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45-502: Operation Pacific is a 1951 black-and-white World War II submarine war drama from Warner Bros. Pictures , produced by Louis Edelman, and written as well as directed by George Waggner . John Wayne and Patricia Neal star and Ward Bond and Philip Carey play supporting roles. Much of the film is set aboard a Gato -class submarine. The technical advisor was World War II Admiral Charles A. Lockwood , Commander, Submarine Forces, Pacific ( COMSUBPAC ). During World War II,

90-626: A "battle surface" behind the ship. On surfacing, Gifford orders the boat's deck guns and anti-aircraft guns , as well as numerous portable light and mountable heavy machine guns operated by the deck crew, to fire at will . After the Q-ship's bridge is disabled and the ship set afire, Duke orders flank speed , ramming the sub into the Japanese ship, holing and sinking the Q-ship. Thunderfish limps home for repairs to her damaged bow. Back at Pearl Harbor, Bob Perry believes that Duke's order to dive

135-459: A Japanese two-man mini submarine. The incident appears in the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora! . USS Ward was sunk by kamikaze action in December 1944. George Tomasini , one of the film's editors, died months before the film was released. In Harm's Way was nominated for the 1965 Academy Award for Cinematography (Black-and-White) for cinematographer Loyal Griggs . It was also screened at

180-649: A black-and-white image, that is, an image containing shades of gray, is referred to in this context as grayscale . In Harm%27s Way The setting of the film is the entry of the United States into World War II . It depicts the lives of several U.S. naval officers based in Hawaii and their wives or lovers. The title of the film comes from a quote from an American Revolutionary naval commander: I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm's way. The film presents

225-451: A few 1950s vintage 63-ft U.S. Coast Guard rescue launches that were made over to resemble Elco 80-ft PT boats , as the few that existed were not available for use. Reference near the start of the film is mentioned to the "picket destroyer Ward " dropping depth charges what she believes to be a submarine near the entrance to Pearl Harbor. This refers to USS  Ward which dropped depth charges on what has since been established to be

270-420: A large Japanese task force centered around the super-battleship Yamato , on its way to blast Torrey's much smaller force off the islands. Despite the new seaborne threat, Torrey nevertheless mounts the invasion of Levu-Vana and proceeds with a full attempt to turn back the enemy force. Tragically, his son Jere is killed during a nighttime PT boat action. The following morning sees a pitched surface action off

315-471: A lot, possibly because he was seriously ill with lung cancer at the time. The film's opening foreword and dedication states: "When the Pacific Fleet was destroyed by the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, it remained for the submarines to carry the war to the enemy. In the four years that followed, our undersea craft sank six million tons of Japanese shipping including some of the proudest ships of

360-542: A range of achromatic brightnesses of grey . It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. However, there are exceptions to this rule, including black-and-white fine art photography , as well as many film motion pictures and art film (s). Early photographs in the late 19th and early to mid 20th centuries were often developed in black and white, as an alternative to sepia due to limitations in film available at

405-462: A relatively unromantic and realistic picture of the U.S. Navy and its officers from the night of December 6, 1941, through the first year of the U.S. participation in World War II , complete with bureaucratic quarreling among the senior officers and sometimes disreputable private actions by individuals. Its sprawling narrative is typical of Preminger's works in which he examined institutions and

450-533: A romance with a divorced Navy Nurse Corps lieutenant named Maggie Haynes, who tells him that his estranged son Jeremiah is now an ensign in the Naval Reserve . A strained visit with Jeremiah brings Torrey in on a South Pacific island-hopping offensive codenamed "Skyhook", which is under command of the overly cautious and micro-managing Vice Admiral B.T. Broderick. On additional information from his roommate, intelligence officer Egan Powell, Torrey guesses that

495-682: A staging base for the invasion of Levu-Vana. This proves unexpectedly easy as the Japanese have withdrawn their garrisons from Gavabutu. As Torrey turns his attention to Levu-Vana, his attempts to secure more material and manpower are frustrated by General Douglas MacArthur 's simultaneous and much larger campaign in the Solomon Islands . Reconnaissance aircraft prove especially difficult to come by, and surface combatant forces amount to little more than several cruisers and destroyers, including Torrey's former command. Meanwhile, Eddington's instability drives him to rape navy nurse Annalee Dorne who

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540-525: A straight, cliché-crowded melodrama of naval action in the Pacific in World War II ..." and characterized it as "a film that is virtually awash with flimsy and flamboyant fellows with all the tricks of the trade of Hollywood." However, other reviews have been more positive. Bruce Eder, writing for Allmovie.com , notes that ' In Harm's Way has endured extraordinarily well for an epic war movie made in

585-507: Is a combination of two incidents involving Commander Howard W. Gilmore , captain of USS  Growler  (SS-215) . Mortally wounded on the bridge, Gilmore gave the order "Take her down!", sacrificing himself to save his submarine and crew, for which he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor . The ramming and sinking of the armed freighter depicted in the scene occurred in the same action, just prior to Gilmore's death. The sequence where

630-432: Is engaged to Torrey's son. The traumatized nurse, fearing she might be pregnant, commits suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills. As the truth is about to be revealed, Eddington – still a qualified aviator – commandeers a PBJ patrol bomber and flies solo on an unauthorized reconnaissance flight to locate elements of the Japanese fleet. He goes down in a fiery death in a redeeming act of sacrifice, giving advance warning of

675-426: Is removed from command of his heavy cruiser for boldly pursuing the enemy but then being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor . Torrey's executive officer , Commander Paul Eddington, is a wayward sort of career officer who has resigned as a naval aviator and returned to the surface navy because of an unhappy marriage. His wife's numerous affairs and drunken escapades have become

720-493: Is sent to sea again before anything is settled. As the sub returns from the patrol, they spot a Japanese freighter, but again their torpedoes fail to explode. The enemy ship raises the white flag , and Thunderfish surfaces and approaches. The freighter turns out to be a heavily armed Q-ship that opens fire on the sub. Mortally wounded, Commander Perry orders the boat to crash dive , knowing that he will not be able to get below before she submerges. Duke, now in command, orders

765-473: Is traded to another submarine in exchange for Destination Tokyo (1943), of which a few seconds of footage is seen as the crewmen watch it. Although Ward Bond's character is presented as several years older than John Wayne's, in reality Bond was only four years older than Wayne. Longtime friends, this was the 12th film they had done together. The submarine Corveena was an actual submarine, albeit spelled slightly differently. USS  Corvina  (SS-226)

810-453: The 1965 Cannes Film Festival , but was not entered into the main competition. Patricia Neal received a 1966 BAFTA Film Award as Best Foreign Actress for her performance in the film. The film received mixed reviews from critics. The film holds a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 19 reviews. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times panned the film, observing, "This is a slick and shallow picture that Mr. Preminger puts forth here,

855-641: The Thunderfish discovers the Japanese fleet of aircraft carriers, battleships, and cruisers steaming through Surigao Strait was inspired by the actions of USS  Darter  (SS-227) and USS  Dace  (SS-247) in the opening phase of the Battle of Leyte Gulf . During Operation Pacific ' s action sequences, for the film's music score composer Max Steiner incorporated dramatic music stances from his classic score for RKO's King Kong . Warner Brothers also recycled Steiner's main theme music from

900-455: The USS ; Saint Paul , still retained most of her wartime configuration (and as a result she stood in for a couple of unnamed cruisers during the movie) although she didn't enter service until 1943, and an accompanying destroyer, USS  Philip , which entered service in 1942, took on the role of USS Cassiday were extensively filmed on. Other U.S. Navy ships that participated included

945-660: The 1948 movie Fighter Squadron , "We Watch The Skyways," as the main theme for Operation Pacific . This march was first used as the main title for the 1941 movie Dive Bomber . It would be heard again in the 1959 submarine movie Up Periscope , and even in a Daffy Duck cartoon, Yankee Doodle Daffy , in 1943. It appears yet again in Bugs vs. Daffy: Battle of the Music Video Stars , a 1988 animated television special. Two previous Warner Brothers features are cited within this film: George Washington Slept Here (1942)

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990-410: The 1960s, owing to a multitude of virtues. For starters, it was the last big-budget, all-star Hollywood movie to be shot in black-and-white, and that gives the film a harder, sharper, more defined edge than it ever could have had if it had been photographed in color...Add to those virtues the unexpectedly lively pacing and stunning special effects...and In Harm's Way seems like a very fast-moving two and

1035-536: The Imperial Navy. Fifty-two of our submarines and thirty-five hundred officers and men were lost. It is to these men and the entire Silent Service that this picture is humbly dedicated." The special mission shown at the beginning of the movie, in which Navy submarines ran war supplies into the Philippines and evacuated civilians, while idealized is a matter of historic record. By the time of the invasion of

1080-456: The Japanese advance and allowing his Marines to take Levu-Vana. It has been speculated that Wayne's low-key performance was due to the fact that he was seriously ill with lung cancer when the film was made. Shortly after filming ended in September 1964, he was diagnosed with the disease and a month later underwent surgery to remove his entire left lung and two ribs. Co-star Franchot Tone

1125-511: The Philippines in 1944, these supply runs had enabled American and Philippine Army officers who had refused to surrender to build a military organization in the islands that was the size of an army corps. The numerous problems with the Mark 14 torpedo and its Mark VI exploder depicted in the film are accurate. A poorly designed and tested firing pin could malfunction on a good hit (that is, a torpedo striking within about 45 degrees of perpendicular to

1170-595: The U.S. military inventory until 1949. The HU-16 likely substitutes for a PBY Catalina , of which no flyable examples were likely available for the film schedule at that time. Another anachronism is the widespread use of the M151 light utility vehicle as a World War II jeep instead of the World War II-era Willys MB and/or Ford GPW , the M151 having not even entered production until 1959. Also used were

1215-676: The aim of Skyhook is to capture a strategic island named Levu-Vana, whose central plain would make an ideal airfield for B-17 bomber squadrons. Shortly thereafter, Maggie informs him that her unit is to be shipped out to the same area in preparation for the offensive. In the summer of 1942, Torrey is promoted to rear admiral and given tactical command of Skyhook, an assignment requiring the same sort of guts and gallantry he previously displayed as commanding officer of his cruiser. He personally selects Paul Eddington to be his Chief of Staff, and infuriates Broderick by immediately planning and executing an operation to overrun Gavabutu, an island to be used as

1260-465: The boat killed his brother, and he refuses to listen to Duke's explanation. Mary tries to comfort Duke, but he rejects her attempts, declaring he only did his duty and feels no regret. Working with the sub base's torpedo specialists, Duke and the crew of the Thunderfish investigate why the torpedoes are not exploding. When they finally discover the answer, Duke goes to Mary to celebrate, but she rejects him. Since he would not let her into his life when he

1305-512: The carrier's escorting destroyers, Thunderfish manages to escape. While in Pearl Harbor, the ship's Executive Officer , Lieutenant Commander Duke E. Gifford goes to visit Butch at the base hospital, and runs into his ex-wife, Lieutenant (j.g.) Mary Stuart, a Navy nurse, and they kiss passionately. Unfortunately, Mary is now romantically involved with Navy pilot Lieutenant (j.g.) Bob Perry, Pop's younger brother. Duke pursues Mary anyway, but

1350-597: The cruiser USS  Boston (though only the forward two-thirds of the ship could be shown as she had missiles installed aft), destroyers USS  Braine , O'Bannon , Renshaw , Walker , submarine Capitaine and the attack transport USS  Renville . All of the destroyers had to have their modern (1960s) anti-submarine warfare (ASW) gear covered over with fake gun-mounts or deck houses. Additional smaller vessels were provided in support, as well as an HU-16 Albatross amphibious aircraft painted in World War II markings, even though said aircraft did not enter

1395-408: The early 1960s in part due to increased awareness of their role in the war (President John F. Kennedy's life had been saved by a coastwatcher). One of many problems encountered during production was that at the time of the filming (mid and late 1964), very few ships then in active Navy service resembled their World War II configuration of two decades earlier. Only one WW II-vintage heavy cruiser ,

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1440-551: The fleet's position. Once Pearl Harbor acknowledges the message, Duke salvoes his torpedoes and makes a run for it, throwing the attacking Japanese warships into chaos. Despite enduring a battering from Japanese depth charges , Thunderfish manages to sink a Japanese aircraft carrier . In the next phase of the battle, American carrier aircraft arrive and attack the Japanese fleet. Thunderfish , now assigned to lifeguard duty, helps to rescue shot-down American flyers, and does so while under attack from Japanese fighters. While rescuing

1485-487: The late 1960s, few mainstream films have been shot in black-and-white. The reasons are frequently commercial, as it is difficult to sell a film for television broadcasting if the film is not in color. 1961 was the last year in which the majority of Hollywood films were released in black and white. In computing terminology, black-and-white is sometimes used to refer to a binary image consisting solely of pure black pixels and pure white ones; what would normally be called

1530-462: The norm in a major Hollywood production). The film received extensive cooperation from the U.S. Department of Defense , especially the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps , with substantial filming occurring both aboard warships at sea and ashore at Naval Station Pearl Harbor (to include Ford Island ) and Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay . Stanley Holloway played an Australian coastwatcher . A number of coastwatchers appeared on screen in

1575-909: The people who run them, such as the United States Congress and the Presidency of the United States in Advise & Consent , the Catholic Church in The Cardinal , and the British Intelligence Service in The Human Factor . U.S. Navy Captain Rockwell "Rock" Torrey is a divorced son of a career chief petty officer . A Naval Academy graduate and career officer himself, Torrey

1620-526: The shores of Levu-Vana, with the Americans drawing first blood and the Yamato decimating much of the U.S. force in response. Severely injured at the height of the battle, Torrey is rescued by his flag lieutenant, William "Mac" McConnell, and is returned to Pearl Harbor aboard a hospital ship under Maggie's devoted care. Expecting to be court-martialed, Torrey is instead congratulated on successfully repelling

1665-405: The side of the target). Poor hits (at a very sharp angle to the side of the ship) could often produce more reliable explosions. Diagnosing the problem actually did occur in a similar manner after 20 months of repeated failures in combat. Submarine crews were involved in the testing, although not in the capacity shown in the film. The scene where Commander Perry (Bond) is killed in a surface action

1710-431: The submarine USS Thunderfish , under the command of Commander John T. "Pop" Perry, while on a special mission to the Philippines, is charged with rescuing a group of nuns and children, including a newborn infant nicknamed "Butch", and transporting them to Pearl Harbor . On their way, the sub sights a Japanese aircraft carrier and attacks, but its torpedoes malfunction, exploding halfway to the target. Attacked and pursued by

1755-486: The talk of Honolulu, and her death during the Pearl Harbor attack—in the company of an Army Air Corps officer, with whom she had just had a wild fling on a local beach—drives Eddington into a bar brawl, a stint in the brig, and exile in a hated land-based logistics command. After several months of desk duty ashore in Hawaii and recuperation from a broken arm he suffered in the attack on his cruiser, Torrey finds his way into

1800-413: The time. Black and white was also prevalent in early television broadcasts, which were displayed by changing the intensity of monochrome phosphurs on the inside of the screen, before the introduction of colour from the 1950s onwards. Black and white continues to be used in certain sections of the modern arts field, either stylistically or to invoke the perception of a historic work or setting. Since

1845-599: The wounded Bob Perry, the Chief of the Boat and Junior, a seaman from a Navy family, are killed and Duke is wounded by a strafing Japanese Zero. When the Thunderfish returns to Pearl Harbor after the patrol, Mary is waiting for Duke. The two, reconciled, head to the hospital, intending to adopt Butch. John Wayne and Patricia Neal did not get along during filming. Nearly fourteen years later, however, they worked together on In Harm's Way (1965) where she noted that he had mellowed

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1890-599: Was commissioned on August 6, 1943, and was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese submarine I-176 on her first war patrol south of Truk Atoll on November 16, 1943. I-176 outlived her victim by exactly six months, being depth-charged and sunk off Buka Island in the Solomon Islands on May 16, 1944. According to Warner Bros' accounts the film earned $ 2,563,000 domestically and $ 1,300,000 in foreign countries. Black-and-white Black-and-white ( B&W or B/W ) images combine black and white to produce

1935-524: Was at his lowest, she feels that they cannot have a real relationship. Her superior, Commander Steele, overhears the conversation and castigates Mary for throwing away her chance for happiness with Duke. Once again Thunderfish heads to sea, this time as part of a scouting line searching for a Japanese fleet heading for Leyte to attack the American invasion force there. Thunderfish finds the enemy. Even though it will reveal their presence, Duke broadcasts

1980-399: Was shot in black-and-white by Loyal Griggs , who composed his scenes in a wide-screen Panavision format often using deep focus . Griggs was nominated for a Best Cinematographer Academy Award for his work. Jerry Goldsmith 's musical score is also notable, as is the work of Saul Bass in the credit titles sequence (this sequence comes at the end of the film, a departure at the time from

2025-498: Was soon to also develop lung cancer and died of the disease in September 1968. Many of the non-military costumes and hairstyles worn by the women throughout the film were contemporary to the mid-1960s period during which the film was made, rather than of the early 1940s. This is particularly noticeable at the dance which opens the film. Many of the extras in this scene were, in fact, current active duty military officers and their spouses assigned to various commands on Oahu . The film

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