Away All Boats (1956)

Interesting facts

Away All Boats is a 1956 American war film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Jeff Chandler, George Nader, Lex Barker, and Julie Adams. It was produced by Howard Christie from a screenplay by Ted Sherdeman based on the 1953 novel by Kenneth Dodson (1907–1999), who served on the USS Pierce (APA-50) in World War II and used his experiences there as a guide for his novel. He was encouraged in his writing by Carl Sandburg, who had read some of Dodson's letters, written in the Pacific. The book is about the crew of the Belinda (APA-22), an amphibious attack transport. The book became a best seller. The film was produced by Universal Pictures.

Production

Film rights were bought by Universal, whose president Edward Muhl said the movie version would be Universal's most expensive of the year.

The first choice for the lead role was Clark Gable.

George Nader had twice taken roles that Chandler refused. This was the first time the two actors worked together.

The armed services had not been pleased with their portrayal in From Here to Eternity or The Caine Mutiny. However the Navy was worried about declining recruitment numbers and Universal received its full cooperation for the film, including an opportunity to photograph maneuvers and mock attacks in March 1955 in the Caribbean and on Vieques. The movie was filmed aboard USS Randall.

The Navy also granted a two-week leave of absence for Ralph Scalzo, a landing boat coxswain, who took part in filming in the Caribbean and was needed for added closeup shots in Hollywood.

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