Hellcats of the Navy (1957)

Director:

Nathan Juran

Writers:

Charles A. Lockwood (book), Hans Christian Adamson (book),

Stars:

Ronald Reagan, Nancy Davis, Arthur Franz

Cast

Cast overview:
Ronald Reagan	...	Cmdr. Casey Abbott
Nancy Davis	...	Nurse Lt. Helen Blair
Arthur Franz	...	Lt. Cmdr. Don Landon
Robert Arthur	...	Freddy Warren
William Leslie	...	Lt. Paul Prentice
William 'Bill' Phillips	...	Carroll (as William Phillips)
Harry Lauter	...	Lt. (j.g.) Wes Barton
Michael Garth	...	Lt. Charlie
Joe Turkel	...	Chick (as Joseph Turkel)
Don Keefer	...	Jug

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

sea of japan | u boat | sonar | nurse | birthday cake | 

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Taglines:

Down . . . Down . . . Down . . . into enemy waters with the fightin' hellcats of the U.S. sub pack !

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hellcats of the Sea

Filming Locations:

San Diego, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morningside Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Columbia Pictures released this film on a double bill with The Tall T.

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Connections

Referenced in Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (1990)

User Reviews

Admiral Nimitz

Most of the comments about this very ordinary war film concerns the fact that it is the only film that co-starred Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Both of them did better work in Hollywood.

The real story is that Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, CINCPAC Pacific Theatre in World War II chose to make a personal appearance in this film about submarines. That's like having Eisenhower or MacArthur make a personal appearance in an army war film. Unheard of.

Nimitz's background was in submarines and our submarine fleet may very well have been the tipping factor in the Pacific War. We did to Japan what the Nazis tried to do to Great Britain, cut off their raw material and food. Nimitz was no hypocrite however. He admitted as much during the Nuremberg trials and that fact saved the Nazi U-Boat commander Karl Doenitz from the hangman for war crimes.

All the clichés about submarine warfare in the pre-atomic era are present in this film. It's a B Picture made just as B Pictures were being phased out of existence. The cast is competent enough, but it's all been done before.

I think the real story is why did Admiral Nimitz choose this submarine film to make an appearance in.