Operation Pacific (1951)

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In Operation Pacific John Wayne portrays Duke Gifford of the USS Thunderfish submarine. The film is set in 1942 during the early days of World War II. His submarine, which is commanded by "Pop" Perry (Ward Bond) initially rescues nuns and orphans from a Pacific Island that had been overrun by Japanese. While returning to Pearl Harbor, some deep emotions stir in Gifford as he sees the rescued children. His thoughts turn to his ex-wife Lieutenant Mary Stuart (Patricia Neal), who will be at Pearl Harbor. As the film progresses the crew of the Thunderfish undertakes several missions in the wartime Pacific, and is bedeviled by torpedoes that are duds. A subplot in the film of Gifford trying to rekindle his love for Mary Stuart resurfaces from time to time. There is also and awkward subplot of Mary dating Bob Perry (Philip Carey), who is the brother of the Thunderfish's commander. Operation Pacific also showcases some wartime skirmishes at sea between the US Navy and Japan. While the overall tone of the movie is optimistic, there are some scenes in which crewmen die and accidents occur. The action scenes are quite modest, but you get some feel for the thrills and dangers of serving in a submarine.

Starring ...

John Wayne, Patricia Neal, Ward Bond, Scott Forbes, Philip Carey

Director: George Waggner
Producer: Louis Edelman

Year Released - Jan. 1951

Length - 111 minutes

Music Composer: Max Steiner

Movie Distributed by Warner Brothers