Man from Frisco (1944)

Matt Braddock (a fictional version of real-life Henry Kaiser) is an engineer with revolutionary ideas for shipbuilding. When he tries to set up yards for prefabricating ships on the West ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Florey

Writers:

Ethel Hill (screenplay), Arnold Manoff (screenplay),

Stars:

Michael O'Shea, Anne Shirley, Gene Lockhart

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Michael O'Shea	...	Matt Braddock
Anne Shirley	...	Diana Kennedy
Gene Lockhart	...	Joel Kennedy
Dan Duryea	...	Jim Benson
Stephanie Bachelor	...	Ruth Warnecke
Ray Walker	...	Johnny Rogers
Tommy Bond	...	Russ Kennedy
Robert Warwick	...	Bruce McRae
Olin Howland	...	Eben Whelock (as Olin Howlin)
Ann Shoemaker	...	Martha Kennedy
Russell Simpson	...	Dr. Hershey
Stanley Andrews	...	Chief Campbell
Forbes Murray	...	Maritime Commissioner
Erville Alderson	...	Judge Harry McLain

Storyline

Matt Braddock (a fictional version of real-life Henry Kaiser) is an engineer with revolutionary ideas for shipbuilding. When he tries to set up yards for prefabricating ships on the West Coast, he runs up against a rival builder, Joel Kennedy. Kennedy's son Russ idolizes Matt, but Russ's sister Diana thinks Matt is a hopeless idealist who could ruin her father.

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Plot Keywords:

engineer | maritime law | england | washington d.c. | worker hero | 

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Taglines:

NOTHING'S IMPOSSIBLE...for this red-headed tornado! He launched ships by the thousands...and had a love affair to go with each! (original poster)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Batalha do Aço

Filming Locations:

Republic Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

American Know How

I doubt that Henry J. Kaiser on whom the lead character is based ever had all the problems that Michael O'Shea has in this film. He's the Man From Frisco a hard driving construction boss who has a brand new idea for building ships in mass quantity which in the years before our entry into World War II we knew we would need.

O'Shea has modified the assembly line that Henry Ford developed for the automobile and he wants to try his experiment in a sleepy Pacific coast town where the main employer is shipyard owner Gene Lockhart. Lockhart considers himself a craftsman in an industry increasingly not attuned to his ideas.

It takes Pearl Harbor to wake these people up and they reluctantly get behind O'Shea. Lockhart still has his doubts as does his right hand man Dan Duryea who is interested in Lockhart's daughter Anne Shirley. So is O'Shea which gives things a personal twist as well. Younger brother Tommy Bond is all for O'Shea.

The best scenes are those of the construction work done on what became known as Liberty Ships. Part of those scenes are narrated by Stephanie Bachelor who has a small role as a woman with a child who comes west to support her husband overseas in his war. She is the prototype for the Rosie the Riveteer character from those war years although in this instance riveting is out, welding is in. Incidentally Bachelor's quiet understated performance is the best in the film by far.

Man From Frisco might have been a better film had it not been hampered with a silly romantic subplot.