''Fighting Coast Guard'' is a 1951 American

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by

Joseph Kane Jasper Joseph Inman Kane (March 19, 1894, San Diego – August 25, 1975, Santa Monica, California) was an American film director, film producer, film editor and screenwriter. He is best known for his extensive directorship and focus on Western fi ...

and written by Kenneth Gamet. The film stars

Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are '' Beau Geste'' (19 ...

Forrest Tucker Forrest Meredith Tucker (February 12, 1919 – October 25, 1986) was an American actor in both movies and television who appeared in nearly a hundred films. Tucker worked as a vaudeville straight man at the age of fifteen. A mentor provided fund ...

Ella Raines Ella Wallace Raines (August 6, 1920 – May 30, 1988) was an American film and television actress. Early life Raines was born Ella Wallace Raines on August 6, 1920, in Fall City, Washington. She studied drama at the University of Washingto ...

, John Russell,

Richard Jaeckel Richard Hanley Jaeckel (October 10, 1926 – June 14, 1997) was an American actor of film and television. Jaeckel became a well-known character actor in his career, which spanned six decades. He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominatio ...

, William Murphy and

Martin Milner Martin Sam Milner (December 28, 1931 – September 6, 2015) was an American actor and radio host. He is best known for his performances on two television series: '' Route 66'', which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and ''Adam-12'', which a ...

. The film was released on June 1, 1951, by

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

Plot

Shortly before the attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

, shipyard foreman Bill Rourk is feuding with a former football star, Barney Walker, who now works there. He is romantically attracted to Louise Ryan, an admiral's daughter working as a wartime welder, but she is dating Ian McFarland, a naval commander. McFarland launches an officers training course once America becomes active in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Bill signs up, but his record is tainted by lies told by Walker. He is also caught out after curfew by the military police, while trying to romance Louise. Walker is fatally injured in battle and confesses his lies about Bill before dying. When a former shipyard colleague, young Tony Jessup, is stranded and endangered, Bill disobeys orders and heroically tries to save Tony, who dies while being rescued. McFarland commends his bravery, then confides to that his sweetheart, Louise, has fallen in love with Bill.

Cast

as Commander McFarland *

as Bill Rourk *

as Louise Ryan * John Russell as Barney Walker *

as Tony Jessup * William Murphy as Sandy Jessup *

as Al Prescott * Steve Brodie as 'Red' Toon *

Hugh O'Brian Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the ABC Western television series ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' (1955–196 ...

as Tom Peterson *

Tom Powers Thomas McCreery Powers (July 7, 1890 – November 9, 1955) was an American actor in theatre, films, radio and television. A veteran of the Broadway stage, notably in plays by George Bernard Shaw, he created the role of Charles Marsden in Eug ...

as Admiral Ryan *

Jack Pennick Ronald Jack Pennick (December 7, 1895 – August 16, 1964) was an American film actor. After working as a gold miner as a young man, serving as a US Marine, he would go on to appear in more than 140 films between 1926 and 1962. Pennick was ...

as Coast Guardsman *

Olin Howland Olin Ross Howland (February 10, 1886 – September 20, 1959) was an American film and theatre actor. Life and career Howland was born in Denver, Colorado, to Joby A. Howland, one of the youngest enlisted participants in the Civil War, an ...

as Desk Clerk *

Damian O'Flynn Damian O'Flynn (January 29, 1907 – August 8, 1982) was an Irish- American actor of film and television originally from Boston, Massachusetts. Biography O'Flynn made his screen debut in ''Marked Woman'' (1937), after which he was a freelance p ...

as Captain Adair *

Morris Ankrum Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum; August 28, 1897 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television, and film character actor. Early life Born in Danville, Illinois, Danville in Vermilion County, Illinois, Vermilion County in eastern ...

as Navy Captain *

James Flavin James William Flavin Jr. (May 14, 1906 – April 23, 1976) was an American character actor whose career lasted for nearly half a century. Early life The son of a hotel waiter of Canadian-English descent,Flavin's obituary, distributed by United ...

as Commander Rogers *

Roy Roberts Roy Roberts (born Roy Barnes Jones, March 19, 1906 – May 28, 1975) was an American character actor. Over his more than 40-year career, he appeared in more than nine hundred productions on stage and screen. Life and career Born in Tampa ...

as Captain Gibbs *

Sandra Spence Nettie Jane Fowler (May 22, 1925 – February 13, 1974) was an American film and television actress. She was known for playing the role of "Janet Culver" in the first season of the American adventure and drama television series ''Whirlybirds''. ...

as Muriel *Eric Pedersen as Civilian Wrestler *

Sons of the Pioneers The Sons of the Pioneers are one of the United States' earliest Western singing groups. Known for their vocal performances, their musicianship, and their songwriting, they produced innovative recordings that have inspired many Western music perf ...

as Musicians

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

, critic for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', wrote, "Directed and played in a florid fashion, this story falls flatly in the class of low-grade adventure fiction that makes neither point nor sense."

References

External links

* 1951 films American adventure films 1951 adventure films Republic Pictures films Films about the United States Coast Guard Films directed by Joseph Kane Films scored by David Buttolph American World War II films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{adventure-film-stub