In Harm's Way (1965) 7.1
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 |
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In Harm's Way (1965) 7.1
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 |
|
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| John Wayne | ... |
Captain Rockwell 'Rock' Torrey
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| Kirk Douglas | ... | ||
| Patricia Neal | ... |
Lieutenant Maggie Haynes
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| Tom Tryon | ... |
Lieutenant William 'Mac' McConnel
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| Paula Prentiss | ... |
Bev McConnel
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| Brandon De Wilde | ... |
Ensign Jeremiah 'Jere' Torrey
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| Jill Haworth | ... |
Ensign Annalee Dorne
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| Dana Andrews | ... |
Admiral 'Blackjack' Broderick
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| Stanley Holloway | ... |
Clayton Canfil
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| Burgess Meredith | ... |
Commander Egan Powell
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| Franchot Tone | ... |
CINCPAC I
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| Patrick O'Neal | ... |
Commander Neal Owynn
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| Carroll O'Connor | ... |
Lieutenant Commander Burke
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| Slim Pickens | ... |
C.P.O Culpepper
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| James Mitchum | ... |
Ensign Griggs
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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. Written by Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>
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.