The Fighting Seabees (1944)

Director:

Edward Ludwig

Writers:

Borden Chase (screenplay) &
Æneas MacKenzie (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

10 July 1944 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War | Romance

Tagline:

ROMANCE OF THE SEVEN SEAS! (original poster - all caps)

Plot:

Construction workers in World War II in the Pacific are needed to build military sites, but the work...

Plot Keywords:

Navy | Hospital | Doctor | Bomb | Jealousy

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

John Wayne	...	Lt. Cmdr. Wedge Donovan
Susan Hayward	...	Constance Chesley
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Lt. Cmdr. Robert Yarrow
William Frawley	...	Eddie Powers
Leonid Kinskey	...	Johnny Novasky
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Sawyer Collins
Grant Withers	...	Whanger Spreckles
Paul Fix	...	Ding Jacobs
Ben Welden	...	Yump Lumkin
William Forrest	...	Lt. Tom Kerrick
Addison Richards	...	Capt. Joyce
Jay Norris	...	Joe Brick
Duncan Renaldo	...	Construction worker at party
Hal Taliaferro	...	Lt. Commander. Hood
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Abdullah Abbas	...	Construction worker (uncredited)
Lee Adams	...	Construction worker (uncredited)
Joel Allen	...	Coxswain (uncredited)
Roy Barcroft	...	Seabee Barcroft (uncredited)
Roy Brent	...	Construction worker (uncredited)
Joe Brooks	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Charles D. Brown	...	Capt. Squires (uncredited)
George Bruggeman	...	Seabee (uncredited)
Wheaton Chambers	...	Navy observer (uncredited)
Roy Darmour	...	Officer (uncredited)
Kenne Duncan	...	Construction worker (uncredited)
Jean Fenwick	...	Capt. Joyce's secretary (uncredited)
Terry Frost	...	Orderly (uncredited)
Gene Gary	...	French construction worker (uncredited)
Bud Geary	...	Construction worker (uncredited)
Ernest Golm	...	Van Pelt (uncredited)
Kit Guard	...	Construction worker in shelter (uncredited)
Eddie Hall	...	Man walking to file cabinet (uncredited)
William Hall	...	Swede (uncredited)
Alex Havier	...	Japanese soldier (uncredited)
Herbert Heyes	...	Capt. Millard (uncredited)
Reed Howes	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Arthur Stuart Hull	...	Extra at Dock (uncredited)
John James	...	Meteorological officer (uncredited)
Nora Lane	...	Kitty (secretary) (uncredited)
James B. Leong	...	Japanese officer (uncredited)
Beverly Lloyd	...	Chorine (uncredited)
Tom London	...	Johnson (uncredited)
Clarence Lung	...	Japanese officer (uncredited)
George Magrill	...	Extra (uncredited)
Adele Mara	...	Twinkles Tucker, Jitterbugger (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	Construction worker who dies (uncredited)
LeRoy Mason	...	Jonesey (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Lt. Commander Stewart (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Extra at Dock (uncredited)
Al Murphy	...	Costruction worker (uncredited)
Forbes Murray	...	Navy Surgeon (uncredited)
Jack O'Shea	...	Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)
Paul Parry	...	Lt. Commander Stuart (uncredited)
Hugh Prosser	...	Seabee (uncredited)
Joey Ray	...	Construction worker (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Dance Extra (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Lt. Commander Kane (uncredited)
George Sherwood	...	Lieutenant Commander in chartroom (uncredited)
Tom Steele	...	Seabee (uncredited)
Larry Stewart	...	Seabee (uncredited)
Clarence Straight	...	Signalman (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	...	Construction worker (uncredited)
Ben Taggart	...	Aircraft carrier captain (uncredited)
Chief Thundercloud	...	Indian Seabee (uncredited)
Charles Trowbridge	...	Randolph (uncredited)
Billy Wayne	...	Spec, Reporter (uncredited)
Crane Whitley	...	Lt. Commander Hunter (uncredited)
Robert J. Wilke	...	Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)
Buddy Wilkerson	...	Gunner (uncredited)

Directed by
Edward Ludwig

Writing credits
Borden Chase		(screenplay) &
Æneas MacKenzie		(screenplay) (as Aeneas MacKenzie)
Borden Chase		(original story)

Produced by
Albert J. Cohen	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Walter Scharf

Cinematography by
William Bradford		(photography)

Film Editing by
Richard L. Van Enger		(as Richard Van Enger)

Art Direction by
Duncan Cramer

Set Decoration by
Otto Siegel

Costume Design by
Adele Palmer		(gowns) (as Adele)

Makeup Department
Peggy Gray	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Robert Littlefield	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Bob Mark	....	makeup supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Howard Lydecker	....	second unit director
Yakima Canutt	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Philip Ford	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
T.A. Carman	....	sound (as Tom Carman)
Howard Wilson	....	sound

Special Effects by
Theodore Lydecker	....	special effects

Stunts
George Bruggeman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Yakima Canutt	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Bud Geary	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Graham	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom Steele	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Mort Glickman	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Walter Scharf	....	musical director (uncredited)
Marlin Skiles	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Roy Webb	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Lt. Comdr. Hubert Hunter	....	technical advisor (as Lt.Comdr. Hubert Hunter, CEC-V{S}, USNR.)
Lt. Comdr. William A. McManus	....	technical advisor (as Lt.Comdr. William A. McManus, {CEC}USN.)
Sid Davis	....	stand-in: John Wayne (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Republic Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• Republic Pictures (1944) (USA) (theatrical) (as A Republic Production)
• Republic Pictures (1944) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• British Lion Film Corporation (1944) (UK) (theatrical)
• Republic Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Republic Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Artisan Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Gloria (1954) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Maple Pictures (2006) (Canada) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Civil Engineer Corps and the Construction Battalions - the Seabees of the United States Navy, The  proudly and gratefully we dedicate this picture to, who have fired the imagination of the world with their colorful exploits throughout the Seven Seas (as the Civil Engineer Corps and the Construction Battalions - the Seabees of the United States Navy)

Also Known As:

Donovan's Army
Fighting Seabees (Australia) (video box title)
The Fighting CBs (International: English title) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | West Germany:12 (f) | Germany:12 | USA:Approved (certificate #9802) | UK:U | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures

Trivia:

Roy Barcroft, a Republic stalwart, appears in this film as one of the Seabees. No effort was made to give him a "character" name, they simply referred to him using his real name, "Barcroft".

Goofs:

Factual errors: In a couple of scenes Japanese soldiers are seen pulling the pin out of grenades with their teeth and throwing them American style. Actual Japanese grenades had a compression actuator not a pin. Typically they would smack the top of the grenade on their helmet to start the fuse and then throw.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Showbiz Goes to War (1982) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Where Do You Work-a, John? (Push-a Push-a Push)

Take it for what it is

Having watched this in the wee hours of Veterans' Day, I just wanted to point out that rating it and other WWII propaganda films on the basis of artistic merit is beside the point entirely. The people that made these didn't have the luxury of crafting meticulous stories and memorable characters; most of the movies had been contracted by the government and had to be turned out QUICKLY. Movies like "The Fighting Seabees" were made for one reason alone: as propaganda pieces designed to bolster public support for our fighting men overseas. As such, they were an important part of the war effort, and helped ensure that fifty years later, we'd have the luxury of sitting at our computers and hashing about their qualities as movies.

With all that in mind, "The Flying Seabees" is really pretty good.