Hellcats of the Navy

Hellcats of the Navy (1957)

Down . . . Down . . . Down . . . into enemy waters with the fightin' hellcats of the U.S. sub pack !

Captain Casey Abbott commands an American submarine in the Pacific during World War II. When a perilous mission to retrieve a new Japanese mine for study goes awry, he's forced to abandon a likable combat diver. Abbott's orders to leave a man behind appear to be justified, but his second-in-command believes he had ulterior motives:

Date of release
1957-05-01
TMDB
4.7 / 10 (17)
Runtime
1h 22m
Genres
War, Drama, Thriller
Director
Nathan Juran

Casting

Interesting facts

Hellcats of the Navy is a 1957 American black-and-white World War II submarine film drama from Columbia Pictures, produced by Charles H. Schneer and directed by Nathan Juran. The film stars Ronald Reagan, Nancy Davis, and Arthur Franz. This was the only feature film in which the Reagans acted together, either before or after their 1952 marriage.

Production

Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz appears as himself to introduce the film, and he is later played in the story by actor Selmer Jackson. Retired Navy officer Charles A. Lockwood, chief author of the book on which this feature was based, is also portrayed briefly by an actor.

It was the second film Nathan Juran directed for producer Charles Schneer.

Reagan said in his autobiography that he was disappointed, overall, in the film, having expected a result more like Destination Tokyo, a major Warner Bros. submarine film made during World War II. The diminishing status of the feature films that Reagan was being offered, plus his increasing involvement with television, led to his leaving the big screen forever.

The United States Navy provided extensive cooperation by allowing portions of the film to be shot at Naval Base San Diego and aboard an actual U.S. submarine, possibly USS Besugo. The executive officer of the submarine was Lloyd Bucher, who would go on to command the USS Pueblo during its capture by North Korea in 1968.

During the film's production, as USS Besugo was about to get underway, an argument ensued between the director and one of the unions. There was only a short window of opportunity to maneuver the boat away from the pier, as it was difficult for a submarine tied up in San Diego to get underway while a tide was running.

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