''Men of the Fighting Lady'' is a 1954 American

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...

directed by

Andrew Marton Andrew Marton (born Endre Marton; 26 January 1904 – 7 January 1992) was a Hungarian-American film director. In his career, he directed 39 films and television programs, and worked on 16 as a second unit director, including the chariot race in ...

and starring

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II. Johnson was described as the embodiment ...

Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in ''Mrs. Miniver'' (1942) and '' Madame Curie'' (1943). Pidgeon also starred in ...

Louis Calhern Carl Henry Vogt (February 19, 1895 – May 12, 1956), known professionally as Louis Calhern, was an American stage and screen actor. Well known to film noir fans for his role as the pivotal villain in 1950's ''The Asphalt Jungle'', he was n ...

and

Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in most ...

. The screenplay was written by U.S. Navy Commander Harry A. Burns, who had written a ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' article, "The Case of the Blinded Pilot", an account of a U.S. Navy pilot in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{{ ...

, who saves a blinded Navy pilot by talking him down to a successful landing. ''Men of the Fighting Lady'' was also inspired by another ''Saturday Evening Post'' article, "The Forgotten Heroes of Korea" by

James A. Michener James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and ...

. The original music score was composed by

Miklós Rózsa Miklós Rózsa (; April 18, 1907 – July 27, 1995) was a Hungarian-American composer trained in Germany (1925–1931) and active in France (1931–1935), the United Kingdom (1935–1940), and the United States (1940–1995), with extensi ...

. It is also known as ''Panther Squadron''. It is not to be confused with the 1944 documentary ''

The Fighting Lady ''The Fighting Lady'' is a 1944 documentary film (billed as a "newsdrama") directed by Edward Steichen, produced by the U.S. Navy and narrated by Lt. Robert Taylor USNR. It is not to be confused with the 1954 war drama ''Men of the Fighting Lad ...

'', which was mainly filmed aboard the .

Plot

On board the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for Carrier-based aircraft, carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a ...

in the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

during the

, author James A. Michener (

) meets Commander and flight surgeon Kent Dowling (

). Dowling relates a "Christmas story" of a near-miracle. Ensign Kenneth Schecter ( Dewey Martin) is one of VF 192 squadron pilots flying

Grumman F9F Panther The Grumman F9F Panther is one of the United States Navy's first successful carrier-based jet fighters, as well as Grumman’s first jet fighter. A single-engined, straight-winged day fighter, it was armed with four cannons and could carry a w ...

fighter-bombers who are forced to go back to destroy an enemy railroad that is rebuilt after each attack. Their leader, Lieutenant Commander Paul Grayson (

Frank Lovejoy Frank Andrew Lovejoy Jr. (March 28, 1912 – October 2, 1962) was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He is perhaps best remembered for appearing in the film noir '' The Hitch-Hiker'' and for starring in the radio drama '' Night Beat ...

), is even shot down during one mission and rescued from the sea. Veteran pilot Lieutenant Commander Ted Dodson (

) criticizes Grayson for flying too low and risking his life. Ironically, it is Dodson who loses his life in another mission when his damaged aircraft explodes on landing. For their 27th mission against the enemy target, the squadron flies out on Christmas Day, and Schecter is hit by enemy fire and blinded. Lieutenant Thayer (

) guides Schecter by radio to a safe landing on the deck of the carrier. The squadron celebrates his safe return, but also mourns the loss of good men like Dodson.

Cast

as Lieutenant (jg) Howard Thayer *

as Commander Kent Dowling *

* Dewey Martin as Ensign Kenneth Schechter *

as Lieutenant Commander Ted Dodson *

as Lieutenant Commander Paul Grayson * Robert Horton as Ensign Neil Conovan *

Bert Freed Bert Freed (November 3, 1919 – August 2, 1994) was an American character actor, voice-over actor, and the first actor to portray Detective Columbo. Life and career Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Freed began acting while attending Pe ...

as Lieutenant (jg) Andrew Szymanski * Lewis Martin as Commander Michael Coughlin * George Cooper as Cyril Roberts *

Dick Simmons Richard Simmons (August 19, 1913 – January 11, 2003) was an American actor. Early life Simmons was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and his family later moved across the Mississippi River to Minneapolis. There, he attended West Side High Sc ...

as Lieutenant Wayne Kimbrell *

Ann Baker Anna Rose Baker (July 23, 1930 – March 2, 2017) was an American actress, known for her appearance in classic films and television shows during the 1950s. Early years Born Anna Rose Baker, Baker was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Baker, ...

as Mary, Schechter's fiancée

Production

''Men of the Fighting Lady'' was filmed aboard the aircraft carrier USS ''Oriskany'' with principal photography taking place from October 16 to November 10, 1953 at, and near

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, California. Stock footage of

combat was also integrated into the live action sequences. The scene where Keenan Wynn's character is killed in a fiery crash landing on the carrier is actual footage of a F9F Panther accident during one of its early test flights. On June 23, 1951,

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

test pilot George Duncan hit an air pocket just before landing on . The air pocket dropped most of the plane below the landing deck level, but he managed to keep the nose up above the deck at the time of impact, severing both wings and aft fuselage, and expelling the plane's cockpit and nose onto the carrier deck as a fireball erupted behind him. Except for burning his ears, Duncan survived the crash unharmed. The climactic "Christmas Story" rescue was based on a real life event that occurred during the Korean War. On March 22, 1952,

Douglas A-1 Skyraider The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly known as the AD Skyraider) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s. The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in front-line service well into the Jet Age ...

pilot Lieutenant John Howard Thayer, from VF-194 based on , came to the aid of fellow squadron pilot Ensign Kenneth Schechter, who had been blinded by anti-aircraft fire. Thayer guided his friend to a safe landing at K-18, a

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

airfield.

Reception

Due to its release shortly after the end of the Korean War, the ''Men of the Fighting Lady'' was well received by the general public as well as by critics as a mainly factual account of aerial combat.

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 ...

of ''

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 ...

'' gave the film a very favorable review: "''Men of the Fighting Lady'', which came yesterday to the Globe, bearing a title that echoes a dandy factual film of World War II, turns out to be an apt successor to that saga of the aircraft carriers, translating now a stirring story of carrier planes and men in the Korean war."Crowther, Bosley
Movie Review: 'Men of the Fighting Lady' (1954); The screen in review; 'Men of the Fighting Lady' at the Globe."
''

'', May 8, 1954. According to MGM records, ''Men of the Fighting Lady'' made $1,502,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1,136,000 in other countries, resulting in a profit of $729,000.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Evans, Alun. ''Brassey's Guide to War Films''. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. .

External links

* * *
The Case of the Blind Pilot by Cmdr Harry A. Burns
{{Andrew Marton 1954 films 1950s English-language films Films set in the 1950s Korean War aviation films Films scored by Miklós Rózsa Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films based on works by James A. Michener The Saturday Evening Post Films directed by Andrew Marton American war drama films 1950s war drama films 1950s American films