It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This has to be the single most articulate WWII propaganda movie in existence making the point that the Fascists were not just in Europe and Japan but everywhere the profit motive and the reign of fear were trumping democracy in the good old USA. This message still resonates today.This is a rare American film that actually denounces corrupt and anti-democratic greed-is-good practises and equates them with fascism. It mustn't have gone down smoothly in Republican circles where fighting for lower taxes for the rich was a more important priority than actually fighting the war. To make the movie even more remarkable, the level of violence exerted against the poor exploited Italian farmers in the film is actually on a par with the violence of war and the atrocities of other future American films noirs.There is absolutely no other film like it and it's a wonder that its script-writer and director were not suspected of Communist affiliations after the war. The only reason they escaped scrutiny was that the writer died ealy in mysterious circumstances and the director only dabbled in light musicals and romantic comedies before and after.The kamikaze ending ("Poppa's little bomb rack isn't working") must also have been a shocker to many.Highly recommended to anyone who doesn't think Hollywood ever showed any balls.

I'm usually not that fond of movies that use flashbacks to tell a story, but I would have to make an exception for this one. It reminds me, in some ways, of another movie, High Barbaree, which used the same gimmick. Van Johnson even appeared in both. There are some major differences though. While High Barbaree was a rather sappy movie with a pretty weak story line, this production had a punch.It involves a raggedy group of five American pilots left on an isolated island in the Pacific during the early days of WW II. They are commanded by a Dutch Major and there is only one patched up plane left to attack the Japanese carrier that threatens to destroy them. All five pilots volunteer for what amounts to a suicide mission. Guess which pilot the Major picks.From here on, we move from flashback to flashback, and little by little learn everything there is to know about Pilot #5. It stretches the imagination a little to realize that all the other pilots knew him in some capacity in civvy street. When the Dutch Major asks who this brave volunteer is, they all put the jigsaw puzzle together piece by piece.His life before this heroic mission is the real story. It begins with a naive young man, in love, and with dreams of a successful law career. We find him tempted by greed and power into a life of corruption. He loses the girl, his self respect, and his career. Of course he has to redeem himself or how else could be become the hero of this movie? Unlike High Barbaree, this story is compelling and ends with an action packed bang.About the cast. Franchot Tone plays the hero. No matter how many movies I've seen him in, I always see him as Franchot Tone - not the character he plays. Still, he isn't bad in this one. Marsha Hunt plays the love interest. I always thought she got the shaft during the blacklist. She was talented, beautiful, and could really sing, but her politics got in the way of her career. The only other principal player was Gene Kelly. Nothing like the song and dance man you might remember him as. He plays a straight dramatic role, and does it well. I mentioned Van Johnson. This was early in his career and he has an incidental support role as one of the pilots. The rest of the cast are somewhat familiar contract players.There is a lot of propaganda in this movie. As a matter of fact, there is a rather ridiculous speech at the end of the movie, where the Dutch Major compares corrupt politicians and greedy landowners to Mussolini and declares them all fascists. Maybe Marsha Hunt should have passed on this one.

Knowing this to be a propaganda film, I knew to be forgiving. With that, I was able to enjoy this 2-star B production. The real treat (for me) in this film was the chance to see a rare fighter plane. It was thrilling to see a P-35 Seversky pursuit ship as one of the stars in this little film. By the time of Pearl Harbor, this airplane was considered obsolete by the pilots who flew it and the opponents that fought against it. It was the type of aircraft available to our aviators in the Pacific Command. To better appreciate those pilots and what this film tried to say, read Martin Caiden's "the Ragged, Rugged Warriors". This film is not a bad attempt at capturing on film the kind of guys Caiden writes so well about.

It was great seeing this picture and seeing a great beautiful Lady, and actress named Marsha Hunt. She appeared in many pictures in Hollywood and in this picture she stars with a leading man of the 30's and 40's Franchot Tone, (Lt. George Braynor Collins),"Advise and Consent",'62. Marsha Hunt,Fredie Andrew/Collins),"Blue Denium",'59, was not appreciated as she should have been in Hollywood and was not given the proper roles she deserved. In this picture she plays a woman caught between two men, Gene Kelly (Lt. Vito S. Alessandro)," Brigadoon",'54, who is madly in love with her and also lets her know how he really feels. There are flash backs in this film about all these men who are pilots and fighting against Japan in WW II. It was very interesting seeing Gene Kelly acting instead of "Dancing In The Rain", as he did in the many musicals he use to appear in for MGM. Van Johnson (Lt.Everett Arnold),"Subway in the Sky",'59, even appeared in this picture very young and just starting out in his career. A great film with many great Classic actors. It is nice to know that Marsha Hunt will have a Birthday on Oct 17th, she will be 87 years younger!