In Harm's Way (1965)

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

James Bassett (novel)
Wendell Mayes (writer)

Release Date:

6 April 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Naval Officer | Pearl Harbor | Admiral | Nurse | Symbolic Castration

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Jan. 2

12:00 PM

TCM

Cast

John Wayne	...	Capt. Rockwell Torrey
Kirk Douglas	...	Commander Paul Eddington Jr.
Patricia Neal	...	Lt. Maggie Haynes
Tom Tryon	...	Mac McConnell
Paula Prentiss	...	Beverly McConnell
Brandon De Wilde	...	Ens. Jeremiah 'Jere' Torrey
Jill Haworth	...	Ens. Annalee Dorne
Dana Andrews	...	Admiral Broderick
Stanley Holloway	...	Clayton Canfil
Burgess Meredith	...	Commander Egan Powell
Franchot Tone	...	Admiral Kimmel
Patrick O'Neal	...	Commander Neal Owynn
Carroll O'Connor	...	Lt. Commander Burke
Slim Pickens	...	C.P.O Culpepper
James Mitchum	...	Ensign Griggs
George Kennedy	...	Colonel Gregory
Bruce Cabot	...	Quartermaster Quoddy
Barbara Bouchet	...	Liz Eddington
Tod Andrews	...	Captain Tuthill
Larry Hagman	...	Lt. J.G. Cline
Stewart Moss	...	Ensign Balch
Richard LePore	...	Lt. J.G. Tom Agar (as Richard Le Pore)
Chet Stratton	...	Ship's doctor
Soo Yong	...	Tearful woman
Dort Clark	...	Boston
Phil Mattingly	...	PT Boat skipper
Henry Fonda	...	Admiral Nimitz
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yankee Chang	...	Mortuary clerk (uncredited)
Christopher George	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Jerry Goldsmith	...	Piano player (uncredited)
Christian Haren	...	(uncredited)
Don McCurry	...	Extra (uncredited)
Hugh O'Brian	...	U.S. Army Air Corps major (Liz Eddington's lover) (uncredited)
Otto Preminger	...	Trailer Host / Narrator (uncredited)

Directed by
Otto Preminger

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
James Bassett		novel "Harm's Way"
Wendell Mayes		writer

Produced by
Otto Preminger	....	producer

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Cinematography by
Loyal Griggs

Film Editing by
Hugh S. Fowler
George Tomasini

Casting by
Bill Barnes

Production Design by
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Set Decoration by
Morris Hoffman

Makeup Department
Del Armstrong	....	makeup artist
Naomi Cavin	....	hair stylist
Dave Grayson	....	makeup artist
Frederic Jones	....	hair stylist
Web Overlander	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Stanley Goldsmith	....	production manager (as Stanley H. Goldsmith)
Jim Henderling	....	production manager (as James Henderling)
Eva Monley	....	production manager
Henry Weinberger	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Daves	....	second assistant director
Howard Joslin	....	assistant director
Daniel McCauley	....	assistant director

Art Department
Eugene Acker	....	painter
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator
Wallace Oliver	....	property master
Al Roelofs	....	associate art director
Elmer C. Rogers	....	construction

Sound Department
Charles Grenzbach	....	sound
Don Hall	....	sound effects editor (as Don Hall Jr.)
Harold Lewis	....	sound
Glenn E. Anderson	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Lawrence W. Butler	....	special effects
Farciot Edouart	....	special photography

Stunts
Paula Dell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)
John Indrisano	....	stunts (uncredited)
Loren Janes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hal Needham	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ronnie Rondell Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dean Smith	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Ziker	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Carl Gibson	....	key grip
Philip H. Lathrop	....	camera operator: second unit (as Philip Lathrop)
George Gordon Nogle	....	camera operator (as George Nogle)
Homer Plannette	....	chief gaffer
Morris Rosen	....	key grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Hope Bryce	....	costume coordinator
Gordon T. Dawson	....	wardrobe (as Gordon Dawson)
Grace Harris	....	wardrobe (as Grace M. Harris)
Alan Levine	....	wardrobe
Gildo Scarano	....	wardrobe
Eric Seelig	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Connie Roese	....	negative cutter
James D. Wells	....	assistant editor (as James Wells)

Music Department
Richard Carruth	....	music editor
Bob Bain	....	musician: guitar (uncredited)
Jerry Goldsmith	....	musician (uncredited)
Elfi von Dassanowsky	....	vocal coach (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Lonnie Leroy Hawk Jr.	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Saul Bass	....	title designer
Kathleen Fagan	....	script supervisor
Nat Rudich	....	executive assistant to producer
Max Slater	....	dialogue coach

Production Companies

• Otto Preminger Films (as Sigma Productions)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1965) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1965) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1971) (USA) (TV) (original airing) (pan/scan)
• Paramount Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Paramount Home Video (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Film Effects of Hollywood

Runtime:

165 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Norway:16 | USA:Approved | West Germany:12 (f) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company:

Otto Preminger Films

Trivia:

The escape of a destroyer from the Pearl Harbor attack with only junior officers aboard is based on the action of the USS Aylwin (DD-355).

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the surface battle, Torre and his staff are all without life jackets or helmets. When at general quarters, battle stations, all topside personnel, those not in the enclosed compartments below the main deck, would be wearing life jackets. Almost all personnel would be wearing helmets.

Quotes:

Commander Egan Powell: Captain Burke, you have just anchored on poverty row!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Bass on Titles (1977)

All-star action, spectacle and personal romances, with excellent battle scenes...

War, it is often said, brings out the best and the worst in man... Stanley Kubrick clearly considered 'Path of Glory' as an effective comment on men exposed to repulsive circumstances…

The threatening morning of December 7, 1941—a quiet Sunday—is shattered by waves of Japanese planes bombing U.S Navy's base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, sending all its battleships to the bottom of the ocean... The scene is taken in brief, with few shots of airplanes and some explosions in the ocean...

Among the few ships that escape, in one piece, is the destroyer Cassidy protected by Lieutenant William McConnel(Tom Tryon).

Out on patrol, in high seas, a cruiser, commanded by Captain Torrey Rockwell (John Wayne), is having gunnery practice... It is this ship that serves as temporary operational headquarters for the survivors of the aerial attack...

In the aftermath of the surprise military strike, Torrey receives orders to amass his small fleet of warships and engage the enemy…

Photographed in black and white, the film has several characters, most of them very mature and realistic...

Paul Eddington (Kirk Douglas), a commander whose drunken wife (Barbara Bouchet) has committed adultery with a pilot (Hugh O'Brien). He relieves his anger by brutally raping a young nurse (Jill Haworth), and later, to save from being a total failure, defies orders by flying a reconnaissance plane and takes off alone to situate the hidden Japanese fleet in a very hazardous mission...

Egan Powell (Burgess Meredith), a sardonic wartime officer and a peacetime script writer who gives moments of sane observation, specially in a scene with Wayne discussing danger...

Patricia Neal, a mature and understanding Navy nurse who loves Captain Torrey and informs him that his son from whom he hasn't seen since for many years, is a naval officer on the island...

Brandon De Wilde is Jere, the young opportunist hoping to keep out of the way his PT boat assignment by leading a soft staff job… Henry Fonda is the admiral in command of the Pacific theater; Dana Andrews is the weak Admiral Broderick and Patrick O'Neal is a well-connected congressman-turned-officer Cmdr. Neal Owynn...