probably saved her from something more explicit.

"Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King" by Foster Hirsch has illuminating information on the making of all his films and his life. He had a reputation for monstering his actors, and if they let him, he did. "In Harm's Way" was probably the last of his good movies. It was misses rather than hits after that.

Although an excellent film, Otto Preminger's "In Harm's Way" (1965) has never been one of my personal favorites; probably because the most interesting character, Commander Eddington (Kirk Douglas), inexplicably turns into sex maniac and must redeem himself with an extremely silly kamikaze gesture. Since you have a lot invested in the character, the sudden manifestation of mega self-destructive tendencies (both figurative and literal) cause the film to self-destruct along with his character.

The only positive about Eddington's downward spiral is that it allowed Preminger to give additional screen time to his ingénue Jill Haworth. Her Ensign Annalee Dorne character ranks near the top of cinema's all-time cuteness scale, a pleasant memory whenever one thinks about the film.

"In Harms's Way" feels more like a film made just after the war than 20 years later. It begins extremely well with probably the best "attack on Pearl Harbor" sequences ever-in part because they are not the main thrust of the story and are not all that elaborate. Captain Rockwell Torrey's (John Wayne) is at sea when the attack begins and for him the biggest battle is political. With the help of politically savvy Commander Egan Powell (Burgess Meredith), and the moral support of a nurse from his generation Lieutenant Maggie Hayes (Patricia Neal), he weathers the accountability storm and eventually assumes a key command under Admiral Nimitz (Henry Fonda).

As noted above, Torrey's aide (Eddington) is never able to adjust to the death of his less than faithful wife (Barbara Bouchet). His main competition for Haworth's character is Captain Torrey's estranged son, nicely played by Brandon De Wilde although the physical differences between the two actors make it very hard to accept the parentage premise. Interestingly, their relationship and physical mismatch is virtually identical to Wayne's earlier one with actor Claude Jarman in John Ford's "Rio Grande" (1950). Both De Wilde ("Shane") and Jarman ("The Yearling") were famous child stars trying to transition to adult roles. De Wilde was killed several years after his "In Harm's Way" appearance.

The villain of the story (at least until Douglas becomes totally unglued) is Commander Neal Owen (Patrick O'Neal), a publicity seeking former congressman who has enlisted to serve as PR officer to incompetent Admiral 'Blackjack' Broderick (Dana Andrews).

Somehow Torrey eventually finds time to actually fight the Japanese.

Because "In Harm's Way" is often melodramatic soap opera rather than action adventure, Wayne gets a chance to really act and makes the most of it. It is arguably his all-time best performance, aided by Preminger's excellent acting for the camera direction and a very strong supporting cast that really challenged Duke to let it all go. His scenes with Neal are his all-time best.

Preminger and his editor get high praise for the film's pacing, inserting quality subplots (like the Tom Tryon and Paula Prentiss romance) to keep things moving along nicely. Not so praiseworthy are the special effects, which may in part account for the 1940's feel of the film. There is poor use of optical-printer effects and the ship models sit so high in the water that they betray all efforts to make them behave realistically.

There's an incredible panoply of recognizable stars including Slim Pickens, George Kennedy, Hugh O'Brien, Carroll O'Connor, Larry Hagman, and Stanley Holloway.

Paramount's DVD is not just widescreen glory (an excellent 16x9 B&W transfer) but has a considerable number of nice special features. A featurette with outtakes and three trailers.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Critically under-valued at the time of it's release and now largely forgotten, Otto Preminger's World War Two movie is a first-class entertainment, intelligently scripted, crisply photographed and very well directed. (There is a beautifully sustained scene where Preminger cross cuts between John Wayne's date with Patricia Neal and son Brandon De Wilde's date with Neal's room-mate Jill Haworth in which the characters of all four protagonists are neatly established).

For once an all-star cast adds to, rather than detracts from, the film. With a few exceptions (Henry Fonda and Franchot Tone in blink-and-you'll-miss-them cameos) all the actors are allowed to flesh out their roles with Patricia Neal and Burgess Meredith outstanding. Ultimately. of course, it never rises above melodrama and is the cinematic equivalent of those door-stopper novels favoured on the beach, but then melodrama was always where Peminger really came into his own. While certainly not in the class of "Laura", "Bonjour Tristesse", "Anatomy of a Murder" or "Advise and Consent", it is no disgrace and is a reminder that even second-rate Preminger is head and shoulders above a lot of the junk food cinema that fills our multi-plexes today.

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...

"I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not go fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." - John Paul Jones

Early in the film, Rock Torrey (John Wayne) and his exec, Commander Eddington (Kirk Douglas) observe a new heavy cruiser sail from Pearl Harbor to join the fleet, and Wayne's next line contains the movie's title: "A fast ship going in harm's way!" This film is about exactly that - fast ships and men going in harm's way! "In Harm's Way" is about decisiveness when under pressure, about thinking fast on one's feet, with no regrets.

The scene in CINCPAC's private study right after CAPT Rock Torrey (Wayne) is promoted to Rear Admiral is a memorable one. CINCPAC (Henry Fonda) is rightfully impatient with Admiral Broderick (Dana Andrews), who is egotistical, but unwilling to decide to attack, much like Civil War Union General McClellan. CINCPAC recalls that Lincoln brought in a hard-nosed general named Grant who didn't care less about organization, he just pointed his battalions in the right direction, and he charged the enemy. The whole theme of the film is contained in CINCPAC's next line to Rock Torrey:

"You're gonna be my Grant!"

I also noticed that Director Otto Preminger briefly revisits his theme of an informant-plant as an in-house bad guy, a theme he covered more extensively with Peter Graves as the Nazi barracks spy in "Stalog 17".

The characters all have flaws, but each one rises to the occasion when the war calls on them to give their best. Rock Torrey does not waste a second driving straight into battle, no matter how impossible the odds! This is the classic stuff of Hollywood Magic and also of inspiration! Buy this DVD! There is inspiration in this old film, and as with the good old Duke, the actors capture all the best things about taking brave risks and decisive action when in harm's way.

On any level you want, "In Harm's Way" delivers!

Though a film about US entry into World War II centering on the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, "In Harm's Way" has a 60's look and feel about it. The opening sequence with Barbara Bouchet as Liz Eddington salaciously dancing around teasing all the men and infuriating all the women is more a twist than a swing. The dress she wears is also more of a sack dress than the skirts fashionable in America in 1941. John Ford's 1945 "They Were Expendable," starring John Wayne, is a superior film overall and is closer to home since it was made during the war years. Still "In Harm's Way" has its moments and should be enjoyed, especially by the many fans of the Duke.

The story about Capt. Rockwell Torrey (Wayne) trying to get to know the son he has not seen since the boy was four nearly slips into maudlin sentimentality several times, but is yanked back to more refined cinema by director Otto Preminger. Ditto for the budding romances between Admiral Torrey and Maggie Haynes (Patricia Neal), and between the admiral's son, Jere (Brandon De Wilde) and Annalee (Jill Haworth). The battle scenes are exciting and well-staged. The ending is a bit much but still satisfactory. The acting by a Hollywood cast of major stars of the era is top notch all the way as is to be expected.

The screen play by Wendell Mayes from James Bassett's novel, "Harm's Way," is effective, telling the story of Admiral Rockwell Torrey's daring comeback following humiliation at Pearl Harbor. Torrey is sent to salvage a mess up by politically motivated Admiral Broderick (Dana Andrews), whose tactics are similar to General George B. McClellan's in the early days of the American Civil War and for like reasons. The assignment is in reality a backup operation to take pressure from the main assault by the Japanese on General Douglas MacArthur's forces in the Pacific. Against great odds, including one of the largest ships in the Japanese navy, Admiral Torrey and his fighting men, including several nurses, must persevere. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz (Henry Fonda) personally places full confidence and support in Torrey. Along with the brutal fighting are the subplots involving the romances and father-son theme mentioned above.

John Wayne fans and war action fans should enjoy "In Harm's Way." I highly recommend "They Were Expendable" for those viewers who like this movie.

In Harm's Way is a film that is historically important in the career of its star, John Wayne, for two reasons. First, it marked his last appearance in a Black and White film, and second, it was his last film before undergoing surgery for lung cancer. It also marks Wayne's first of three films with Kirk Douglas, and his only film with director Otto Preminger.

As for the film itself, it is a character-driven story with the World War II setting used as a backdrop. Like other Preminger pictures of the time (Exodus, Advise and Consent) it has a big-name cast and an "epic" feel. Watch for Henry Fonda in a small part as Admiral Nimitz (referred to as "CINCPAC II"). Wayne plays Rockwell Torrey, a naval officer blamed for the Pearl Harbor disaster, and demoted. But Nimitz (Fonda) knows that Torrey is a good commander, and when timorous politician-turned-Admiral Broderick (Dana Andrews) botches a key operation, Nimitz turns control over to Torrey, giving him a second chance.

On the personal side, Torrey tries to help his second-in-command, Paul Eddington (Kirk Douglas), who, as they say, is going through some personal problems of his own. Torrey also tries to repair his relationship with his estranged son Jeremiah (Brandon De Wilde), and finds time to conduct a "twilight romance" with nurse Lieutenant Maggie Haynes (Patricia Neal).

Two scenes in particular make this film stand out. The first occurs when Wayne and Neal are alone together in his apartment, the night before she is about to be shipped out. I won't spoil it for anyone, but let me say that it is a classic example of how a scene can ooze with "sex" without actually "showing" a single thing. It's a perfect example of how this kind of scene can be handled tastefully and professionally. It's called class, folks, and it is apparently something that modern Hollywood cannot or will not understand. The second is a discussion on cowardice between Wayne and Burgess Meredith as the fleet is preparing to meet the Japanese in battle. Once again, I won't spoil it, but it a memorable and classic scene, the quote that I have used to head my review is delivered by Wayne during it.

While In Harm's Way may, at first, seem to be simply a film about the politics of Navy hierarchy, it is really a film about the personal lives and struggles of the men and women of World War II.

Otto Preminger was one of the greatest story-telling film directors of his generation. In that respect, he was similar to Alfred Hitchcock in being primarily concerned with presenting a narrative in the most cinematic and entertaining manner possible. To Preminger (and Hitchcock), the acting was always subordinate to the story. That helps to explain why Preminger's camerawork (with its many long takes) was generally fluid and inobtrusive, and why his actors usually played their roles in a similar low key style. In a mammoth all star epic like In Harm's Way (IHW), only the leading actors registered as particularly noticeable performers, while the numerous secondary (but nonetheless famous) thespians often resembled facade-like personalities walking through their parts. To some, this proved to be a negative distraction.

Preminger was not a documentary filmmaker, nor did he intend IHW to be the nautical equivalent of Darryl F. Zanuck's docudrama The Longest Day (1962). Rather, it is fair to consider IHW as a film somewhat similar to Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity (1953)----a military story with several different fictitious threads set against the backdrop of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. IHW is the more complex tale of the two, but its vast canvas does not generally contain performances that equal those Zinnemann was able to draw from his stellar cast. Still----IHW is a good old fashioned movie and an enjoyable way to spend almost three hours of your time.

In The Cinema of Otto Preminger by Gerald Pratley (Castle Books, 1971), Preminger included in his own annotation to IHW an interesting anecdote that is worth sharing with a wider audience. There is a scene between the John Wayne and Paula Prentiss characters where Wayne informs her that her husband was reported as missing in action. It is Prentiss's last appearance in the film, and she wanted so hard for it to be her best work. During each take, Prentiss unconsciously kicked herself in the ankle as she was caught up in the moment. When the scene ended, she discovered that she could no longer walk and had to be taken to the hospital. Her kicking resulted in a fractured ankle. Or as Preminger himself explained, "...she was concentrating so hard on the scene that she didn't realise it." Think about that scene the next time you see IHW!

I've always felt that in these big budget all star epics, the trick is to give each of the star a role of substance as small as the part might be sometimes. That's one of the best things about In Harm's Way, Otto Preminger cast this film with a whole lot of big movie names and each one of them made their presence felt.

Case in point the three admirals played by Franchot Tone, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda. All three are very different type men. Tone is a man knowing he'll be sitting the war out because it was on his watch that the Pearl Harbor attack occurred. He's not bitter, he knows that's how things work in the navy. Dana Andrews is a publicity conscious admiral who employs the unctuous Patrick O'Neal in that regard. Henry Fonda plays the second commander in chief of the Pacific, Chester Nimitz in all but name. Oddly enough Fonda would play Nimitz again and by name in the film Midway a decade later. All three of these men make a deep impression on the audience despite having limited roles.

I'm sure that when Otto Preminger was casting In Harm's Way he must have seen Operation Pacific and saw the easy chemistry that John Wayne and Patricia Neal had 14 years earlier. Playing older and wiser versions of themselves from the previous film, Wayne and Neal show love ain't just for the young.

In Harm's Way has the Duke as a father figure for the first time. As Rockwell Torrey, the rock of ages as Kirk Douglas calls him, in addition to the Pacific War he takes on a whole lot of people's problems and they look to him for advice and comfort. In addition to his biological son Brandon DeWilde, the Duke also deals with Kirk Douglas and his problem concerning his tramp of a wife and the problems of young Lieutenant j.g. Tom Tryon and his wife Paula Prentiss.

One of my favorite John Wayne scenes is with Prentiss as he brings her the news about Tryon being missing in action. It is so well done from both players I'm still moved after having seen In Harm's Way a dozen times or more.

Acting honors however may go to Kirk Douglas as Wayne's chief aide who has the most complex role in the film. Douglas runs the gamut of emotions as he does in so many of his roles, from naval hero to maniacal rapist. Douglas actually hopes the war coming will help him put his personal problems on a back burner. For a while and it does, but only temporarily.

Another favorite I have here is Patrick O'Neal who if there is a villain other than the Japanese, he's it. He's a smarmy former Congressman who's looking as the war as a series of photo ops and is already planning his post war political career. O'Neal's not above jeopardizing a naval operation for the sake of a little publicity for his boss Dana Andrews. His confrontation with Kirk Douglas in the latrine is a classic.

In Harm's Way is a skilled blend of war drama and soap opera in the best sense of that term. It can be enjoyed and appreciated by fans of both.

John Wayne, Patricia Neal, Kirk Douglas, Dana Andrews, Burgess Meredith and Henry Fonda in a movie directed by Otto Perminger.

The scenes with Neal and Wayne is what makes the movie. There is great chemistry between the elderly pair and Neal is an actress who can effortlessly hold her own against any leading man. I wonder whether this is why she did not act in that many movies. She really was a towering presence. A cruelly underrated actress. Wayne in a subtly melancholic role of a competent navy officer is perfect. This must be one of his best performances.

The film is off to a sizzling start with Barbara Bach (as Douglas' cheating wife) strutting her stuff. Alas, she dies within the first twenty minutes.

The bureaucratic tussles between Wayne, Andrews and Douglas were not that interesting to me. I am sure Navy fans would find them to be interesting. The action scenes with special effects have not aged too well.

It is one of those giant American movies (167 minutes) that shows off American power while also reflecting upon its dark side.

Brandon De Wilde was born in the wrong decade.

(7/10)

A film to show to John Wayne haters, it has stopped even his bitterest critics in full cry. Sensitively filmed in black and white, a superb cast of actors show the functions of human characters against the grinding and terrible necessity of war. The special effects are really quite good for the time, and it surpasses by far such films as 'Tora Tora Tora' and 'Midway,' for all the distance it carefully keeps from complete historical reality.

This long,lumbering naval epic predates the various 1980's television mini-series about World War II. It's the same mixture of soap-opera action away from the battlefields and cheap-looking naval special effects that are no more convincing on the small screen than they were in theaters. Apparently,most of the budget was spent on a first-rate cast of actors who walk through substandard material. The beginning sequence of "In Harm's Way" has a two-minute plus opening tracking shot that establishes the scene as Pearl Harbor,December 6, 1941. At an officer's party,Liz(Barbara Bouchet),the drunken wife of Cmdr. Eddington (Kirk Douglas),makes a spectacle of herself. Since her husband is at sea with Capt. Rock Torrey(John Wayne),she heads off for a skinny-dip in the ocean with a pilot(Hugh O'Brien). Are they in for a nasty surprise the next morning! When the Japanese attack(depicted in brief,grainy shots of airplanes and a few explosions in the ocean),Lt. William McConnel(Tom Tryon)manages to get his destroyer out of the harbor before its bombed. At the same time,Torrey and Eddington's ship is sent to fend off the Japanese fleet and suffers a devastating attack.

Several plot twists later,Torrey is sailing a desk and Eddington is shipped off to a remote supply base. Enter Cmdr. Powell(Burgess Meredith),script writer turned intelligence officer;Lt. Maggie Haynes(Patricia Neal),a nurse who sets her cap for Torrey;Ens.Jere Torrey(Brandon De Wilde),Rock's enstranged son;and his fiancée Ens. Annalee Dorne(Jill Haworth),Maggie's roommate. Those are the good guys. On the other side are the ineffectual Adm. Broderick(Dana Andrews)and his stooge,Cmdr. Owynn(Patrick O'Neal). The rest of the supporting cast is filled with such veterans as Henry Fonda(sporting a curious Southern accent),Franchot Tone,and many other names and faces who would become more famous in the following decades.

Unfortunably,they're all saddled with a convoluted story that's so idiotically written it's unfair to judge the actors' work. For the most part,they do not embarrass themselves too much. More than any of the others,Wayne looks like he wishes he were somewhere else instead of being the lead character here. Still,the film is not without interest as an example of the cozy working relationships that the entertainment industry and the military enjoy in the years between World War II,the Korean War and Vietnam. The scenes that were filmed aboard real ships with Navy personnel look bright,shiny,and freshly ironed. Those recruitment poster excerpts stand in jarring comparison to the models used for the battle scenes and the pedestrian interiors. When the focus moves away from the fighting,as it often does,the story has much more to say about the early 1960's than the early 1940's. The sexual attitudes in particular are pure 1960's with an uncomfortable sniggering subtext that's never far from the surface. The absurd and convenient resolution of one seduction plot line is too bizarre to be described,much less believed. Throughout the film,the characters' emotions are exaggerated to unrealistic extremes.

One clue to the bad writing comes in place names that were invented for the fictional campaign while the few scenes that suggest jungle combat don't amount to anything,and though the effects used in the naval battles may have some nostalgic value,they're certainly not going to engage and persuade younger viewers,who demand a certain level of authenticity in both visual and emotional terms that was common with the big-budgeted Panavision films of the 1960's. "In Harm's Way",despite negative reviews from critics and audiences who went to see this in 1965,became one of the top ten films of that year right up there with "Doctor Zhivago","The Sound of Music","Thunderball",and "The Greatest Story Ever Told".

No, I didn't go to see Pearl Harbor this weekend. I stayed at home and watch my new DVD of In Harm's Way. The DVD cover is quite misleading. It sports a color photo of Wayne and Douglas, but the film is black and white. Their smiles would indicate a comedy.

Like From Here to Eternity, the human drama is set against the Pearl Harbor attack. Unlike, From Here to Eternity, the attack starts the film. And what a drama it is! Romance, infedelity, poor father/son relationship, honor, courage, rape, suicide. Never maudlin or schmaltzy, the performances are excellent, but low key. Back in 1965, taking the time to develop character was the norm, so to most young people, this movie would seem slow. Pity.

The battles scene are very good and the cinematography was Oscar nominated. There are some really breathtaking black and white high angel long shots of Hawaii with leaning palm trees and dark skies filled with billowing clouds.

And the cast! Your face will light up with every new character that appears. George Kennedy, Stanley Holloway, Hugh O' Brien, Dana Andrews, Bruce Cabot.

Firstly, I enjoyed this film which, despite all the star names, is somewhat forgotten.

However, IMO there are too many stars and as a result the film is somewhat disjointed. There are too many sub-stories and as a result it turns out more like a mini soap/melodrama.

Wayne carries this film. His presence is really the only "glue" that holds the film together. Considering all the other star names involved this is quite a feat and demonstrates what made Wayne the star that he was.

I also think In Harms Way suffered from being made at the wrong time. WW2 films made either during the war or in the years soon after generally had a gritty realism borne out of memories still being very fresh. This realism resurfaced years later in films such as Saving Private Ryan and Thin Red Line, but for much of the intervening period this realism was lost and the 60's was a prime period for that. There were very enjoyable WW2 films made in that period such as Great Escape and Von Ryans Express, but these were generally as much rollicking good adventure films as much as war films.

I don't think In Harms Way has either the gritty realism or adventurism and it therefore suffers as a result. Trying to incorporate so many stars also makes it longer than it needed to be. I enjoyed the film, but it could and should have been better.

I have been watching this movie since it came out in 1965. It is one of the movies that sent me off to the US Navy in 1967. I recently purchased a DVD copy on the net for a great price and I watched it again. Yes, it is all fiction; but still a great movie against the back drop of WWII and the US Navy in the Pacific. It has battleships, cruisers, destroyers, PT boats, and submarines. It has confused yet brave men and women. It has old fashion love scenes that "fade to black after the first kiss". It has a rape scene where you do not see the violence; but, it is so well acted it is still terrifying. In the last 40 years I have read dozens of factual books about the US Navy in the Pacific. I still enjoy this movie very much and recommend it.

To enjoy this movie you've just got to ignore all the factual errors. Like most Hollywood WW2 movies they are only very loosely based on a real event and this is no exception. Just accept it for what it is. What does let this movie down is that it goes off on a tangent and delves into the romantic lives and personal problems of its characters. Which as a War movie is unnecessary, distracting and slows it's pace.

It is difficult to imagine two more different Men then John Wayne, the ultimate male American movie star and Otto Preminger who loved to stir the pot of controversy with his films tackling subjects such as drug addiction in The Man With A Golden Arm ( with a splendid Kim Novak), or the Catholic Church in The Cardinal starring Tom Tryon, or Politics in Advise and Consent. Preminger was known as a screamer who yelled at people a lot but never his A List movie stars all of whom liked working with him. In particular Kim Novak, Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra, and Duke Wayne, Kirk Douglas. (Preminger must have had a soft spot because he regularly cast Burgess Meredith and others such as Dana Andrews who was at one time a big star but who suffered from bouts of alcoholism and returned the beautiful Gene Tierney to the screen after her bouts with depression in Advise and Conset)

First billed John Wayne and Director Otto Preminger together these two Men created a rousing WW2 Film.

Preminger cast John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Paula Prentiss, Patricia Neal, and a supporting cast of Preminger contractees such as Tom Tryon, and Jill Haworth and Brandon DeWilde. The scenes between Duke Wayne and Ms Neal are affecting. The entire cast does superior work.

I recommend this film

2.5 hours just flies by amidst the rigours of war and the chaos the soldiers endure both in combat and in their personal lives.

A cast of superstars are overshadowed on this occasion by the performance of Kirk Douglas who has all the great scenes of the movie in my opinion.

The word that continually springs to mind when I think about this movie is passion.

Great storytelling :)