Operation Pacific

Although made some time after the war, Operation Pacific pulsl no punches when it comes to depicting the Japanese as outright villains in comparison to John Wayne's all-American crew of torpedo-men. This film acts as a propadganda piece that pays tribute to these unsung naval heroes of the pacific theatre. Men who battled adverse conditions such as dodgy torpedos that either blew up in mid-water or didn't blow up at all. In opposition to their valiant underdog-efforts, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour is labelled a 'sneak' attack, and the despicable 'Japs' even dare to fly a white flag as a lure for a trap.

In typical John Wayne fashion, he plays an officer (but not the captain) on a WWII submarine. Being an officer means that he plays a suitably authoritative figure but as he's not the captain it also means he gets to be characterised as 'one of the men'. Also typical of Wayne's military roles, he's thoroughly unlucky in love. Here he plays a divorcee whose baby son died, still actively clinging to his ex-wife (played by a very young Patricia Neal) who left him because he wouldn't open up to her. If you thought it didn't get much more stereotypical than that, Wayne's character is even called 'Duke' (his real-life nickname), making this role perhaps one of his most transparent.

In contrast to the 'sneaky' Japs, the American sailors are beyond heroic. When they're not exasperatedly trying to get their torpedos to work, they're rescuing and babysitting nuns and oprhans. They're so heroic that they even leave knocked out Japanese soldiers alive if they can help it. The latter parts of the film take this a step further by examining the harsh fighting decisions Duke has to make after losing men... he does what needs to be done, no matter how hard. The propanda subtext also ensures these deaths are tragedised in the slightest - it's made clear that these deaths are 'okay' because the men died in service to their country.

Whilst Wayne's casting and character isn't much of a stretch for him, his performance isn't lazy in the slightest. By the early 1950s Wayne was an expert in minimalism and underplaying... witness the scene where an excited young sailor notes the destruction of an enemy sub a little too enthusiastically. He looks to Wayne and the music drops out as he sees Wayne's stony face of disapproval, and then Wayne just winks at him and the tension suddently disappears. I also enjoyed the scene where Wayne has to bail his men out of a Pacific Island prison cell after they have a rowdy night on the town. I laughed at his emotional groan of "Ohhh no" when he first sees the state of his men, and then he smirks as he tries to talk his way out of the fine for disorderly conduct.

Basically, Operation Pacific is two stories in one - the story of Duke's troubled romance with a military nurse (Neal) and that of the action seen by his submarine. There isn't much more to it then that, there's a cool bit where the sub ramraids an enemy ship, and I had to laugh at the bit where the sailors watched a submarine movie starring Cary Grant. I don't really know why, but I just found it amusing... I guess it's a bit like the scene in Last Action Hero where Arnold Schwarzenegger sees the cardboard cut-out of Stallone as the Terminator.

DIRECTOR: George Waggner
WRITER/SOURCE: Script by George Waggner, with technical advice from Admiral Charles A. Lockwood (commander of American submarine forces in WWII)
KEY ACTORS: John Wayne, Patricia Neal, Ward Bond, Scott Forbes, Philip Carey, Martin Milner, William Campbell.

RELATED TEXTS:
- Maritime WWII films are a whole subgenre unto themselves. Limiting myself to just those that star John Wayne, there's also The Fighting Seabees, They Were Expendable, The Flying Leathernecks, The Sea Chase and In Harm's Way.
- George Waggner and John Wayne also previously teamed up for The Fighting Kentuckian.