In Love and War (1958)

In 1944, the family lives of three San Francisco Marines are affected by their personal experiences on the front lines in the Pacific and vice-versa.

Director:

Philip Dunne

Writers:

Edward Anhalt (screenplay by), Anton Myrer (based on a novel by)

Stars:

Robert Wagner, Dana Wynter, Jeffrey Hunter

Won 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview:
Robert Wagner	...	Frank "Frankie" O'Neill
Dana Wynter	...	Sue Trumbell
Jeffrey Hunter	...	Sgt. Nico Kantaylis
Hope Lange	...	Andrea Lenaine Kantaylis
Bradford Dillman	...	Alan Newcombe
Sheree North	...	Lorraine
France Nuyen	...	Kalai Ducanne
Mort Sahl	...	Danny Krieger
Steven Gant	...	Babe Ricarno
Harvey Stephens	...	Amory Newcombe
Paul Comi	...	Father Wallensack
Joe Di Reda	...	Capistron
Buck Class	...	Derek

Storyline

Three Marines take shore leave in San Francisco during World War II. Frankie O'Neill visits his lower-class dysfunctional family; Nico Kantaylis visits his pregnant fiancée; and the upper-class Alan Newcombe visits his high-living playgirl girlfriend. Each must decide whether to make the best of his situation or break out of it. O'Neill drowns his troubles in alcohol, losing the respect of a potential lover; Kantaylis marries his fiancée, but realizes he may not survive the war to see his child; while Newcombe sheds his decadent girlfriend for a pure-hearted Hawaiian nurse. Later, in battle, a heroic act costs one of the Marines his life.

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Plot Keywords:

marines | hawaiian | nurse | socialite | greek american | 

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Taglines:

THE ONE TRULY GREAT STORY OF THE U.S. MARINES! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Big War

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,590,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jerry Wald Productions,Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Wagner, Jeffery Hunter and Hope Lange also co-stared in The True Story of Jesse James.

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Goofs

The women in this World War 2 story all wear hairdos of the 1950s.

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Quotes

Sue Trumbell: I'm a tramp. I'm a rich tramp like my mother.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 2 (1999)

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Soundtracks

Give Me the Simple Life
(uncredited)
Music by Rube Bloom
Played in the hotel lobby

User Reviews

A "B" movie with an "A" gloss

Anton Myrer's novel, "The Big War," was published in 1957 with some degree of success and, not surprisingly, 20th Century-Fox bought the film rights. After all, World War II movies were a staple of this time and Myrer's novel provided a number of parts for those rising young performers then being groomed by 20th. The novel's three central Marine characters remained in Edward Anhalt's screenplay but their backgrounds were simplified, various supporting characters were eliminated, and the background for the domestic scenes shifted from the East Coast to California. Robert Wagner's back-story remains truest to the book. He has a doting mother and adoring younger siblings but fights with his hateful step-father. Bradford Dillman plays the rich, college-educated Marine and the movie sketches in his background but now gives him a drunken socialite of a fiancée, Dana Wynter, who's largely a screenwriter's invention. (His new girlfriend, France Nuyen, seems to have been inspired by another, unrelated character in the book.) Dillman's fate has also been re-written from Myrer's version. Jeffrey Hunter plays the conscientious Marine with the pregnant wife but his strained relationship with his mother-in-law goes unmentioned in the movie. (He does, however, get a bare-chest scene.) The second half of the movie shifts from homefront scenes in California to battle scenes in the Pacific. These scenes are done in a perfunctory style -- laced with occasional footage from actual World War II photographers -- and the actors' identities sometimes blur in those similar uniforms and under those metallic helmets. The result of all this is a glossy, mildly entertaining, but unmemorable movie which never rises above the "B" level of its "B" level performers. (Acting honors, such as they are, go to Sheree North as a practical-minded WAC.)