In Harm's Way

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Harm's Way
Directed by	Otto Preminger
Produced by	Otto Preminger
Written by	James Bassett Wendell Mayes
Starring	John Wayne Kirk Douglas Patricia Neal Tom Tryon Paula Prentiss Brandon De Wilde Dana Andrews Burgess Meredith Henry Fonda Barbara Bouchet
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	April 6, 1965
Running time	165 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

In Harm's Way is also the name of the first regular episode of the Star Trek: New Voyages fan film series.

In Harm's Way is a 1965 epic film starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, and Henry Fonda, produced and directed by Otto Preminger, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Wendell Mayes based on the novel by James Bassett. It dramatically recounts the lives of some naval officers and their wives based out of Hawaii as World War II begins.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Background/Production 3 Reception 4 Cast 5 External links

[edit] Plot

John Wayne stars as a Captain who is removed from command for "throwing away the book" when pursuing the enemy after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but is later promoted to Admiral and given a crucial mission requiring the same sort of guts and gallantry. The role is one of Wayne's best non-Western parts. Though it makes use of the same heroic persona that Wayne displayed in his Westerns, this persona is very much restrained under Otto Preminger's direction. We learn more of the character's human qualities: his estrangement from his son, a junior officer in the navy (played by Brandon De Wilde), and his romance with a nurse (played by Patricia Neal) which brings out his yearning for a stable emotional anchor in his life. The Wayne–Neal relationship forms the emotional crux of the movie, and the two stars give sensitive performances.

There are sub-plots involving characters played by Kirk Douglas and Tom Tryon, who offer differing portraits of two naval officers associated with Wayne's command — the former a wayward sort because of an unhappy marriage and the latter a conventional type with a characteristic Navy wife (played by Paula Prentiss) who is ever solicitous and faithful.

The film presents an unglorified and realistic picture of the American Navy and its officers, and its sprawling narrative is typical of Preminger's cycle of works in which he examined institutions and the people who run them (such as the American Congress and the Presidency in Advise and Consent, the Catholic Church in The Cardinal, and the British Intelligence Service in The Human Factor).

The title of the movie comes from a quote from John Paul Jones: "I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way."

[edit] Background/Production

Many believe Wayne's underplayed performance was due to the fact that he was seriously ill with lung cancer when the film was made. Shortly after filming ended in August 1964 he was diagnosed with the disease, and a month later underwent surgery to remove his entire left lung and two ribs.

The film was splendidly shot in black-and-white by Loyal Griggs, who composed his scenes in the scope format often using deep focus (Griggs was nominated for a Best Cinematographer Academy Award for his work). Jerry Goldsmith's score is also notable, as is the work of Saul Bass in the credit titles sequence (this sequence actually comes at the very end of the film, an interesting departure from the norm in a major Hollywood production at the time).

The film received extensive cooperation from the US Navy. This included the use of the USS St Paul in the role of the straw bottom cruiser referred to only as the "the old swayback" and an accompanying destroyer that took on the role USS Cassidy. The climactic battle with the Japanese fleet was staged mostly with model ships.

[edit] Reception

• Nominated for the 1965 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award for Cinematography

(Black-and-White) [[1]]

[edit] Cast

• John Wayne as Captain Rockwell W. "Rock" Torrey USN, CO of Old Swayback; afterwards Rear Admiral Rockwell W. Torrey USN, "operational commander" of "Operation Skyhook."
• Kirk Douglas as Commander Paul Eddington, USN, executive officer of Old Swayback; afterwards Captain Paul Eddington, Admiral Torrey's first chief-of-staff
• Barbara Bouchet as Liz Eddington, his faithless wife (who is killed in an automobile accident while fleeing a strafing run by Japanese planes in the attack on Pearl Harbor)
• Patricia Neal as Lieutenant Maggie Haines USN, a Navy nurse and Rock Torrey's love interest
• Jill Haworth as Ensign Annalee Dohrn USNR, another Navy nurse and Maggie Haines' roommate
• Tom Tryon as Lieutenant (jg) William McConnell USN, appearing first as Officer of the Deck aboard the USS Cassidy; afterwards Lieutenant Commander William McConnell, Flag Secretary in Admiral Torrey's command
• Paula Prentiss as Beverly McConnell, his wife, who works briefly as a sky watcher near Pearl Harbor
• Slim Pickens as CPO Culpeper, chief boatswain's mate aboard USS Cassidy (who later proclaims then-Lt. McConnell "the best officer to be marooned on a desert island with")
• Brandon De Wilde as Ensign (later Lieutenant) Jeremiah Torrey USNR, Rock Torrey's estranged son
• Burgess Meredith as Commander Egan T. Powell USNR, Admiral Torrey's Intelligence Officer
• Stanley Holloway as Clayton Canfil, an Australian former planter who runs a system of native coast watchers on the island of Gavabutu and later undertakes a hazardous reconnaissance of the target island of Levu-Vana
• Dana Andrews as Vice Admiral B. T. "Blackjack" Broderick USN, Area Commander, Southwest Pacific Area Three
• Patrick O'Neal as Commander (and former United States Congressman) Neal Owynn, Admiral Broderick's public-relations officer and briefly, liaison between Admirals Broderick and Torrey
• Franchot Tone as Admiral Husband Kimmel USN (listed as "CINCPAC I"), Commander-in-chief Pacific during the attack on Pearl Harbor
• Henry Fonda as Admiral Chester Nimitz USN (listed as "CINCPAC II"), Commander-in-chief Pacific during the rest of the war

[edit] External links

• In Harm's Way at the Internet Movie Database
• In Harm's Way at the TCM Movie Database