The Duke + WWII sub movie = How can you lose?
Following WWII, a new subgenre of war movies appeared, the submarine movie, including Destination Tokyo, Run Silent, Run Deep, and Torpedo Run among others. But Operation Pacific with John Wayne is not often mentioned or known as a quality WWII submarine war movie, which is too bad because it's a more than solid movie. Returning from a mission that required the crew to rescue two nuns and a group of little kids off a Japanese-held island, the USS Thunderfish returns to Pearl Harbor. Back in port, Lt. Commander Duke Gifford hopes to get back together with his divorced wife, Mary Stuart, and rekindle the love they had four years before. But before he can win her back, the Thunderfish is sent back out on patrol, and with torpedoes that don't blow on impact. The rest of the movie involves the effort to fix the firing pins along with the Thunderfish's involvement at the battle of Leyte Gulf. The sub footage is excellent here as the Thunderfish goes up against everything the Japanese Navy has to offer and more. And unlike a lot of movies with forced love stories, the relationship between Duke and Mary is believable and doesn't detract from the movie overall. A good blend of action, drama and some laughs, Operation Pacific isn't a well-known WWII sub movie, but it's definitely worth a look.
John Wayne had it easy here, starring as a character with his own nickname, Lt. Cmdr. Duke Gifford. Gifford is the first officer on the Thunderfish who while trying to win his ex-wife back has to deal with some unexpected problems that arise. Patricia Neal is a good sparring partner for Wayne as Mary Stuart, his ex-wife and a nurse at Pearl Harbor. Wayne and Neal's scenes together keep the movie going instead of grinding it to a halt. Ward Bond is perfect as Cmdr. "Pop" Perry, the commander of the Thunderfish and Gifford's best friend. Wayne and Bond together were always perfect together, and here is no different. Phillip Carey plays Lt. Perry, Pop's kid brother who is trying to marry Mary which doesn't go over well for Gifford. The crew of the sub includes Scott Forbes, Martin Milner, Paul Picerni in a funny role, William Campbell, Vincent Fotre, Sam Edwards, and in maybe his meatiest part, and his best, Jack Pennick as the Chief.
The DVD is a good deal with a clean B&W standard presentation that looks pretty smooth throughout although it's fairly obvious when war footage is inserted in. Only special features here are a trailer and some brief filmographies of the cast, Wayne, Neal, and Bond. But overall, fans of submarine movies won't be disappointed here, especially with Wayne and Bond together again. Check out Operation Pacific!
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