Across the Pacific (1942)

In December 1941, ex-army captain Rick Leland boards a Japanese ship heading to Asia via the Panama Canal where his Japanese hosts show interest in the American defense plans for the canal zone.

Directors:

John Huston, Vincent Sherman (uncredited)

Writers:

Richard Macaulay (screenplay), Robert Carson (serial "Aloha Means Goodbye")

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Humphrey Bogart	...	Rick Leland
Mary Astor	...	Alberta Marlow
Sydney Greenstreet	...	Dr. H.F.G. Lorenz
Charles Halton	...	A.V. Smith
Victor Sen Yung	...	Joe Totsuiko (as Sen Young)
Roland Got	...	Sugi
Lee Tung Foo	...	Sam Wing On
Frank Wilcox	...	Capt. Morrison
Paul Stanton	...	Col. Hart
Lester Matthews	...	Canadian Major
John Hamilton	...	Court-Martial President
Tom Stevenson	...	Man Harassing Alberta
Roland Drew	...	Capt. Harkness
Monte Blue	...	Dan Morton
Chester Gan	...	Capt. Higoto

Storyline

Rick Leland makes no secret of the fact he has no loyalty to his home country after he is court-martialed, kicked out of the Army, and boards a Japanese ship for the Orient in late 1941. But has Leland really been booted out, or is there some other motive for his getting close to fellow passenger Doctor Lorenz? Any motive for getting close to attractive traveler Alberta Marlow would however seem pretty obvious.

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Plot Keywords:

panama | japanese | passenger | panama canal | seasickness | 

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Taglines:

A Warner Bros. Hit !

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

5 September 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aloha Means Goodbye

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the Japanese is mentioned as a member of the "Kokuryukai", or Black Dragon Society. This was a nationalist Japanese organization, formed in 1901 to protect and develop Japanese interests, initially working against Russian expansion in Asia. In the US, during the Second World War, it became a convenient scapegoat for anti-Japanese propaganda and actions.

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Goofs

In an early scene, we see a court martial proceeding and afterwards Army Captain Rick Leland says he has been dishonorably discharged. In the US military, that status can only be applied to enlisted men. Commissioned officers convicted in a court martial may be dismissed, but they are not dishonorably discharged.

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Quotes

Rick Leland: [to Lorenz as they both view U.S. planes overhead] Any of your friends in Tokyo have trouble committing hari-kiri, those boys'd be glad to help them out.

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Crazy Credits

Opening Card:

Governor's Island

New York

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer colorized version.

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Connections

Featured in Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart (2000)

User Reviews

Bogie plays another 'Rick"

Films made around this time always have an interesting behind the scenes story, and "Across the Pacific" from 1942 is no different.

Rick Leland (Humphrey Bogart) is court-marshaled and booted out of the service; he then heads for Canada and attempts to enlist, but the Canadians know who he is and say they can't use him.

Leland then leaves on a Japanese ship for the Orient, making no bones about the fact that his talents are for sale! He meets an attractive woman, Alberta Marlow (Mary Astor) and one Dr. Lorenz (Sidney Greenstreet). Lorenz loves the Japanese and its people, and speaks the language very well.

You'll probably guess most of this.

This is a Maltese Falcon template, with the exception of the absence of Peter Lorre. John Huston directed, but when we entered the war, he left to do documentary films for the government. Vincent Sherman started the film at a difficult moment in the action, and he asked Huston how a particular situation would be resolved. Huston said, "That's your problem!" and left.

Originally this film had to do with stopping an attack on Pearl Harbor, but we all know what happened there, so the plot was changed to the Panama Canal.

I liked this film - there is a lot of light repartee between Bogart and Astor, which is fun and makes the film less intense than it might have been. They worked very well together. And you really can't beat Sidney Greenstreet when it comes to being slimy.

The majority of the Japanese in the movie were actually Chinese since most of the Japanese were interred, a black mark not often discussed, which is odd.

Some exciting action and solid work by all the cast.