In Harm's Way (1965) User Reviews (149)

Trapped in the 60s

[tomsview · 7/10 · 13 March 2021]

"In Harm's Way" was about the last of the major films made from those big, best-selling novels about WW2 that were written by men who had "been there".

The 1950s was their time: "Battle Cry", "The Young Lions", "From Here to Eternity", "The Caine Mutiny ", "Between Heaven and Hell", "In Love and War" and others.

In 1965, Otto Preminger's "In Harm's Way" made from James Bassett's novel was somewhat of a throwback despite contemporary hairdos and other anachronistic touches. That era of movies had passed. Those authors who had served in the war had got "The Great American War Novel" out of their systems.

With that said though, 55 years later, "In Harm's Way" holds up pretty well.

The place names and battles in the story are fictionalised. The film gives a feeling for the power plays and the command structure, and you can half recognise the campaigns it was based on, but the fake names weakened the credibility in the same way as did Norman Mailer's fictional island in "The Naked and the Dead" (1958).

The conflict between Admiral "Rock" Torrey (John Wayne) and his son Jeremiah (Brandon de Wilde) sits more comfortably within "In Harm's Way" than does the similar father/son conflict played out in the supposedly historically accurate "Midway" (1976).

Preminger knew the benefits of going on location; the film looks fabulous in wide-screen B/W. Real ships and planes gave it authenticity even if military buffs can pick the modern substitutes. Apparently Preminger threatened to use the Brazilian Navy if the U. S. Navy didn't come to the party.

Preminger also knew the value of music. Jerry Goldsmith composed a cracking score for this one. It had nothing to do with the 1940s or even the 1950s for that matter, but it has punchy themes such as "The Rock", and cool ones like "Native Quarter".

Preminger pushed the censorship boundaries. Petite Jill Haworth's character draws men like a magnet resisting three separate gropes. The scene with Kirk Douglas is disturbing, but the Hollywood Production Code, which ended a few years later, probably saved her from something more explicit.

"Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King" by Foster Hirsch has illuminating information on the making of all his films and his life. He had a reputation for monstering his actors, and if they let him, he did. "In Harm's Way" was probably the last of his good movies. It was misses rather than hits after that.

The Duke Sails to War

[ccoppola · 7/10 · 4 October 2007]

I stumbled upon this John Wayne classic looking through the abandoned movies in "the Swamp", our recreation center in the basement of the combat support hospital.

This stirring account of a Captain's campaign in the South Pacific after the bombing of Pearl Harbor delivers the laid back bravado of the Duke astride a different type of horse, a US Navy cruiser. Wayne is later in his career in this movie, and also is suffering from lung cancer during the filming. He shows his age in his face more than usual, and also carries a calm plodding demeanor that is never resigned.

The brief treatment of the attack on Pearl Harbor illustrates well the way that events of war care not for the personal trials of individuals, and quickly become a crucible in which these individuals must choose the values to which they are to cling. Wayne's character, Captain Torrey, follows an up and down course after Pearl Harbor, eventually leading to strategy and climax on the South Pacific seas.

The movie is strongest for me in its characterization of a career navy man, and the different types that circulate around him. Even through the turmoil and passion of love and family strife, Torrey remains a human yet solid character who genuinely earns our loyalty, like all the best leaders.

Themes of war and selfless patriotism do run through the film, but the spotlight always remains centered on personal strength of Captain Torrey.

Rear Admiral Rock Torrey: "All battles are fought by scared men who'd rather be someplace else." You may not always agree with him, but we would all do well to stick to our principles as strongly as Torrey.

Her smile on the face of the tiger

[krorie · 7/10 · 19 September 2006]

Though a film about US entry into World War II centering on the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, "In Harm's Way" has a 60's look and feel about it. The opening sequence with Barbara Bouchet as Liz Eddington salaciously dancing around teasing all the men and infuriating all the women is more a twist than a swing. The dress she wears is also more of a sack dress than the skirts fashionable in America in 1941. John Ford's 1945 "They Were Expendable," starring John Wayne, is a superior film overall and is closer to home since it was made during the war years. Still "In Harm's Way" has its moments and should be enjoyed, especially by the many fans of the Duke.

The story about Capt. Rockwell Torrey (Wayne) trying to get to know the son he has not seen since the boy was four nearly slips into maudlin sentimentality several times, but is yanked back to more refined cinema by director Otto Preminger. Ditto for the budding romances between Admiral Torrey and Maggie Haynes (Patricia Neal), and between the admiral's son, Jere (Brandon De Wilde) and Annalee (Jill Haworth). The battle scenes are exciting and well-staged. The ending is a bit much but still satisfactory. The acting by a Hollywood cast of major stars of the era is top notch all the way as is to be expected.

The screen play by Wendell Mayes from James Bassett's novel, "Harm's Way," is effective, telling the story of Admiral Rockwell Torrey's daring comeback following humiliation at Pearl Harbor. Torrey is sent to salvage a mess up by politically motivated Admiral Broderick (Dana Andrews), whose tactics are similar to General George B. McClellan's in the early days of the American Civil War and for like reasons. The assignment is in reality a backup operation to take pressure from the main assault by the Japanese on General Douglas MacArthur's forces in the Pacific. Against great odds, including one of the largest ships in the Japanese navy, Admiral Torrey and his fighting men, including several nurses, must persevere. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz (Henry Fonda) personally places full confidence and support in Torrey. Along with the brutal fighting are the subplots involving the romances and father-son theme mentioned above.

John Wayne fans and war action fans should enjoy "In Harm's Way." I highly recommend "They Were Expendable" for those viewers who like this movie.

For once an all-star cast adds to the movie

[MOscarbradley · 26 December 2002]

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.

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

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 7/10 · 1 February 2009]

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...

"All battles are fought by scared men who'd rather be someplace else."

[ejgreen77 · 9/10 · 19 June 2005]

In Harm's Way is a film that is historically important in the career of its star, John Wayne, for two reasons. First, it marked his last appearance in a Black and White film, and second, it was his last film before undergoing surgery for lung cancer. It also marks Wayne's first of three films with Kirk Douglas, and his only film with director Otto Preminger.

As for the film itself, it is a character-driven story with the World War II setting used as a backdrop. Like other Preminger pictures of the time (Exodus, Advise and Consent) it has a big-name cast and an "epic" feel. Watch for Henry Fonda in a small part as Admiral Nimitz (referred to as "CINCPAC II"). Wayne plays Rockwell Torrey, a naval officer blamed for the Pearl Harbor disaster, and demoted. But Nimitz (Fonda) knows that Torrey is a good commander, and when timorous politician-turned-Admiral Broderick (Dana Andrews) botches a key operation, Nimitz turns control over to Torrey, giving him a second chance.

On the personal side, Torrey tries to help his second-in-command, Paul Eddington (Kirk Douglas), who, as they say, is going through some personal problems of his own. Torrey also tries to repair his relationship with his estranged son Jeremiah (Brandon De Wilde), and finds time to conduct a "twilight romance" with nurse Lieutenant Maggie Haynes (Patricia Neal).

Two scenes in particular make this film stand out. The first occurs when Wayne and Neal are alone together in his apartment, the night before she is about to be shipped out. I won't spoil it for anyone, but let me say that it is a classic example of how a scene can ooze with "sex" without actually "showing" a single thing. It's a perfect example of how this kind of scene can be handled tastefully and professionally. It's called class, folks, and it is apparently something that modern Hollywood cannot or will not understand. The second is a discussion on cowardice between Wayne and Burgess Meredith as the fleet is preparing to meet the Japanese in battle. Once again, I won't spoil it, but it a memorable and classic scene, the quote that I have used to head my review is delivered by Wayne during it.

While In Harm's Way may, at first, seem to be simply a film about the politics of Navy hierarchy, it is really a film about the personal lives and struggles of the men and women of World War II.

Arguably John Wayne's Best Performance

[aimless-46 · 7/10 · 6 December 2006]

Although an excellent film, Otto Preminger's "In Harm's Way" (1965) has never been one of my personal favorites; probably because the most interesting character, Commander Eddington (Kirk Douglas), inexplicably turns into sex maniac and must redeem himself with an extremely silly kamikaze gesture. Since you have a lot invested in the character, the sudden manifestation of mega self-destructive tendencies (both figurative and literal) cause the film to self-destruct along with his character.

The only positive about Eddington's downward spiral is that it allowed Preminger to give additional screen time to his ingénue Jill Haworth. Her Ensign Annalee Dorne character ranks near the top of cinema's all-time cuteness scale, a pleasant memory whenever one thinks about the film.

"In Harms's Way" feels more like a film made just after the war than 20 years later. It begins extremely well with probably the best "attack on Pearl Harbor" sequences ever-in part because they are not the main thrust of the story and are not all that elaborate. Captain Rockwell Torrey's (John Wayne) is at sea when the attack begins and for him the biggest battle is political. With the help of politically savvy Commander Egan Powell (Burgess Meredith), and the moral support of a nurse from his generation Lieutenant Maggie Hayes (Patricia Neal), he weathers the accountability storm and eventually assumes a key command under Admiral Nimitz (Henry Fonda).

As noted above, Torrey's aide (Eddington) is never able to adjust to the death of his less than faithful wife (Barbara Bouchet). His main competition for Haworth's character is Captain Torrey's estranged son, nicely played by Brandon De Wilde although the physical differences between the two actors make it very hard to accept the parentage premise. Interestingly, their relationship and physical mismatch is virtually identical to Wayne's earlier one with actor Claude Jarman in John Ford's "Rio Grande" (1950). Both De Wilde ("Shane") and Jarman ("The Yearling") were famous child stars trying to transition to adult roles. De Wilde was killed several years after his "In Harm's Way" appearance.

The villain of the story (at least until Douglas becomes totally unglued) is Commander Neal Owen (Patrick O'Neal), a publicity seeking former congressman who has enlisted to serve as PR officer to incompetent Admiral 'Blackjack' Broderick (Dana Andrews).

Somehow Torrey eventually finds time to actually fight the Japanese.

Because "In Harm's Way" is often melodramatic soap opera rather than action adventure, Wayne gets a chance to really act and makes the most of it. It is arguably his all-time best performance, aided by Preminger's excellent acting for the camera direction and a very strong supporting cast that really challenged Duke to let it all go. His scenes with Neal are his all-time best.

Preminger and his editor get high praise for the film's pacing, inserting quality subplots (like the Tom Tryon and Paula Prentiss romance) to keep things moving along nicely. Not so praiseworthy are the special effects, which may in part account for the 1940's feel of the film. There is poor use of optical-printer effects and the ship models sit so high in the water that they betray all efforts to make them behave realistically.

There's an incredible panoply of recognizable stars including Slim Pickens, George Kennedy, Hugh O'Brien, Carroll O'Connor, Larry Hagman, and Stanley Holloway.

Paramount's DVD is not just widescreen glory (an excellent 16x9 B&W transfer) but has a considerable number of nice special features. A featurette with outtakes and three trailers.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

"a mother lovin' gut busting navy war."

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 17 November 2006]

I've always felt that in these big budget all star epics, the trick is to give each of the star a role of substance as small as the part might be sometimes. That's one of the best things about In Harm's Way, Otto Preminger cast this film with a whole lot of big movie names and each one of them made their presence felt.

Case in point the three admirals played by Franchot Tone, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda. All three are very different type men. Tone is a man knowing he'll be sitting the war out because it was on his watch that the Pearl Harbor attack occurred. He's not bitter, he knows that's how things work in the navy. Dana Andrews is a publicity conscious admiral who employs the unctuous Patrick O'Neal in that regard. Henry Fonda plays the second commander in chief of the Pacific, Chester Nimitz in all but name. Oddly enough Fonda would play Nimitz again and by name in the film Midway a decade later. All three of these men make a deep impression on the audience despite having limited roles.

I'm sure that when Otto Preminger was casting In Harm's Way he must have seen Operation Pacific and saw the easy chemistry that John Wayne and Patricia Neal had 14 years earlier. Playing older and wiser versions of themselves from the previous film, Wayne and Neal show love ain't just for the young.

In Harm's Way has the Duke as a father figure for the first time. As Rockwell Torrey, the rock of ages as Kirk Douglas calls him, in addition to the Pacific War he takes on a whole lot of people's problems and they look to him for advice and comfort. In addition to his biological son Brandon DeWilde, the Duke also deals with Kirk Douglas and his problem concerning his tramp of a wife and the problems of young Lieutenant j.g. Tom Tryon and his wife Paula Prentiss.

One of my favorite John Wayne scenes is with Prentiss as he brings her the news about Tryon being missing in action. It is so well done from both players I'm still moved after having seen In Harm's Way a dozen times or more.

Acting honors however may go to Kirk Douglas as Wayne's chief aide who has the most complex role in the film. Douglas runs the gamut of emotions as he does in so many of his roles, from naval hero to maniacal rapist. Douglas actually hopes the war coming will help him put his personal problems on a back burner. For a while and it does, but only temporarily.

Another favorite I have here is Patrick O'Neal who if there is a villain other than the Japanese, he's it. He's a smarmy former Congressman who's looking as the war as a series of photo ops and is already planning his post war political career. O'Neal's not above jeopardizing a naval operation for the sake of a little publicity for his boss Dana Andrews. His confrontation with Kirk Douglas in the latrine is a classic.

In Harm's Way is a skilled blend of war drama and soap opera in the best sense of that term. It can be enjoyed and appreciated by fans of both.

One of Wayne's best performances

[PimpinAinttEasy · 7/10 · 21 November 2021]

John Wayne, Patricia Neal, Kirk Douglas, Dana Andrews, Burgess Meredith and Henry Fonda in a movie directed by Otto Perminger.

The scenes with Neal and Wayne is what makes the movie. There is great chemistry between the elderly pair and Neal is an actress who can effortlessly hold her own against any leading man. I wonder whether this is why she did not act in that many movies. She really was a towering presence. A cruelly underrated actress. Wayne in a subtly melancholic role of a competent navy officer is perfect. This must be one of his best performances.

The film is off to a sizzling start with Barbara Bach (as Douglas' cheating wife) strutting her stuff. Alas, she dies within the first twenty minutes.

The bureaucratic tussles between Wayne, Andrews and Douglas were not that interesting to me. I am sure Navy fans would find them to be interesting. The action scenes with special effects have not aged too well.

It is one of those giant American movies (167 minutes) that shows off American power while also reflecting upon its dark side.

Brandon De Wilde was born in the wrong decade.

(7/10)

The BEST WWII Navy Movie

[msinabottle · 10/10 · 2 September 2000]

A film to show to John Wayne haters, it has stopped even his bitterest critics in full cry. Sensitively filmed in black and white, a superb cast of actors show the functions of human characters against the grinding and terrible necessity of war. The special effects are really quite good for the time, and it surpasses by far such films as 'Tora Tora Tora' and 'Midway,' for all the distance it carefully keeps from complete historical reality.

Not Bad But Not Factual

[Tak005 · 6/10 · 21 November 2018]

To enjoy this movie you've just got to ignore all the factual errors. Like most Hollywood WW2 movies they are only very loosely based on a real event and this is no exception. Just accept it for what it is. What does let this movie down is that it goes off on a tangent and delves into the romantic lives and personal problems of its characters. Which as a War movie is unnecessary, distracting and slows it's pace.

Excellent work of fiction

[ssbn657 · 10/10 · 19 November 2005]

I have been watching this movie since it came out in 1965. It is one of the movies that sent me off to the US Navy in 1967. I recently purchased a DVD copy on the net for a great price and I watched it again. Yes, it is all fiction; but still a great movie against the back drop of WWII and the US Navy in the Pacific. It has battleships, cruisers, destroyers, PT boats, and submarines. It has confused yet brave men and women. It has old fashion love scenes that "fade to black after the first kiss". It has a rape scene where you do not see the violence; but, it is so well acted it is still terrifying. In the last 40 years I have read dozens of factual books about the US Navy in the Pacific. I still enjoy this movie very much and recommend it.

Early WWII Naval Drama According to Otto Preminger!

[malvernp · 7/10 · 29 July 2022]

Otto Preminger was one of the greatest story-telling film directors of his generation. In that respect, he was similar to Alfred Hitchcock in being primarily concerned with presenting a narrative in the most cinematic and entertaining manner possible. To Preminger (and Hitchcock), the acting was always subordinate to the story. That helps to explain why Preminger's camerawork (with its many long takes) was generally fluid and inobtrusive, and why his actors usually played their roles in a similar low key style. In a mammoth all star epic like In Harm's Way (IHW), only the leading actors registered as particularly noticeable performers, while the numerous secondary (but nonetheless famous) thespians often resembled facade-like personalities walking through their parts. To some, this proved to be a negative distraction.

Preminger was not a documentary filmmaker, nor did he intend IHW to be the nautical equivalent of Darryl F. Zanuck's docudrama The Longest Day (1962). Rather, it is fair to consider IHW as a film somewhat similar to Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity (1953)----a military story with several different fictitious threads set against the backdrop of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. IHW is the more complex tale of the two, but its vast canvas does not generally contain performances that equal those Zinnemann was able to draw from his stellar cast. Still----IHW is a good old fashioned movie and an enjoyable way to spend almost three hours of your time.

In The Cinema of Otto Preminger by Gerald Pratley (Castle Books, 1971), Preminger included in his own annotation to IHW an interesting anecdote that is worth sharing with a wider audience. There is a scene between the John Wayne and Paula Prentiss characters where Wayne informs her that her husband was reported as missing in action. It is Prentiss's last appearance in the film, and she wanted so hard for it to be her best work. During each take, Prentiss unconsciously kicked herself in the ankle as she was caught up in the moment. When the scene ended, she discovered that she could no longer walk and had to be taken to the hospital. Her kicking resulted in a fractured ankle. Or as Preminger himself explained, "...she was concentrating so hard on the scene that she didn't realise it." Think about that scene the next time you see IHW!

Love Off the High Seas.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 21 August 2009]

James Bassett's novel was pretty retrograde for the mid 1960s. It endorsed every apple-pie value imaginable. Adulterers and rapists die. The Navy was good, but politicians, high-class Bostonian elites, public relations personnel, journalists, and rear echelon headline mongerers were condemned. On top of that the book was clumsily written. Everyone -- men and women alike -- seemed to speak with the same cadence and vocabulary. Cliché followed cliché. When -- Full speed ahead; damn the spoilers! -- when Rockwell Torrey loses a leg at the end of the story, he's ashamed to face his girl friend because he's "only half a man." I'm not making that up. And when, on the eve of battle, an officer confesses that he's scared to death, Wayne admits that he too is scared. We've seen that identical exchange dozens of times. In this case Wayne's deportment didn't convince me he was really scared. He seemed strung out behind 3 milligrams of Xanax.

The novel could have been written with Hollywood in mind because it has all the audience appeal of any other commercial effort -- three (or maybe four) romantic relationships going on at once, bureaucratic intrigue with heroes and villains, and an opening sea battle and an even bigger climactic engagement.

Wendell Mayes, the screenwriter, pulls all these threads together in a way that, while still leaving this a mediocre effort, improves on the book, if only by shortening it.

John Wayne exudes relaxed authority, which is his forte. He could have walked through the part but he does a thoroughly professional job. Kirk Douglas is second in the credits but has a much smaller part as Wayne's competent but tormented assistant. Both men were aging visibly by this time in their careers and at times it seems that Douglas is wearing a Kirk Douglas mask, but Douglas at least gets the few humorous moments in the story.

Brandon De Wilde was splendid as the little boy in "Shane" eleven years earlier, and fine as the naive teen in "Hud." Here, as a Wayne's estranged son, a young Harvard-educated PT boat officer, he's adequate but no more than that.

Patricia Neal is Wayne's girl friend, a savvy but gentle nurse. She's no longer a glamorous kid either, but her face seems careworn and soft. She's a suitable mate for Wayne. Jill Haworth is the saucy young nurse who is engaged to De Wilde but tempts Douglas beyond the point of redemption. She's more figure than talent. There's a third romance between the heroic Tom Tryon and the achingly horny Paula Prentiss, but it's not clear why this narrative thread was left in the script. The intrigues and their dynamics are dazzling enough without it.

The battles were done with models, as was usual at the time, and the special effects are okay for the period, but compare the contemporary "Sink the Bismarck" to see how it could have been more convincingly executed. That last engagement was a bit confusing because when ships are exploding, it's hard to tell one from another.

Historically the whole affair is fiction. Well -- two real figures appear on the screen. Admiral Husband Kimmel (Franchot Tone) who got all the blame for the naval disaster at Pearl Harbor and whose head rolled, and Admiral Nimitz (Henry Fonda) who has two or three short scenes of no particular distinction.

The climactic battle steals elements from Guadalcanal (if we don't stop the Japanese from finishing that airstrip, we're sunk), Surigao Strait (the Japanese are caught by mines and torpedo boats in a narrow channel during a night action), and Leyte Gulf (a super battleship and numerous escorts against a lesser fleet of American ships, with the Japanese turned away at the last minute by a display of American gallantry). Nice black-and-white photography.

It's not a bad movie but rather strictly routine. There are no stand out performances because there are no opportunities for stand out performances. The script is too bland for that. Preminger does manage one actually shocking incident. It takes place in the officer's john, and involves Douglas slapping the evil-looking Patrick O'Neal several times across the face -- hard. Otherwise, it's by the numbers.

Didn't think it would be that good

[eddie54 · 28 May 2001]

No, I didn't go to see Pearl Harbor this weekend. I stayed at home and watch my new DVD of In Harm's Way. The DVD cover is quite misleading. It sports a color photo of Wayne and Douglas, but the film is black and white. Their smiles would indicate a comedy.

Like From Here to Eternity, the human drama is set against the Pearl Harbor attack. Unlike, From Here to Eternity, the attack starts the film. And what a drama it is! Romance, infedelity, poor father/son relationship, honor, courage, rape, suicide. Never maudlin or schmaltzy, the performances are excellent, but low key. Back in 1965, taking the time to develop character was the norm, so to most young people, this movie would seem slow. Pity.

The battles scene are very good and the cinematography was Oscar nominated. There are some really breathtaking black and white high angel long shots of Hawaii with leaning palm trees and dark skies filled with billowing clouds.

And the cast! Your face will light up with every new character that appears. George Kennedy, Stanley Holloway, Hugh O' Brien, Dana Andrews, Bruce Cabot.

More Than A War Movie

[damianphelps · 7/10 · 13 March 2021]

2.5 hours just flies by amidst the rigours of war and the chaos the soldiers endure both in combat and in their personal lives.

A cast of superstars are overshadowed on this occasion by the performance of Kirk Douglas who has all the great scenes of the movie in my opinion.

The word that continually springs to mind when I think about this movie is passion.

Great storytelling :)

Decisive Action Under Pressure

[mlion413 · 10/10 · 28 May 2007]

"I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not go fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." - John Paul Jones

Early in the film, Rock Torrey (John Wayne) and his exec, Commander Eddington (Kirk Douglas) observe a new heavy cruiser sail from Pearl Harbor to join the fleet, and Wayne's next line contains the movie's title: "A fast ship going in harm's way!" This film is about exactly that - fast ships and men going in harm's way! "In Harm's Way" is about decisiveness when under pressure, about thinking fast on one's feet, with no regrets.

The scene in CINCPAC's private study right after CAPT Rock Torrey (Wayne) is promoted to Rear Admiral is a memorable one. CINCPAC (Henry Fonda) is rightfully impatient with Admiral Broderick (Dana Andrews), who is egotistical, but unwilling to decide to attack, much like Civil War Union General McClellan. CINCPAC recalls that Lincoln brought in a hard-nosed general named Grant who didn't care less about organization, he just pointed his battalions in the right direction, and he charged the enemy. The whole theme of the film is contained in CINCPAC's next line to Rock Torrey:

"You're gonna be my Grant!"

I also noticed that Director Otto Preminger briefly revisits his theme of an informant-plant as an in-house bad guy, a theme he covered more extensively with Peter Graves as the Nazi barracks spy in "Stalog 17".

The characters all have flaws, but each one rises to the occasion when the war calls on them to give their best. Rock Torrey does not waste a second driving straight into battle, no matter how impossible the odds! This is the classic stuff of Hollywood Magic and also of inspiration! Buy this DVD! There is inspiration in this old film, and as with the good old Duke, the actors capture all the best things about taking brave risks and decisive action when in harm's way.

On any level you want, "In Harm's Way" delivers!

Otto Preminger's In Harm Way

[rcj5365 · 7/10 · 16 February 2010]

This long,lumbering naval epic predates the various 1980's television mini-series about World War II. It's the same mixture of soap-opera action away from the battlefields and cheap-looking naval special effects that are no more convincing on the small screen than they were in theaters. Apparently,most of the budget was spent on a first-rate cast of actors who walk through substandard material. The beginning sequence of "In Harm's Way" has a two-minute plus opening tracking shot that establishes the scene as Pearl Harbor,December 6, 1941. At an officer's party,Liz(Barbara Bouchet),the drunken wife of Cmdr. Eddington (Kirk Douglas),makes a spectacle of herself. Since her husband is at sea with Capt. Rock Torrey(John Wayne),she heads off for a skinny-dip in the ocean with a pilot(Hugh O'Brien). Are they in for a nasty surprise the next morning! When the Japanese attack(depicted in brief,grainy shots of airplanes and a few explosions in the ocean),Lt. William McConnel(Tom Tryon)manages to get his destroyer out of the harbor before its bombed. At the same time,Torrey and Eddington's ship is sent to fend off the Japanese fleet and suffers a devastating attack.

Several plot twists later,Torrey is sailing a desk and Eddington is shipped off to a remote supply base. Enter Cmdr. Powell(Burgess Meredith),script writer turned intelligence officer;Lt. Maggie Haynes(Patricia Neal),a nurse who sets her cap for Torrey;Ens.Jere Torrey(Brandon De Wilde),Rock's enstranged son;and his fiancée Ens. Annalee Dorne(Jill Haworth),Maggie's roommate. Those are the good guys. On the other side are the ineffectual Adm. Broderick(Dana Andrews)and his stooge,Cmdr. Owynn(Patrick O'Neal). The rest of the supporting cast is filled with such veterans as Henry Fonda(sporting a curious Southern accent),Franchot Tone,and many other names and faces who would become more famous in the following decades.

Unfortunably,they're all saddled with a convoluted story that's so idiotically written it's unfair to judge the actors' work. For the most part,they do not embarrass themselves too much. More than any of the others,Wayne looks like he wishes he were somewhere else instead of being the lead character here. Still,the film is not without interest as an example of the cozy working relationships that the entertainment industry and the military enjoy in the years between World War II,the Korean War and Vietnam. The scenes that were filmed aboard real ships with Navy personnel look bright,shiny,and freshly ironed. Those recruitment poster excerpts stand in jarring comparison to the models used for the battle scenes and the pedestrian interiors. When the focus moves away from the fighting,as it often does,the story has much more to say about the early 1960's than the early 1940's. The sexual attitudes in particular are pure 1960's with an uncomfortable sniggering subtext that's never far from the surface. The absurd and convenient resolution of one seduction plot line is too bizarre to be described,much less believed. Throughout the film,the characters' emotions are exaggerated to unrealistic extremes.

One clue to the bad writing comes in place names that were invented for the fictional campaign while the few scenes that suggest jungle combat don't amount to anything,and though the effects used in the naval battles may have some nostalgic value,they're certainly not going to engage and persuade younger viewers,who demand a certain level of authenticity in both visual and emotional terms that was common with the big-budgeted Panavision films of the 1960's. "In Harm's Way",despite negative reviews from critics and audiences who went to see this in 1965,became one of the top ten films of that year right up there with "Doctor Zhivago","The Sound of Music","Thunderball",and "The Greatest Story Ever Told".

John Wayne in Rousing All Star War Film

[williwaw · 9/10 · 18 January 2013]

It is difficult to imagine two more different Men then John Wayne, the ultimate male American movie star and Otto Preminger who loved to stir the pot of controversy with his films tackling subjects such as drug addiction in The Man With A Golden Arm ( with a splendid Kim Novak), or the Catholic Church in The Cardinal starring Tom Tryon, or Politics in Advise and Consent. Preminger was known as a screamer who yelled at people a lot but never his A List movie stars all of whom liked working with him. In particular Kim Novak, Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra, and Duke Wayne, Kirk Douglas. (Preminger must have had a soft spot because he regularly cast Burgess Meredith and others such as Dana Andrews who was at one time a big star but who suffered from bouts of alcoholism and returned the beautiful Gene Tierney to the screen after her bouts with depression in Advise and Conset)

First billed John Wayne and Director Otto Preminger together these two Men created a rousing WW2 Film.

Preminger cast John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Paula Prentiss, Patricia Neal, and a supporting cast of Preminger contractees such as Tom Tryon, and Jill Haworth and Brandon DeWilde. The scenes between Duke Wayne and Ms Neal are affecting. The entire cast does superior work.

I recommend this film

A movie that I did find entertaining despite some glaring problems

[lani4-886-903615 · 6/10 · 26 September 2012]

I recently acquired the DVD of this movie in a three DVD set that included Donovan's Reef and Hatari.

On the whole I've found that In Harm's Way meets my criteria - I was entertained but I'm afraid that there were several things that stretched credibility beyond usual limits.

First the Japanese planes shooting at two people on a beach before they attacked Pearl Harbour was a bit far-fetched and then the incredible flaming car with flames pouring out of the passenger area after the head-on collision with the truck was way over the top. And then later for Liz's purse and shoes to be in pristine condition after being in that blazing inferno and her being recognizable when Paul came to identify her pushed this whole 'bit' into being just plain silly.

And later the very obvious use of model ships in some shots that were not quite big enough to pass for real ships somewhat spoiled the effectiveness of the images of the ships. Much later at almost the end of the movie when Admiral Torrey 'wakes up' on the hospital ship after almost 3 weeks the gauze 'hat' that the costume dept plunked on his head looked nothing like a professionally applied dressing and after almost 3 weeks any open wounds would have been well healed and not needing to be bandaged any longer. Also to have an unconscious patient in a closed room by himself, lying face up and with no IV or catheter was a glaring omission. Anyone 'asleep' aka unconscious for any length of time would, even in the 1940s, have had IV fluids 24/7 which would require a catheter 24/7 as well but what they did have beside his bed was a stainless steel pitcher and a drinking glass half full of what was probably water, not exactly what an unconscious patient needs. Until those scenes with Admiral Torrey on the hospital ship the medical scenes were actually quite well done but that silly looking gauze hat actually had me laughing. I guess it was easier to just plunk it on his head when they needed to do a retake but if you'll notice most of the time he looked like he was afraid to move his head because it would shift around because it was so loose.

What held this movie together for me were the performances. As always I thoroughly enjoyed Patricia Neal's performance as well as the performances by Paula Prentiss, Tom Tryon, Kirk Douglas, Stanley Holloway, Burgess Meredith and of course 'The Duke'. Young Brandon De Wilde's transformation was interesting to watch as well as convincing and Patrick O'Neal's sleazy Commander Neal Owynn was very well done too.

It is a different kind of war movie and well worth watching in spite of the above mentioned problems that I have with the film. I have watched it a few times and will again at some point because in spite of its sometimes silly shortcomings, because of the performances, I was entertained.

Sailors in Love

[EdgarST · 8/10 · 8 June 2007]

In the early 1990's, an essay in "Film Comment" magazine by film critic Elliot Stein started the reconsideration of Otto Preminger's "In Harm's Way", which opened with less than enthusiastic reviews upon its release. Audiences and critics had come to expect either polemic motion pictures or big budgeted productions from Preminger, after titles such as "The Man with the Golden Arm" and "Exodus." But back in 1965, Preminger released this film about Second World War, where personal situations seemed to overshadow the battle scenes, and on top of that he shot it in black and white and wide-screen, a common practice in those days (even Preminger made that same year "Bunny Lake Is Missing", a thriller more apt for monochromatic wide-screen), but rarely a combination for a spectacle with a huge cast of stars. As pointed out by the author of the essay, "In Harm's Way" followed the vein of earlier Preminger films centred on polemic issues, American institutions, or big world issues: "The Moon Is Blue" dealt with virginity, "The Man with the Golden Arm" with drugs, "Anatomy of a Murder" with the justice system, "Advise and Consent" with the US Senate and homosexuality, "The Cardinal" with the Vatican, and "Exodus" with the creation of Israel. This time Preminger focused on the US Navy but with a twist: when the film ends it has cleverly illustrated its notion that the happiness and functionality of the couple are requisites for the efficiency of the Navy, the American society, the nation, and the world as a whole. "In Harm's Way" is more focused on basic emotions, and it frames the story with the relationship of a married couple. In the first scene we meet William and Beverly McConnell (Tom Tryon and Paula Prentiss) happily dancing by a swimming pool, in an officers' ball. Their idyll is rapidly interrupted by the wild swing of a drunken blonde, Liz Eddington (Barbara Bouchet), a married woman who is having an affair with an officer (Hugh O'Brian.) Liz and the officer leave the party and go to a beach, where their love making is interrupted as the Japanese attack Pearl Harbour. From then on, while battles create separation and tension, we are mostly concerned with the main characters' private lives. On one hand, we see Capt. Torrey's (John Wayne) dealing with the estrangement from his son Jeremiah (Brandon De Wilde) and his relationship with Nurse Maggie Haynes (Patricia Neal), while Jeremiah courts Maggie's roommate, Annalee Dorne (Jill Haworth.) On the other hand, we see Com. Paul Eddington (Kirk Douglas) coping with his wife's infidelity and death, fighting Officer O'Wynn (Patrick O'Neal), and raping Annalee, before his pseudo-heroic denouement. Every now and then, we return to the McConnells, who seem to be a rather unobtrusive leit motif "in harm's way" (Tryon and Prentiss respectively received fourth and fifth billing, although they have little screen time.) First, Torrey communicates Bev of William's disappearance, later Bev asks William to impregnate her before he goes on a destroyer duty, and finally the couple is reunited in San Francisco for a brief stay, after which the Navy wins its "first victory" (as the film was known in many countries.) "In Harm's Way" has a rich early score by Jerry Goldsmith, in which the maestro had the opportunity to compose music for war scenes, love themes, dance tunes for the officers' ball, "ethnic" music of the South Seas, a theme for John Wayne's character (known as "The Rock"), which eventually turns into the "Battle Hymn" of "In Harm's Way", following the screenplay's strategy of turning the action hero into an icon of the United States; and a very dark, ominous "end title" music that evokes the theme of war affecting human relations that runs throughout the story. Goldsmith dedicated the love theme neither to the Torrey-Maggie affair, nor to the Jeremiah-Annalee romance, but to the McConnells. Forget the model ships critics complained about, and enjoy the last of the better part of Otto Preminger's filmography.

bigger than life war flick

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 11 February 2006]

While this is a very good film, I didn't love it. Probably the biggest reason was that I generally disliked the multi-mega star war flicks so popular in the 1960s and 70s. They all tend to bombard you with top-notch Hollywood actors BUT the stories themselves aren't necessarily improved by all the special guest appearances. Some good examples are THE LONGEST DAY, MIDWAY, TORA TORA TORA and this film. While I don't necessarily dislike any of these films (except for the historically and technically inept MIDWAY), the films' realism lagged because of all these stars. They remind me, in a way, of THE MUPPET MOVIE (now that's a comparison I bet you weren't expecting)--with countless walk ons that rarely did much to improve the film and often tended to bog it down just a little.

My other complaint is the sleazy guy portrayed by Kirk Douglas. While I know soldiers and sailors have been known to commit rapes, this didn't do much to help endear the film to me.

So, apart from all that, you still have a very good war film about the beginning of the war in the Pacific. Also, look for an older Brandon De Wilde--the young boy from the movie SHANE. He only made a few films as an adult and was tragically killed at age 30 in an auto accident.

Another under-appreciated Preminger movie.

[FilmSnobby · 8/10 · 7 December 2003]

Under-appreciated? More like "forgotten". I had never heard of *In Harm's Way* before I caught it on TCM this weekend. It seems really odd that this movie is virtually unknown, considering the star-studded cast headed by the Duke himself. A movie in which Kirk Douglas gets SECOND billing should have been a big deal, for good or ill.

*In Harm's Way* is a very long Navy melodrama about the Pacific theater in World War II, beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Doubtless it attempts to outdo its prime inspiration, *From Here to Eternity*, and perhaps it succeeds. John Wayne plays Captain Rock Torrey (a PERFECT name for Wayne), who gets demoted because he dared to initiate aggressive maneuvers during the Pearl Harbor attack. His ship gets torpedoed by a sub, and he ends up behind a desk in Hawaii, marking time. Meanwhile, he befriends a tough middle-aged nurse played (perfectly) by Patricia Neal. But their romance will be interrupted when the Navy brass come to their senses and reinstall Wayne into active duty, with full promotion to Rear Admiral. Interrupted, but not forgotten: the movie's long running-time helps to generate interest in their relationship, which moves from cynical, "better-make-hay-while-the-sun-shines" tentativeness toward tender love.

Yes, Wayne loves tenderly in this picture, and it's a shame that he wasn't given more characters like Rock in which to explore these elements in his persona. He's not so much a "man of action" here as he is a man of thought: he's a planner, not a doer. Unusual stuff for Wayne, but he pulls it off and makes it all look pretty effortless. For those who continue to say that the man couldn't act, watch how he eats alive Henry Fonda -- a critics' favorite -- in a terribly performed (and accented) cameo as the chief commander of the Pacific. Needless to say, strong women tended to improve Wayne's work as well, and Neal is about as strong as they come. (It's as if Wayne was instinctively bored by human weakness. He always comes alive when confronted by strength.)

The movie features several subplots within Wayne's periphery, most notably Kirk Douglas as Wayne's preferred second-in-command and substitute son who has terrible luck with women. We realize from his introduction that something is inherently wrong with Douglas, but it's still something of a shock to witness the final depravity to which he sinks. Wayne will be forced to bestow his fatherly instincts on his actual son (Brandon de Wilde), whom he abandoned years earlier after the divorce from the mother.

And there's the War, of course. Preminger is handicapped by a lack of technology for the naval battles at the end of the movie, resorting to toy destroyers and carriers and PT boats bobbing in a tank. But this is the sort of thing to which modern-day audiences must make concessions if they are to enjoy older movies, and in any case the integrity of the story is not handicapped by its technical limitations. Besides, Preminger achieves a good deal of realism anyway by shooting many scenes on real locations like Hawaii and San Diego and San Francisco, to say nothing of actual Navy battleships (except during the battle scenes, of course). Those are real swabbies serving as extras, running around on the decks.

Finally, a word to those on this site who say that *In Harm's Way* is little more than a salt's version of *Green Berets*. If this movie is jingoistic, I must've missed it. I found the LACK of flag-waving to be rather startling in a movie starring John Wayne. <SPOILER -- PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE -- By movie's end, we see Wayne broken and depressed in a hospital, with an amputated leg, a dead son, a dead substitute son, dead friends, and a dead crew. What has he gained? Guilt and probably irremediable loss. Well, he still has Neal, but one gets the sense that he's hanging on to her like a life preserver rather than as a life-mate. Victory and its attendant glories have come at too high a price for Wayne. Even the cast credits at the end are somewhat shocking, with its roiling sea storms and explosions, finally ending with a detonation of an atomic bomb! *In Harm's Way* may be the most subtle anti-war picture ever made. Those who think otherwise weren't paying close enough attention, in my opinion.>

Good movie despite big problems

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 22 July 2015]

Problem # 1 has to do with budget. If they didn't tell you the air attack early on in the film was the bombing of Pearl Harbor, you'd hardly know it. Seemed very minor according to this film. But, of course, no special effects of note back then, so the attack on Pearl Harbor seems like a slight unpleasantness.

Problem # 2: Now, I don't know how it was, but about 8 weeks after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor it seems as if everything in Honolulu was back to normal and the military was partying it up. Is that really the way it was? I doubt it, but again, I don't know. But then, there's not another bomb or even firecracker that goes off for well over an hour. Kinda sparse action for a war movie Problem # 3: Filmed in 1965 and still black and white. Again, must be budget. Filmed in Hawaii and region, it would have been a beautiful film in color.

Problem # 4: It took me a long time to figure out this one. The film takes place in the 1940s, but it feels too much like the 1960s. Oh, they have all the right automobiles and such, but the music seems There are other elements of this movie that balance things out and make it a very good film. Chief among these is the cast: John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Burgess Meredith, Tom Tryon, Dana Andrews, Franchot Tone, Carroll O'Connor, Henry Fonda, and many more, all with varying levels of roles, some rather short, but all key in some way.

Of course, the main character here is John Wayne, who was beginning to look kinda old here. Wayne made one of my favorite films the same year -- "The Sons Of Katie Elder". Wayne here plays John Wayne. Which is fine.

Kirk Douglas plays a personal ne'er do well, but a competent junior officer to John Wayne (who, BTW, is promoted to admiral during the film). I'm not sure you can be both, but Douglas is always Douglas.

Patricia Neal does very nicely as John Wayne's love interest.

Dana Andrews has a strong role as a not-so-effective vice-admiral. He's excellent! Burgess Meredith has a part that is different from his typical. Very good performance.

So now it's time to get down to the nitty gritty, and this is it: I rarely like war movies. My father was in the military, and almost every time he would come home on leave, he would drag me to the theater to watch a war movie. I loved having time with him, but HATED war movies. Even though I love old movies, it is extremely rare for me to watch a war movie. BUT -- I enjoyed this movie despite its shortcomings. It's a long movie, and it fully held my attention.

Recommended.

Brought to you by Acme Soap

[Matthew_Capitano · 4/10 · 7 August 2013]

Mostly a soap opera masquerading as a war film. Kirk Douglas' character is second billed and he dies as a hero right after he rapes a woman, and nothing is mentioned about it ever again except that the girl he raped commits suicide afterwards, yet Douglas continues to be respected by his Navy colleagues.

Not a standard action film and the melodramatic scenes are likely to put you to sleep. Wayne is his usual gruff self... too bad he wasn't given much to do except ride in a jeep from one location to another so he could stand around some more. Pretentiously directed by Otto Preminger. Somewhat peculiar casting, primarily by Hollywood's better known faces (Burgess Meredith, Carroll O'Conner, etc.).

Could have been a more exciting film with a better script and a lot less bugle oil about who's dating who.