To the Shores of Tripoli (1942)

Sergeant Dixie Smith has more raw recruits to turn into Marines, if he can. Among them is cocky casanova Chris Winters, son of an officer, who's just tried to "mash" Mary Carter, a major's ... See full summary »

Director:

H. Bruce Humberstone

Writers:

Lamar Trotti (screenplay), Steve Fisher (original story)

Stars:

John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, Randolph Scott

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Payne	...	Chris Winters
Maureen O'Hara	...	Lt. Mary Carter
Randolph Scott	...	Sgt. Dixie Smith
Nancy Kelly	...	Helene Hunt
William Tracy	...	Johnny Dent
Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom	...	Okay Jones (as Maxie Rosenbloom)
Harry Morgan	...	Mouthy (as Henry Morgan)
Edmund MacDonald	...	Butch Burke
Russell Hicks	...	Maj. Wilson
Margaret Early	...	Susie
Minor Watson	...	Capt. Christopher Winters
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Tom Hall
Richard Lane	...	Lieutenant
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joseph Crehan	...	Uncle Bob (scenes deleted)
John Hamilton	...	Gen. Gordon (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Sergeant Dixie Smith has more raw recruits to turn into Marines, if he can. Among them is cocky casanova Chris Winters, son of an officer, who's just tried to "mash" Mary Carter, a major's niece. Once on base, he finds Mary's a nurse and an off-limits officer. Does this stop him? Of course not. But his attitude problem soon puts him in a position where he must redeem himself, with December 7, 1941 fast approaching.

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Plot Keywords:

military | u.s. marine corps | place name in title | city name in title | bare chested male | 

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Taglines:

ROMANCE...COMEDY...THRILLS...with Uncle Sam's fighting "Devil Dogs"!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1942 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

The Shores of Tripoli

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$2,300,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the finale John Payne is trying to change clothes while marching with his Marine Corps platoon. He later said that trying to remove and put on his trousers for this scene was the hardest part of the movie.

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Goofs

During the "night" time navy gunnery practice the naval commanders had daytime sky showing behind them.

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Quotes

Chris Winters: Don't be that way come on let's go
Mary Carter: Sergeant?
Sgt. Dixie Smith: Yes, Ma'm
Mary Carter: Sergeant, can you explain to private Winters that as a Navy Nurse I hold the rank equivalent to a Lieutenant and at all times should be address in the same matter as a commissioner officer
Chris Winters: A Lieutenant?
Mary Carter: and he should state his business in a briefly and quickly matter as possible.

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Connections

Referenced in Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces (2000)

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Soundtracks

"The Song of the Volga Boatman"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Hummed by the marines during the drill led by Winters

User Reviews

Before Sgt. Foley there was Sgt. Smith.

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.