In Harm’s Way (1965, United States)
Categories: landing movies military base movies naval battle movies navy movies paratroopers movies
In Harm’s WayDirector: Otto Preminger
Czas: 165 minut
Laguages: English
Categories: landing movies military base movies naval battle movies navy movies paratroopers movies
In Harm’s WayDirector: Otto Preminger
Laguages: English
American navy commander gets the chance to prove his worth by preparing the attack on the Japanese-held islands.
During attack on Pearl Harbor Captain Torrey was lucky enough that his cruiser was out in the sea and survived the air strike unharmed. During the chase after Japanese fleet he resigned from zig-zag tactics and his ship was hit by Japanese submarine torpedo. After that Torrey was sent to less important duties since he broke the basic war time rules. He is given a second chance when the headquarters prepares the Operation Skyhook - the landing on the islands of Gavabutu and Levu-Vana that would make a perfect spot for airfield for long distance B-17 bombers. Torrey is put in charge of the landing operation on Gavabutu, but he sees that his superiors made major mistakes while preparing the plan.
Film was very loosely based on real events, but filled with fiction - although the real attack on Pearl Harbor and battle of Solomon Islands were shown, they are only background for the events that centre around the main characters. As for John Wayne’s movies this one is not an exception - the war story is mixed with not very interesting romance of his character and personal subplots of questionable value, the battle scenes are done with limited effort and honestly reducing the film length by an hour would not reduce the value of In Harm’s Way.
It is very good movie for John Wayne fans, but as for war movie it had a lot of space for improvements, f.e. Otto Preminger managed to show the attack on Pearl Harbor without a single plane visible on screen (except for small bit taken from war time newsreel) or the paratroopers drop without a single parachute in sight.
Our rating
4.4
Film value
4 / 10
Realism factor
3 / 5
Adventure factor
2 / 5
Historical accuracy
2 / 5
Otto Preminger
director
James Bassett
screenplay
Wendell Mayes
screenplay
John Wayne
as Captain Rockwell Torrey
Kirk Douglas
as Commander Paul Eddington
Patricia Neal
as Lieutenant Maggie Haynes
Tom Tryon
as Lieutenant William McConnel
Paula Prentiss
as Bev McConnel
Brandon De Wilde
as Ensign Jeremiah Torrey
Dana Andrews
as Admiral Broderick
Burgess Meredith
as Commander Egan Powell
Patrick O’Neal
as Commander Neal Owynn
Henry Fonda
as Admiral CINCPAC 2
George Kennedy
as Colonel Gregory
In Harm’s Way war movie © 2013-2024 War Movies Info