Wake Island is a 1942 American action drama war film directed by John Farrow, written by W. R. Burnett and Frank Butler, and starring Brian Donlevy, Robert Preston, Macdonald Carey, Albert Dekker, Barbara Britton, and William Bendix. The film tells the story of the United States military garrison on Wake Island and the onslaught by the Japanese following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Wake Island was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Outstanding Motion Picture.[4]

The film shows how the Marines, after being pounded for days by Japanese aircraft, caught the Japanese invasion by complete surprise by unleashing a wall of fire that stopped the first attempt by the Japanese to land on the island. The next attack was successful in part because communications between the Marines had been cut, leading the Marine commander to believe his three hundred marines were being slaughtered by the over three thousand Japanese invaders. As a result of the fierce defense of the island and that a Japanese cruiser was sunk, Marines were beheaded on the way to Japan to work as slaves in the mines in Japan.

Plot

A map is shown with a voiceover giving a brief history of the United States military on Wake Island to November 1941. U.S. Marine Corps Major Geoffrey Caton departs Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii aboard the Pan American Clipper to take over command on Wake Island. A military contractor, Mr. McClosky, is also going there. The two clash during the flight.

Upon arrival, Caton inspects the island and identifies Privates Randall and Doyle as troublemakers. He has them dig a large slit trench by hand. McClosky has a construction contract for large trenches and living quarters, and drives his crew to complete the work on time. There are numerous conflicts between the military and the civilians, including practicing for air raids.

The next day is Sunday, December 7, 1941. Randall prepares to board the Clipper, as he is leaving the service. Then news arrives about the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor. The island goes on alert. Randall is unsure what to do. He is sent to a bomb shelter with the civilians as enemy planes approach. The Americans have only four fighters in the air, holding eight in reserve, against 24 Japanese bombers. Marine fighters shoot down several Japanese planes, but the bombers inflict heavy damage. Following the raid, Caton tells Randall he is no longer a civilian. McClosky decides to stay and dig trenches and other shelters with his heavy equipment. That night, Caton informs pilot Lieutenant Bruce Cameron that his wife was killed at Pearl Harbor.

The next day, enemy ships approach. The Marines camouflage their equipment. Caton orders his men into shelters and to hold their fire while the Japanese bombard the island. The Japanese signal the Americans to surrender. Caton does not answer. He waits until the enemy ships have closed to 4700 yards before returning fire, repelling the landing attempt and sinking several ships.

Cameron, on a reconnaissance flight, spots a Japanese heavy cruiser which can hit the island while remaining out of range of the defenders' weapons. He states he can take out that ship if his fighter is stripped down and carries only 15 gallons of fuel and a double load of bombs. Caton approves the mission. After successfully bombing the ship, Cameron is wounded by a Japanese fighter. He manages to land his airplane safely before dying.

Japanese planes bomb the island repeatedly.

Caton asks Captain Lewis to board a U.S. Navy patrol plane that is coming in, since he could provide intelligence to the U.S. Navy Department in Honolulu. Lewis refuses, but Caton orders him to go and file his official report.

Later, Caton is informed that the largest-caliber ammunition is running out, so he has smaller guns spread around, and repositions his available men. Japanese planes approach in large numbers, causing major damage and inflicting numerous casualties. Only one pilot is left, Captain Patrick. When his plane is damaged, he bails out, but is killed while parachuting down.

The Japanese again signal for surrender. Caton replies, "Come and get us." Eventually, Caton orders all posts to act independently. Communications fail. Caton orders the last man out of his command post with a written message, as McClosky walks in, asking for a weapon. They make their way to an abandoned machine-gun position. Caton mans the gun. The Japanese land and overrun the American positions. The main characters are all killed in action. Made in 1942, at the beginning of American entry into World War II, shortly after the battle itself, the film ends with a voiceover stating that "This is not the end."

Cast

Brian Donlevy as Major Geoffrey Caton

Macdonald Carey as Lieutenant Bruce Cameron

Robert Preston as Private Joe Doyle

William Bendix as Private Aloysius K. Randall

Albert Dekker as Shad McClosky

Walter Abel as Commander Roberts

Mikhail Rasumny as Ivan Probenzky

Rod Cameron as Captain Pete Lewis

Bill Goodwin as Sergeant Higbee

Damian O'Flynn as Captain Bill Patrick

Frank Albertson as Johnny Rudd

Philip Van Zandt as Cpl. Gus Goebbels (uncredited)

Uncredited actors include Filipino Hollywood actor Rudy Robles as Triunfo, James Brown as a wounded marine, Barbara Britton as Sally Cameron, and Patti McCarty as a girl at the inn. Chuck Connors is sometimes erroneously credited as a soldier in the meal line, but Connors was not in California during production, being at that time a full-time player for the Norfolk Tars, a baseball team in the minor league Piedmont League.[5] Mary Thomas appeared as Caton's daughter.[6]

Production

The film was based on official Marine records and a copy of the script by W. R. Burnett and Frank Butler was sent to the marines for approval prior to filming.[7]

Director John Farrow had recently returned to Hollywood after being invalided out of the Canadian Navy. He was signed to make the film by Buddy DeSylva of Paramount who liked Farrow's 1939 film Five Came Back. Farrow had visited Wake Island during his pre-Hollywood sailing days.[8]

Filming started 23 March 1942.[9] Most of the Japanese were played by Filipinos.[10]

A special weapons detail of selected Marines from Camp Elliott, near San Diego, manned machine guns in land battle scenes. Marine crews were also used as extras and to operate equipment.[7]

Three main locations were used. Most exteriors were shot in the Salton Sea in the California desert; filming took place here for three weeks at Sandy Beach which resembled Wake Island. The aerial battles were filmed at the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The big guns were fired at a coastal firing range near San Diego.[11][12]

The film was a fictional account with Brian Donlevy's character being based on Major James P. S. Devereux, commander of the 1st Defense Battalion detachment on Wake. MacDonald Carey's was based on Major Henry T. Elrod and Captain Frank Cunningham. Walter Abel played the naval commander who in real life was Commander Winfield S. Cunningham.[7]

The film crew had to battle intense sand storms on Sand Island.[7] Following the location shoot the main unit returned to Paramount Studio for three weeks of shooting, while the second unit remained at Salton Sea under Hal Walker to do bombing scenes.[7]

After completing the film, Farrow signed a long-term contract with Paramount.[13]

MacDonald Carey was so inspired by working on the film he went and joined the United States Marine Corps after filming ended.[7]

Reception

Critical

Brian Donlevy, Mrs. Hermle, Major General John Marston, Colonel Leo D. Hermle, and Major Raymond W. Hanson at the film premiere

The film received positive reviews from critics. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called it "a film for which its makers deserve a sincere salute. Except for the use of fictional names and a very slight contrivance of plot, it might be a literal document of the manner in which the Wake detachment of Marines fought and died in the finest tradition of their tough and indomitable corps."[14]

Variety agreed and called it "one of the most striking pictures of the year ... Never is there pandering to phoney flag-waving, always just a group of normal human beings who knew of no other course than fighting to the end."[15]

Harrison's Reports called it "Thrilling ... The realism of the Japanese attacks, and the stout defense put up by the Marines, are spine-chilling battle scenes that hold one in constant suspense, even though one is aware of the final outcome."[16] Film Daily called it a "Stirring epic which will thrill the nation."[17]

Wake Island placed fourth on Film Daily's year-end nationwide poll of 592 critics selecting the best films of 1942.[18]

Awards

At the 15th Academy Awards on March 4, 1943, Wake Island was nominated for Outstanding Motion Picture, Best Director (John Farrow), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (William Bendix), and Original Screenplay (W.R. Burnett and Frank Butler).[4] John Farrow won the New York Film Critics' Award for Best Director.[19]

Box office

In addition to the critical acclaim, it was also one of the biggest box office hits of the year.[3]

A radio play drama version featuring many of the same film actors was broadcast October 26, 1942 on the Lux Radio Theatre, hosted by Cecil B. DeMille on the CBS radio network.

Battle Hymn is a 1957 American war film directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Rock Hudson as Lieutenant Colonel Dean E. Hess, a real-life United States Air Force fighter pilot in the Korean War who helped evacuate several hundred war orphans to safety. The cast also includes Anna Kashfi, Dan Duryea, Don DeFore, Philip Ahn, and Martha Hyer. The film was produced by Ross Hunter and filmed in CinemaScope.

Hess's autobiography of the same name was published concurrently with the release of the film. He donated his profits from the film and the book to a network of orphanages he helped to establish. The film is one of the most well-known American films about the Korean War. In South Korea, it is noted for its depiction of Col. Hess (known as the “Father of the Korean War Orphans”), and is aired annually during Memorial Day.[2]

Plot

In the summer of 1950, one month after North Korea's invasion of South Korea, Dean Hess has been a small town minister in Ohio for two years. He has been suffering a crisis of conscience, however. He realizes he cannot continue as a priest, due to the overwhelming guilt he still feels from accidentally dropping a bomb on an orphanage and killing 37 children, when he was a fighter pilot flying over Germany during World War II. Hess volunteers to return to the cockpit, leaving his wife behind in Ohio. He promises her he won't see combat, since he will be the senior USAF advisor/Instructor Pilot to the Republic of Korea Air Force, only serving as a teacher and flying F-51D Mustangs.

As Hess and his cadre of USAF instructors train the South Korean pilots, young orphaned Korean refugees begin to gather at the base - first a few, but soon dozens. Hess takes pity on the children and orders them to be fed. Soon, he solicits the aid of two Korean adults, En Soon Yang and Lun Wa, and establishes a shelter for the orphans in an abandoned Buddhist temple, which soon has over 400 children. En Soon Yang falls in love with Hess, but does not tell him directly. Instead, she tells him of a Korean tradition that the pine tree represents eternity, because it does not change with the seasons. She tells him of two pine trees planted on her native island of Cheju, honoring two lovers who could not be together in this life. Later, she listens, heartbroken, as he tells her his wife back home is pregnant.

Capt. Skidmore chooses to engage an enemy convoy while on a training mission, even though they have been forbidden to do so, because it could risk their planes, which are needed for training. Hess punishes Skidmore on his return, and Skidmore wonders aloud what has become of the fierce warrior he knew in World War II. Hess's identity as a priest back home (which he has kept a secret) is finally revealed by a letter addressed to "Reverend Dean Hess." When North Korean forces near the training facility, Hess must go into combat again, with his men, and finds himself forced to kill another human being, when he must shoot down a North Korean plane that is about to down one of his men. Skidmore is killed in the battle, but as he dies in Hess's arms, Hess is able to speak words that give Skidmore comfort, restoring Hess's faith in his ability to be a minister.

Hess receives transfer orders and says his farewells to En Soon Yang, but once back in Seoul he learns that the North Koreans are on the verge of capturing the city, and the area around the orphanage has been abandoned to them. He hurries back and helps En Soon Yang evacuate the four hundred orphans on foot, struggling unsuccessfully to find planes or ships that can rescue them all. As they shelter at an abandoned airfield, a North Korean jet strafes the refugees, and En Soon Yang is shot as she throws herself in front of a young girl. Mortally wounded, she dies in Hess's arms.

Soon after they bury her, when all hope seems nearly lost, a squadron of USAF cargo aircraft suddenly shows up, sent by Hess's commanding officer, to evacuate them all to Cheju island, where En Soon Yang described an abandoned building that could be used as an orphanage. Some time later, after the Armistice, Hess and his wife return to Cheju to visit the orphanage, which has been dedicated to En Soon Yang and sits next to the two pine trees she spoke of earlier.

Cast

Rock Hudson as Lt. Col. Dean Hess

Anna Kashfi as En Soon Yang

Dan Duryea as Sgt. Herman

Don DeFore as Capt. Dan Skidmore

Martha Hyer as Mary Hess

Jock Mahoney as Maj. Moore

Philip Ahn as Lun-Wa

James Edwards as Lt. Maples

Carl Benton Reid as Deacon Edwards

Bartlett Robinson as Gen. Timberidge

Simon Scott as Lt. Hollis

Alan Hale Jr. as Mess Sergeant

Jung Kyoo Pyo as Chu

James Hong as Maj. Chong

Teru Shimada as Korean Official

Carleton Young as Maj. Harrison

Ralph Ahn as Lt. Park

Amzie Strickland as Mrs. Peterson

General Earle E. Partridge as himself

Historical accuracy

Like many biographical and historical films, Battle Hymn takes significant artistic license in depicting the life and wartime activities of Hess and his colleagues.[2]

The film depicts Dean Hess as a minister in West Hampton, Ohio, retired from active duty, who volunteers for combat service in the Air Force in July 1950. In reality, Hess was recalled to duty in July 1948, and transferred to Japan in April 1950, two months before the North Korean invasion across the 38th parallel. Furthermore, Hess had stopped preaching in December 1941 after first enlisting in the Air Force, and at the time of his recall was completing a doctoral degree in history and psychology at Ohio State University.

Hess' hometown was Marietta, not the fictionalized "West Hampton" as depicted in the film.

The film fictionalizes an incident in which Hess accidentally killed 37 children in Germany during World War II, after dropping a bomb on an orphanage. The real incident occurred in Kaiserslautern, whereas the film states it took place in "Kaiserberg", said to be the birthplace of his late grandmother. Furthermore, Hess did not return to the site after the incident occurred as depicted in the film.

In the film, there was an incident where a pilot named Lieutenant Maples (played by James Edwards and based on Ernest Craigwell) accidentally strafes a truckload of civilian refugees that happened to be near a convoy of North Korean troop trucks. In the real-life incident, it was a fishing junk full of civilian refugees that happened to be near an amphibious assault by North Korean landing craft. The film also removes Hess' involvement in a similar accident, in which he inadvertently strafed a group of refugees due to misinformation received from a liaison pilot.

En Soon Yang (played by Anna Kashfi) is based on On Soon Hwang, a social worker who became the directress of the Cheju orphanage and later chaperoned the Korean orphans who participated in the film's production. Unlike En Soon, the real On Soon was twenty years Hess' senior and did not die in a bombing raid as depicted in the film. She was also not half-Anglo-Indian as depicted in the film.

Production

The real Lt. Col. Hess was a technical advisor to Universal to ensure that the final production did not stray far from his original biography. Nonetheless, the inevitable "Hollywood" screenplay prevailed.[3] Hess had a hand in vetoing the studio's first choice to play him: Robert Mitchum, having reservations about the actor's character.[4] Unable to film in Korea, locations shifted to Nogales, Arizona that provided at least a modicum of similar landscape. On Soon Whang, Director of the Orphans Home of Korea arrived in the U.S. along with 25 orphans who would reprise their own lives on film.[5]

Rock Hudson as Col. Hess gathers up a group of orphans.

In order to replicate the ROK unit, the 12 F-51D Mustangs of 182nd Fighter Squadron, 149th Fighter Group of the Texas Air National Guard were enlisted by the USAF to provide the necessary authentic aircraft of the period. During filming, an additional surplus F-51 was acquired from USAF stocks to be used in an accident scene where it would be deliberately destroyed.[6]

The gold flying helmet with the United Nations emblem that Rock Hudson wears in the movie was Dean Hess's actual helmet. It was a Navy-issue helmet that Hess scrounged from a Navy pilot who crash-landed at their airfield in Korea (since the Navy pilot was going to be issued a new helmet as a result of the crash-landing). The helmet is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio.[7]

ANG F-51Ds "stood in" for the ROK.

Richard Loo filmed scenes as a character based on ROK Air Force chief General Kim Chung-yul, which were deleted from the final release print, though he was still listed in the film’s credits.[2]

Premiere

The film's premiere was held on February 12, 1957 at the Colony Cinema (now the Peoples Bank Theatre), in Marietta, Ohio - the birth city of Dean Hess.[8] 25,000 fans turned out to see Hudson and the other stars.[8]

Reception

Bosley Crowther wrote about the film in The New York Times, saying, "Perhaps the most candid comment to be made about Universal's 'Battle Hymn' is also the most propitious, so far as its box-office chances are concerned. That is to say, it is conventional. It follows religiously the line of mingled piety and pugnacity laid down for standard idealistic service films. What's more, it has Rock Hudson playing the big hero role. And it is in CinemaScope and color. Wrap them up and what have you got? The popular thing."[9] Other reviews commented "Historians will like this movie, as it accurately portrays the most important moments in the subject's life. For this, it cannot be faulted. Military enthusiasts will be similarly impressed with it for it what it gets right. The movie-going public on the other hand, may find it boring."[10]

Popular culture

A poster for Battle Hymn appears outside the movie theater in the 1959 pilot episode of The Twilight Zone, "Where Is Everybody?"

To Hell and Back is a Technicolor and CinemaScope war film released in 1955.[3] It was directed by Jesse Hibbs and stars Audie Murphy as himself. It is based on the 1949 autobiography of the same name and is an account of Murphy's World War II experiences as a soldier in the U.S. Army.[4] The book was ghostwritten by his friend, David "Spec" McClure, who served in the U.S. Army's Signal Corps during World War II.[5]

Plot

Young Audie Murphy (Gordon Gebert) grows up in a large, poor sharecropper family in Northeast Texas. His father deserts them around 1939–40, leaving his mother (Mary Field) barely able to feed her nine children. As the eldest son, Murphy works from an early age for his neighbor, Mr. Houston, a local farmer, to help support his siblings. Murphy and Mr. Houston are interrupted while working and listen to the radio announcement about the attack on Pearl Harbor. When his mother dies in 1941, Audie becomes head of the family. His brothers and sisters are sent to an elder sister, Corrine. Murphy is then convinced by Mr. Houston to enlist in the military to support himself.

Murphy is rejected by the Marines, the Navy and the Army paratroopers due to his small size and youthful appearance. Finally, the Army accepts him as an ordinary infantryman. After basic training and infantry training, Murphy is shipped to the 3rd Infantry Division in North Africa, as a replacement. Because of his youthful appearance, he endures jokes about "infants" being sent into combat. His squad mates include: Johnson, a man who claims to be a womanizer; Brandon, a man who ran out on his wife and daughter; Kerrigan a man who jokes at unusual times; Kovak, a Polish immigrant who wants to become an American citizen; Swope (called "Chief" by his squad mates) a Native American who smokes cigars a lot, and Valentino who has relatives in Naples.

After the 3rd Infantry Division lands in Sicily, Murphy and his men come under attack by a German machine gun position. Murphy and his men assault the position and kill the Germans. After fighting in Sicily, Murphy is then promoted to corporal. After Sicily, Murphy and his squad receive a new platoon leader, Lt. Manning. During a diversionary attack on German forces, Lt. Manning is wounded and Sgt. Klasky, his platoon sergeant, dies. This results in Murphy taking command of the platoon. After proving himself in leading his platoon while fighting in Italy, he is then promoted to sergeant. Murphy and his men are then sent to Naples on R&R.

Murphy and his men later take part in Operation Shingle. After landing on the beach, Murphy and his men fight around an abandoned farmhouse. This battle results in Lt. Manning, Kovak and Johnson being killed. After the Allied breakout of Operation Shingle, Murphy and his men are moved to Southern France, during which Brandon is killed, and he eventually receives a battlefield commission to the rank of second lieutenant.

The action for which Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor is depicted near the end of the film. In January 1945, near Holtzwihr, France, Murphy's company is forced to retreat in the face of a fierce German attack. However, Murphy remains behind, at the edge of a forest, to direct artillery fire on the advancing enemy infantry and armor. As the Germans close on his position, Murphy jumps onto an abandoned M4 Sherman tank (he actually performed this action atop an M10 tank destroyer) and uses its .50-caliber machine gun to hold the enemy at bay, even though the vehicle is on fire and may explode at any moment. Although wounded and dangerously exposed to enemy fire, Murphy single-handedly turns back the German attack, thereby saving his company. After a period of hospitalization, he is returned to duty. The film concludes with Murphy's Medal of Honor ceremony shortly after the war ends, as Murphy remembers Kovak, Johnson and Brandon, who were killed in action.

Cast

Audie Murphy as himself

Marshall Thompson as Private/Corporal Johnson

Charles Drake as Private Brandon

Jack Kelly as Private/Staff Sergeant Kerrigan

Gregg Palmer as Lieutenant Manning

Paul Picerni as Private/Corporal Valentino

David Janssen as Lieutenant Lee

Richard Castle as Private Kovak

Bruce Cowling as Captain Marks

Paul Langton as Colonel Howe

Art Aragon as Private Sanchez

Felix Noriego as Private Swope

Denver Pyle as Private Thompson

Brett Halsey as Private Saunders

Susan Kohner as Maria

Anabel Shaw as Helen

Mary Field as Mrs. Murphy

Gordon Gebert as Audie as a boy

Julian Upton as Corporal Steiner

Rand Brooks as Lieutenant Harris (uncredited)

Robert F. Hoy as Private Jennings (uncredited)

Harold "Tommy" Hart as Staff Sergeant Klasky (uncredited)

Hugh E. Davis as British Soldier (uncredited)

Production

When Universal-International picked up the film rights to Audie Murphy's book, he initially declined to play himself, recommending instead Tony Curtis, with whom he had previously worked in three Westerns, Sierra, Kansas Raiders and The Cimarron Kid. However, producer Aaron Rosenberg and director Jesse Hibbs convinced Audie to star in the picture, despite the fact the 30-year-old Murphy would be portraying himself as he was at ages 17–20.[6] At one point during filming, Murphy allegedly alarmed and scared the film crew and his colleagues when he brought loaded firearms on set rather than using the props that were available, largely believed to be due to the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder he suffered following his service in the war itself.

The picture was filmed at Fort Lewis and Yakima Training Center, near Yakima, Washington with actual soldiers.[7] Murphy received 60% of the $25,000 the studio paid for the rights, as well as $100,000 and 10% of the net profits for starring and acting as a technical advisor.[8]

Release

The film's world premiere was held at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas on August 17, 1955. The date of the premiere was also the tenth anniversary of Murphy's army discharge at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.[9]

Reception

Reviews from critics were generally positive, with Murphy receiving good notices for his performance. A. H. Weiler of The New York Times wrote that Murphy "lends stature, credibility and dignity to an autobiography that would be routine and hackneyed without him."[10] Variety wrote that the soldiers were "played with a human quality that makes them very real. Fighting or funning, they are believable. The war action shown is packed with thrills and suspense."[11][12] Harrison's Reports was more mixed, writing that "the mere fact that the story is genuine does not lift it to any great heights as a dramatic offering," and calling the film "well directed and acted" but still "no more than a fairly good war picture entertainment-wise."[13] Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post was positive, writing that Murphy "brings an emotional poignancy that stems partly from our knowledge that he did these daring, unbelievable acts of courage and partly from the skill he has achieved as an actor."[14] Edwin Schallert of the Los Angeles Times was also positive, declaring that the film was "to be highly rated for its honesty in the treatment of its subject, and though it is not a picture that is plotted dramatically, it offers a great demonstration of youthful bravery and character that is inherently both dramatic and dynamic."[15] In a dismissive review for The New Yorker, John McCarten wrote of Murphy, "I am told that he is a modest man, and he behaves modestly here. However, the events described in the picture have a factitious air about them. Maybe the spontaneity of actual heroism just can't be duplicated in the movies."[16] The Monthly Film Bulletin agreed, writing that "although the script is based on Murphy's own account, the treatment is regrettably forced and spurious. Commonplace, 'B' picture direction and a reliance on familiar Service types make the lavishly staged battle scenes appear monotonous, confused, and, at the climax—with Murphy wiping out scores of the enemy singlehanded—not a little ridiculous."[17]

The film was a huge commercial success, further advancing Murphy's film career. He had a percentage of the profits and it was estimated the actor earned $1 million from the film.[18] The movie also popularized a term for U.S. Army foot soldiers, "dogface".[19] The film included the 3rd Infantry Division song, "Dogface Soldier", written by Lieutenant Ken Hart and Corporal Bert Gold.[19][20]

Many of the battle scenes were reused in the Universal film The Young Warriors.

Gray Lady Down is a 1978 American submarine disaster film directed by David Greene and starring Charlton Heston, David Carradine, Stacy Keach, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox and Rosemary Forsyth, and includes the feature film debut of Michael O'Keefe and Christopher Reeve. It is based on David Lavallee's 1971 novel Event 1000.[1]

Plot

Aging, respected Captain Paul Blanchard is on his final submarine tour before promotion to command of a submarine squadron (COMSUBRON). Surfaced and returning to port, the submarine, USS Neptune, is struck by a Norwegian freighter en route to New York in heavy fog. With the engine room flooded and its main propulsion disabled, the Neptune sinks to a depth of 1,450 feet (440 meters) or approx. 241.6 fathoms) on a canyon ledge above the ocean floor. A United States Navy rescue force, commanded by Captain Hal Bennett, arrives on the scene, but Neptune is subsequently rolled by a gravity slide to a greater angle that does not allow the Navy's Deep-submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) to complete its work. As technical malfunctions increase, the submarine's sections get flooded and men die, crewmen have nervous breakdowns and tensions grow between the commanding officers.

A small experimental submersible, Snark, is brought in to assist with the rescue. Snark is very capable, but run by a U.S. Navy officer misfit, Captain Don Gates. The tiny submersible is the only hope for a rescue. Ultimately, the surviving members of the crew are rescued by the DSRV, thanks to Gates sacrificing himself by using the Snark to jam the Neptune in place as another gravity slide begins while the rescue is taking place. Moments later the gravity slide pushes the Neptune and the Snark off the ledge and into the ocean's abyss. The film ends with a somber Blanchard climbing out of the DSRV and being welcomed aboard the rescue ship USS Pigeon by Bennett and his officers.

Cast

Charlton Heston as Captain Paul Blanchard

David Carradine as Captain Don Gates

Stacy Keach as Captain Hal Bennett

Ned Beatty as Mickey

Stephen McHattie as Lieutenant Danny Murphy

Ronny Cox as Commander David Samuelson

Dorian Harewood as Lieutenant Fowler

Rosemary Forsyth as Vickie Blanchard

Hilly Hicks as HM3 Page

Charles Cioffi as Vice Admiral Michael Barnes

William Jordan as Waters

Jack Rader as Chief Harkness

Michael O'Keefe as RM2 Harris

Charlie Robinson as McAllister

Christopher Reeve as Lieutenant (JG) Phillips

Melendy Britt as Liz Bennett

Lawrason Driscoll as Lieutenant Bloom

David Wilson as SK1 Hanson

Robert Symonds as Secretary of Navy

Ted Gehring as Admiral at Pentagon Meeting

Charles Cyphers as Larson

William Bryant as Admiral at Pentagon Meeting

Jeffrey Druce as Neptune Executive Officer

James Davidson as Lt. Commander at SACLANT

David Clennon as Neptune Crewmember

Michael Cavanaugh as P03 Peña (uncredited)

Bob Harks as Radio Operator (uncredited)

Robert Ito as Jim, Lieutenant at SACLANT (uncredited)

Sandra De Bruin as Irma Barnes (uncredited)

John Stuart West as Submariner (uncredited)

Production

Even though the submarine depicted in the movie is a Skate-class submarine, in the opening credits, footage of the real-life submarine USS Trout (SS-566) was filmed specifically for Gray Lady Down, depicting the fictional USS Neptune. Gray Lady Down also re-used submarine special-effects footage and the large-scale submarine model originally used to portray the fictional submarine USS Tigerfish in the 1968 movie Ice Station Zebra to depict USS Neptune. The US Navy's USS Cayuga (LST-1186) appeared in the film as the fictional USS Nassau. The USS Pigeon (ASR-21) and her DSRV were prominently featured in the movie.