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

This movie was the first and only time that former American President and actor Ronald Reagan and wife Nancy Davis (aka Nancy Reagan) star-teamed and made a movie together. The couple however did appear frequently together in television episodes of G.E. True Theater. Technically speaking though, in this movie, Reagan actually received top billing and Nancy second-billing. As the couple have become more famous through time, the perception of their billing has been equalized due to their presidential married status.

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Connections

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

User Reviews

As bad as it gets

Leaden acting. Awful special effects. Every time the submarines go out, so does the sonar (amazing, huh?) A forced conflict between the captain and his executive officer. It also has some of the worst dialogue imaginable, especially in the Ronald Reagan-Nancy Davis scenes. All in all, I would have rather watched an old television test-pattern.