After learning the finer points of carrier aviation in the 1920s, career officer Jonathan Scott and his pals spend the next two decades promoting the superiority of naval air power. But military and political "red tape" continually frustrate their efforts, prompting Scott to even consider leaving the Navy for a more lucrative civilian job. Then the world enters a second World War and Scott finally gets the opportunity to prove to Washington the valuable role aircraft carriers could play in winning the conflict. But what will it cost him and his comrades personally?
Acting
Gary Cooper's jawline carries entire scenes of naval policy debate
Practical Effects
Real carrier footage that makes modern CGI look like cartoons
Direction
Delmer Daves makes budget meetings feel like life-or-death stakes
Director
Delmer Daves
Gary Cooper
Jonathan L. Scott
Jane Wyatt
Mary Morgan
Wayne Morris
McKinney
Walter Brennan
Pete Richard
Julie London
Barbara McKinney
Jack Holt
Captain Reeves
Stanley Ridges
Sen. Bentley
John Ridgely
Dixie Rankin
Richard Rober
Lt. Jack Southern
Art Baker
Sen. Vincent
Moroni Olsen
Adm. Ames
Ray Montgomery
Pilot
Danny Kaye
Officer at the Dance (uncredited)
Mary Lawrence
Ruth Rankin (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released months after the actual WWII carrier victories at Midway and Coral Sea, the film weaponized recent history to silence Pentagon doubters of naval air power.
Gary Cooper hated flying but spent weeks on actual carriers; his green-tinged pallor in flight scenes isn't acting.
US
