In Harm's Way (1965)

A naval officer reprimanded after Pearl Harbor is later promoted to rear admiral and gets a second chance to prove himself against the Japanese.

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Wendell Mayes (screenplay), James Bassett (novel)

Stars:

John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Wayne	...	Captain Rockwell 'Rock' Torrey
Kirk Douglas	...	Commander Paul Eddington
Patricia Neal	...	Lieutenant Maggie Haynes
Tom Tryon	...	Lieutenant William 'Mac' McConnel
Paula Prentiss	...	Bev McConnel
Brandon De Wilde	...	Ensign Jeremiah 'Jere' Torrey
Jill Haworth	...	Ensign Annalee Dorne
Dana Andrews	...	Admiral 'Blackjack' Broderick
Stanley Holloway	...	Clayton Canfil
Burgess Meredith	...	Commander Egan Powell
Franchot Tone	...	CINCPAC I
Patrick O'Neal	...	Commander Neal Owynn
Carroll O'Connor	...	Lieutenant Commander Burke
Slim Pickens	...	C.P.O Culpepper
James Mitchum	...	Ensign Griggs

Storyline

Captain Rockwell Torrey and Commander Paul Eddington are part of the Navy's effort to recuperate from, and retaliate for, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Torrey is romantically involved with nurse Maggie Haynes, and also tries to restore his relationship with his estranged son, Jeremiah, a young Naval officer.

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Plot Keywords:

naval officer | pearl harbor | second chance | admiral | nurse | 

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Taglines:

Stripped of everything - they lived and loved and fought as if there were no tomorrow...

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

6 April 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Première victoire

Filming Locations:

Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, O`ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Otto Preminger Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

165 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Keir Dullea was offered a major role.

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Goofs

The "Powell-Hyde" cable car prominently featured is the present day Powell Street style of car that was running on the route in the 1960s when the film was made, but not in the 1940s at the time of the story. At that time both the style of the cars and the routing was different. California Street RR Company style cars ran on Hyde via the O'Farrell and Jones Street route.

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Quotes

Admiral Nimitz: Indecision is a virus that can run through an army and destroy it's will to win. Or even to survive.

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Connections

Featured in Skidoo (1968)

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Soundtracks

"Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree"
(uncredited)
Written by Charles Tobias, Lew Brown, and Sam H. Stept

User Reviews

For once an all-star cast adds to the movie

Critically under-valued at the time of it's release and now largely forgotten, Otto Preminger's World War Two movie is a first-class entertainment, intelligently scripted, crisply photographed and very well directed. (There is a beautifully sustained scene where Preminger cross cuts between John Wayne's date with Patricia Neal and son Brandon De Wilde's date with Neal's room-mate Jill Haworth in which the characters of all four protagonists are neatly established).

For once an all-star cast adds to, rather than detracts from, the film. With a few exceptions (Henry Fonda and Franchot Tone in blink-and-you'll-miss-them cameos) all the actors are allowed to flesh out their roles with Patricia Neal and Burgess Meredith outstanding. Ultimately. of course, it never rises above melodrama and is the cinematic equivalent of those door-stopper novels favoured on the beach, but then melodrama was always where Peminger really came into his own. While certainly not in the class of "Laura", "Bonjour Tristesse", "Anatomy of a Murder" or "Advise and Consent", it is no disgrace and is a reminder that even second-rate Preminger is head and shoulders above a lot of the junk food cinema that fills our multi-plexes today.