A small group of Allied soldiers and airmen on Java are being bombed by Japanese 'planes daily. With only one working fighter of their own, and five pilots anxious to fly it, the Dutch commander chooses George Collins to fly a mission to drop a 500-lb bomb on the Japanese carrier lying offshore. As the flight progresses, the commander asks the other pilots to tell him about George. They recount his rise from brilliant law student, through the time he became involved in the corrupt machine of his state's Governor, and his attempts to redeem himself, both in his own eyes, and in Fredie, his long-time love.
Acting
Gene Kelly plays against type as a hotheaded Italian pilot.
Production
Stock footage integration so aggressive it deserves co-director credit.
Director
George Sidney
Franchot Tone
George Braynor Collins
Marsha Hunt
Freddie Andrews
Gene Kelly
Vito S. Alessandro
Van Johnson
Everett Arnold
Alan Baxter
Winston Davis
Dick Simmons
Henry Willoughby Claven
Peter Lawford
British Soldier
Steven Geray
Major Eichel
Howard Freeman
Hank Durban
Frank Puglia
Nikola
Frank Ferguson
Mr. Tully
Edward Fielding
Dean Barrett
Dorothy Morris
Hannah Pritchard
Nellie V. Nichols
Mrs. Alessandro
Marie Windsor
Mrs. Claven
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
George Sidney's directorial debut, shot in 18 days on a $200,000 budget with borrowed military equipment.
Released four months after the actual Battle of Java ended in Allied defeat—audiences knew the real outcome while watching fictional heroics.
US
