Away All Boats (1956) - based on Kenneth M. Dodson's 1953 novel
"In late 1943, former Merchant Marine captain Dave MacDougall (George Nader) accepts a demotion to lieutenant in order to join the Navy and fight in World War II, on his new amphibious attack transport ship, the Belinda.
Captain Jebediah S. Hawks (Jeff Chandler) announces their orders, transporting 1,400 soldiers to Pearl Harbor, and outlines the ship's shortcomings, and the inexperienced soldiers and sailors. Dave notes examples of the unskilled crew, including ""Sacktime"" Riley (Jarl Victor), a lazy deckhand; Lieutenant Jackson (Kendall Clark), who thinks he can arrange the gear ""scientifically;"" Gilbert Hubert (George Dunn), a filthy hillbilly who loves his job mulching garbage; and the executive officer, well-to-do naval reservist Commander Quigley (Lex Barker).
They set sail. Soon, the Belinda suffers its first attack by the Japanese, and the gunners miss their targets. Hawks appears coldly harsh in his reprimand, but in private, labors under the heavy burden of ensuring the safety of his large group of untrained men.
At sea days later, the crew practices their landing maneuvers, proving themselves awkward and slow.
Soon, they join the battle in Makin, in the South Pacific, where Hawks expects to set time and efficiency records. Upon reaching the beach, the soldiers suffer many losses and tensions between officers escalate.
Ensign Kruger (William Reynolds) manages to find a way through the lagoon and save the troop, earning a Purple Heart after his leg is shot. Over the next months, the Belinda sees heavy action throughout the Pacific.
One night, Hawks trips and fractures his skull, but convalesces quickly. He appears stronger than ever after a mine threatens the ship and then is detonated by one of the Belinda 's sharpshooters, but back in his cabin, Hawks studies his shaking hands. When the mail finally arrives, Dave reads a letter from his wife, Nadine, reminiscing about how they met.
Quigley, who has proven himself an able soldier, wins command of his own ship, and Dave is promoted to Executive Officer. They set off for Okinawa.
They arrive in Japan, where a huge fleet of kamikazes attacks. After two ambushes, Dave surveys the damage: twenty-six men have died, the ship has suffered extreme impairment and Hawks has received another head injury. With the captain almost comatose, Dave takes charge, ordering a hole patched in the Belinda 's hull. While the men struggle to fix the hole, the ship begins to list, but they miraculously finish the patch before the ship sinks.
Hawks struggles to his feet to see with his own eyes that the Belinda is out of harm's way, after which he finally allows himself to collapse. Mourning his dead commander, Dave states that Hawks has made each of them a better soldier than they could ever have hoped.
A 1956 American war film directed by Joseph Pevney, produced by Howard Christie, screenplay by Ted Sherdeman, based on the 1953 novel by Kenneth M. Dodson, cinematography by William H. Daniels, starring Jeff Chandler, George Nader, Lex Barker, and Julie Adams. George Nader had twice taken roles that Chandler refused. This was the first time the two actors had worked together.
Clint Eastwood has a brief speaking role as a Navy medical corpsman assisting the ship's captain after he is severely wounded while trying to save his ship. His voice was dubbed by another actor.
One of the few films made in VistaVision at a studio other than Paramount. The film made use of the Perspecta stereo process for its soundtrack. Film rights were bought by Universal, whose president Edward Muhl said the movie version would be Universal's most expensive of the year.
Kenneth M. Dodson (1907–1999) served on the USS Pierce (APA-50) in World War II and used his experiences there as a guide for his novel. He was encouraged in his writing by Carl Sandburg, who had read some of Dodson’s letters, written in the Pacific. The book (and film) is about the crew of the Belinda (APA-22), an amphibious attack transport. The book became a best seller.
Kerama Retto is mentioned as the destination of USS Belinda after she is seriously damaged by a kamikaze. This island, about a dozen miles southwest of Okinawa, was taken by the 77th Infantry Division at the start of the invasion, and was used as a staging area and an emergency anchorage, exactly as shown in this film.
The armed services had not been pleased with their portrayal in ""From Here to Eternity"" (1953) or ""The Caine Mutiny"" (1954). However the Navy was worried about declining recruitment numbers and Universal received its full cooperation for the film, including an opportunity to photograph maneuvers and mock attacks in March 1955 in the Caribbean and on Vieques. The movie was filmed aboard USS Randall. It is most notable for its realistic and terrifying depictions of Japanese kamikaze attacks on U.S. Navy ships during the last year of World War II in the Pacific Theater. The kamikaze attack scene was later reused in ""Midway"" (