In Harm’s Way (1965)

Beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor, this film follows a number of military members during the first years of the war in the Pacific. It’s an epic melodrama that often feels like the story could have been made into a television soap opera both in their luridness and their predictability. As common during the epic films of the era, this film exhibits quite an all-star cast with John Wayne, Patricia Neal, Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, and Paula Prentiss. I liked that the female characters weren’t just relegated to being love interests but also showed some of the jobs women undertook during the war from nurses to plane spotters. While the battle scenes weren’t as thrilling as I’d like, the film is engaging even with its close to three hour runtime. 

Oscar Nomination: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White