IN HARM'S WAY: Blu-ray (Paramount, 1965) Paramount Home Video

Having already proven his yen for girth in movies like Exodus (1960), Advise and Consent (1962) and The Cardinal (1963), director, Otto Preminger attempted to retell the much-repurposed story of the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor and its aftermath – ten years too late – as a glossy and gargantuan, efficiently packaged, but otherwise trivial soaper, In Harm’s Way (1965). The picture brims with slight and showy characterizations of Hollywood’s ole-time thirst for big, bloated and, star-lined anthems to the war, leant a harder edge of pseudo-realism here. Based on James Bassett’s 1962 best seller, Wendell Mayes’ screenplay takes the particulars of both the actual event and the book and finds new ways to elongate its potent drama to the point of abject monotony, while effectively leaving the viewer to pine for Fred Zinneman’s Oscar-winning fiction, From Here to Eternity (1953) in its stead. A careworn and ever-so-slightly weathered John Wayne frontlines as discredited Rear Admiral, Rockwell Torrey, whose post-attack reflections ultimately influence the Navy’s top brass, as well as Torrey’s withdrawn and disdainful offspring, Ensign Jeremiah (Brandon deWilde) to reassess his abilities and remain in command. If only In Harm’s Way had left well enough alone with this father/son reconciliation. But no, there is a subplot…or rather, too many, the first involving nurse, Lieutenant Maggie Haines (Patricia Neal) and Torrey’s exec’ officer, Commander Paul Eddington (Kirk Douglas), the latter, degenerating into feckless drunkenness upon learning of his own fickle wife’s death. And that is just for kick-starters. In Harm’s Way places its very success in peril as, at 167-minutes, Preminger increasingly cannot see the proverbial ocean for its ships. Instead, the director is too much in love with his story-telling and these characters, employing a series of largely static long shots where he merely maneuvers his stars like a carefully poised ensemble of wax works put on display, but only for their marquee-drawing star power.

Preminger pits Wayne’s crusty but benign Torrey against the younger generation’s ‘new ideas’ about how to get the job done. As the story goes, Torrey was the commander of a cruiser on that fateful Sunday morning: December 7, 1941 – to live in infamy. Torrey is ‘all Navy’ – a plus to the Allied Forces, but a real detriment to his family. Indeed, apart from his failings to get and know his son better, Torrey’s slavish commitments to his career have cost him his marriage.  Naturally, he blames his ex’s blue-blood Bostonian background for Jeremiah’s upbringing and is grotesquely ashamed of the boy, since grown into manhood without his ‘expert’ tutelage.  Placed under Torrey’s command, Jeremiah receives no special treatment. Alas, Torrey’s own advancement from within is hampered by the dithering headship of Vice Admiral ‘Blackjack’ Broderick (Dana Andrews). Disobeying Broderick’s command to engage the enemy in a zigzag pattern, because, of course, he knows better, Torrey receives his wake-up call when the Japanese split his vessel in two with a torpedo. Stripped of rank, and confined to a desk job, Torrey gets the opportunity for a reprieve, placed in command of Operation Skyhook. Mercilessly, Torrey is dealt an even greater blow when a subsequent attack badly injures his leg, resulting in amputation. Granted an artificial limb and the command of a new task force, Torrey looks ahead to new challenges on the horizon.

Given In Harm’s Way was made by Preminger, a director not known for his sentimentality, this movie teems with fairly syrupy situations to tug at our heartstrings. John Wayne’s performance in uncannily without those anticipated moments in which he is afforded the opportunity to grandstand his way into a patriotic lather. However, Wayne’s more circumspect approach to the role may have had more to do with his slow ‘recovery’ from surgery necessary to remove one lung and two ribs afflicted by cancer just prior to filming. “I've licked it,” Wayne – then, 57, optimistically touted in the press, blatantly disregarding his agent’s advice to keep the malignancy under wraps out of concern it would derail his larger-than-life image.  Years later, and apart from his 5-pack a day smoking habit, Wayne’s chronic cancer would be largely attributed to his participation in 1956’s The Conqueror – a plushily padded Cinemascope epic for 2oth Century-Fox, partially shot on location near St. George, Utah, 137 miles downwind of the Nevada National Security Site were 11 above-ground nuclear weapons tests had occurred, likely to have contaminated the land. While the federal government brusquely denied any such public health threat, the actually human fallout from the making of The Conqueror would bear itself in a remarkable spate of cancer-related deaths to afflict cast and crew, with casualties ranging from its director, Dick Powell (who died just 7 years later), co-stars, Pedro Armendáriz (diagnosed with kidney cancer in 1960, but who chose to end his own life upon learning his condition was fatal), Agnes Moorehead, who died of uterine cancer in 1974, and, Susan Hayward, who followed her one year later, succumbing to brain cancer in 1975. Wayne would lose his battle to stomach cancer in 1979, while Lee Van Cleef, who actually died from a heart attack in 1989, was later discovered in an autopsy to be suffering from throat cancer as well, and, finally, John Hoyt, who died from lung cancer in 1991. There are, of course, extenuating circumstances surrounding all of these deaths. But of the 220 people who worked on The Conqueror, a staggering 91 developed some form of this fast-acting disease, with 46 actually dying from their ailment by the late 1980’s. Even visitors to the set, like Wayne’s two sons, Michael and Patrick, and Hayward’s son, Tim Barker, were later to have their brushes with the specter of death.  

Despite its forties’ themed premise, In Harm’s Way uncannily looks like a byproduct from the sixties, particularly in its hairstyles and women’s clothing. Indeed, much of the background cast here were culled from active military personnel currently living on the island of Oahu.  The picture’s virtues, as well as its vices, were to be further exaggerated by cinematographer, Loyal Griggs’ magnificent, deep focus work in B&W Panavision, Saul Bass’ decidedly unusual back-loaded main titles, and Jerry Goldsmith’s strangely ‘then’ contemporary underscore.  Of these, only Grigg’s would be Oscar-nominated for his efforts. And in retrospect, the best thing about In Harm’s Way is its cinematography – immaculately composed master shots with a distinct foreground, middle ground and background, all of it in crisp focus, showing off Lyle R. Wheeler’s impeccable production design to its very best advantage.  For his part, Preminger was afforded the full cooperation of the U.S. Department of Defense. Alas, at the time of filming, few vintage vessels from WWII remained for his asking. Hence, Preminger made the most of the USS Saint Paul, an actual cruiser subbing in for more than one ship, as well as the USS Philip (as the USS Cassiday) and the USS Boston, destroyers - USS Braine, O'Bannon, Renshaw, and, Walker, the submarine, Capitaine, and, the attack transport USS Renville.  Preminger also had to settle for the M151 jeep, a substitute for actual Willys MB and Ford GPW, and, the fifties’ vintage 63-ft U.S. Coast Guard rescue launch, camouflaged to resemble the Elco 80-ft PT boats, none of which were seaworthy by 1964.

In Harm’s Way gets underway without a main title sequence. Yet, after our initial introduction to U.S. Navy Captain Rockwell ‘Rock’ Torrey and his momentary relief from military command, the Mayes’ screenplay begins to traverse all sorts of backstories, generally unrelated to its war-time nostalgia.  At this juncture, we meet Lieutenant William ‘Mac’ McConnell (Tom Tryon), an officer on the destroyer, Cassiday. Believing in Torrey’s plan of attack, McConnell lends invaluable support in the sinking of the Japanese submarine that mortally wounds Torrey’s ship. After months of recuperation, Torrey begins a liaison with Maggie Haynes who informs him that his estranged son, Jeremiah is an Ensign in the Naval Reserves. Meanwhile, on additional intel from his roommate, Commander Egan Powell (Burgess Meredith), Torrey deduces the actual plan of Operation Skyhook – to capture the strategic base of Levu-Vana for use as an airfield for the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress squadrons. But again, this central narrative derails as Maggie's roommate, Ensign Annalee Dorne (Jill Haworth), dating Jeremiah, is raped by a drunken Paul Eddington and later, takes her own life rather than endure the stigma from her brutal attack.  If that is not enough, Jeremiah, haughty and opinionated, is working against his father at the behest of his superior officer, Commander Neal Owynn (Patrick O’Neal), an ex-congressman seeking to pad out his credentials for a renewed bid to serve in Congress, but without actually doing anything heroic in support of the war effort.

Meanwhile, McConnell, uses his month-long shore leave in Frisco to get reacquainted with wife, Beverly (Paula Prentiss) who is ever-concerned her husband’s profession will one day make her a widow. Newly promoted, Torrey selects Eddington as his chief of staff, while Owynn becomes Broderick’s personal liaison (nee, stoolie) inside Torrey's staff. As General Douglas MacArthur's invasion of the Solomon Islands is of more pressing concern to the Navy, Torrey finds his requisitions for necessary supplies repeatedly denied, especially reconnaissance aircraft, now skippered by his former operations officer, Lieutenant Commander Burke (Carroll – oh, ‘Archie’ you’re in the navy now - O’Connor). After Torrey proves his strategic defense sound, Jeremiah realizes how crooked his cohorts are and begins to develop a newfound appreciation for his father’s way of doing things. As Eddington is about to be found out for his complicity in Dorne’s rape, he instead commandeers a Mitchell patrol bomber on a kamikaze-styled flight against the enemy, dying in a fiery crash, deemed as self-sacrificing. Jeremiah is killed in a PT boating accident with both Powell and Burke following him to their own untimely ends shortly thereafter. Anticipating his own court-martial for the bungled, but otherwise ‘successful’ attack, Torrey is surprised when CINCPAC’s I and II (the aforementioned Franchot Tone and Henry Fonda, respectively) congratulate him instead. Since minus a leg, Torrey vows to “stump his way to Tokyo” with the rest of the Allied forces, though not before he retires to his cabin for a little R&R with Maggie, who aims to please.

In Harm’s Way was the second opportunity for John Wayne and Patricia Neal to play devoted lovers; their first, in 1951’s Operation Pacific. Herein, they share a ripened affinity for each other’s professionalism, a mutual admiration to augment their otherwise silly little love moments in this movie with sincerity. And, pause here, to acknowledge, that, in Neal, we have a very remarkable woman. A stunningly handsome creature with a semi-glacial persona, whose model of efficiency appeared both vagrant, yet focused and natural. Patricia Neal was always her own woman. This is true even as she embarked upon a lurid affair with Gary Cooper (her ‘Fountainhead’ costar) in 1947 – hardly an era where such a romantic involvement could have so easily ended her promising career, especially, as she was barely 21 and he – already married and 46-yrs.-young. Reportedly, their affair was rocky at best, with Cooper convincing Neal to abort their love child, then, sometime later, socking her in the jaw after she appeared to be entertaining overtures from fellow actor, Kirk Douglas.  Shortly thereafter, Neal met famed Brit-author, Roald Dahl. After barely a year’s courtship, the couple were married. Tragically, their desire for children was fraught with heartache. Son, Theo suffered brain damage after his pram was struck by a taxi in New York in 1960, while daughter, Olivia died at age 7 from the measles.  At this juncture, Neal suffered 3 consecutive cerebral aneurysms, slipping into a coma from whence she was not expected to recover. Undaunted, Dahl remained at her bedside and, together with a small army of volunteers, began the arduous rehabilitation process which included teaching his wife to re-learned to walk and talk. Neal, who was also pregnant with the couple’s third child at the time, actually gave birth to a healthy baby girl in 1965. But from 1965 to 1971 she would remain off the screen, devoting her time to getting well.

Retrospectively, In Harm’s Way is a picture of its time, rather than a timeless war-themed entertainment. Not exactly certain where the fault lies, except to suggest Preminger is a bit too ‘in love’ with the picture’s particulars to actually draw clarity and conclusion from all the meandering variables. The movie really has a ‘…and then, what happened?’ flavor, with Preminger strangely uninvolved or even trying to bring these disparate storylines together - in effect, to have all his ‘ships’ sailing in one direction. Gregg’s cinematography gives us some good solid visuals to sustain through the periodic boredom creeping in from the peripheries of the screen. Melodrama is one thing. But Wendell Mayes’ screenplay shoots for ‘over the top’ instead.  The best scenes involve our triumvirate of superstars, Wayne, Douglas and Neal, left to play out some edgy moments, with Douglas’ tortured Eddington, increasingly to lose his grip on reality at the bottom of a bottle, giving us the most grandiloquent opine to a drunkard yet.  Even so, Preminger's direction is more than a little off as he retains an air of respectability, or, as when he and the screenplay implore his actors to do some very silly little scenes, sandwiched between the anted up action sequences. Is In Harm’s Way a ‘message picture’? Hardly. Its only real summation is a well-worn chestnut – war is hell! No kidding.  And Preminger is not even entirely certain valor is worth all the effort here, nor is Wayne’s careworn and butchered Torrey, who merely relents to fate, choosing to dismiss whatever future may come with a little diverting badinage on the side, though hardly convinced any of it will make any difference to the outcome of the war.

In Harm’s Way arrives on Blu-ray via Paramount Home Video. Alas, it’s not one of their prestigious ‘Paramount Presents…’ collector’s editions given all the bells and whistles necessary to bring it into line with contemporary viewing standards. No, that honor is reserved from some disastrously awful movies as The Golden Child (1986) and Elizabethtown (2005). A John Wayne movie like this one or The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) …surely, you jest. But I digress. In Harm’s Way, while sporting no new 4K transfer, nevertheless, offers a relatively pleasing 1080p image with minor caveats to be discussed. Chiefly, film grain here is of the video-based ilk. It doesn’t actually exist except occasionally to appear as clumpy background noise. The B&W image sports excellent grayscale with deep rich blacks that, occasionally, crush. Fine detail is mostly pleasing. In Harm’s Way enjoyed a limited 70mm engagement with true 6-track magnetic stereo, ported over to this Blu-ray release as repurposed 5.1 DTS. It sounds great. Paramount has slapped together 3 trailers and a vintage ‘making of’ from 1965 as ‘extras.’ I suppose I should be grateful the studio has deigned to transfer In Harm’s Way to legit Blu-ray instead of their former ‘burn-on-demand’ offerings. But frankly, it is high time Paramount took a more proactive approach to releasing deep catalog on Blu. Either movies are deserving of your time and investment to spruce them up to the absolute best quality the current technology will allow for, or it is time to begin the process of farming out such restorations to independent organizations like The Film Foundation for a little desperately needed TLC. These half-ass efforts on your part are getting to be a snore! Bottom line: for John Wayne/Kirk Douglas/Otto Preminger completionists only.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

3

VIDEO/AUDIO

3.5

EXTRAS

1