Across the Pacific
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| Across the Pacific | |
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| Directed by | John Huston, Vincent Sherman |
| Produced by | Jack Saper, Jerry Wald |
| Written by | Robert Garson, Richard Macaulay |
| Starring | Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Charles Halton |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | September 4, 1942 |
| Running time | 97 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Across the Pacific is a 1942 thriller set on the eve of the United States' entry into World War II. The film was directed first by John Huston, then by Vincent Sherman after Huston joined the United States Army Signal Corps. It stars Humphrey Bogart as Rick Leland, Mary Astor as Alberta Marlow, Sydney Greenstreet as Dr. Lorenz and Charles Halton as A. V. Smith. In spite of the title, the action in the movie takes place on the Atlantic seaboard and on the Isthmus of Panama.
[edit] Plot
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In late 1941, Rick Leland is court-martialled and discharged from the US Coastal Artillery after he is caught stealing. He goes to Canada to volunteer there, but is rebuffed. He subsequently boards a Japanese ship, the Genoa Maru, in Halifax. On board, he meets the attractive but mysterious Alberta Marlow and Dr. Lorenz, who makes no secret of supporting Japanese ambitions in the Pacific, and explains that he is therefore not well liked in the Philippines, where he normally resides. Leland, in his turn, makes it clear to Lorenz that he has no loyalty toward his country and will gladly assist whoever is willing to pay for his services.
During a stop in New York, Leland meets with A. V. Smith, a US intelligence officer, and it is revealed to the audience that he is in fact still working for US authorities and is spying on Lorenz. Smith and Leland speculate on Marlow's role in the affair. Upon returning to the ship, Leland surprises a Filipino man who is about to shoot Lorenz, thus gaining Lorenz's confidence.
As they arrive in Panama, the captain announces that the ship has been denied passage through the canal and will be forced to sail around Cape Horn. Leland, Marlow and Lorenz disembark and take up quarters at the Pan American Hotel (owned by an acquaintance of Leland's) while waiting for a ship which will carry them to their destination. The Genoa Maru is seen to disembark several crates addressed to a certain Dan Morton at the Bountiful plantation.
Lorenz asks Leland, who once served in the area, to procure up-to-date schedules for the planes which patrol the area. Once again, Leland meets with Smith, and convinces him to deliver the real patrol schedules, as Lorenz would easily find out if he were handed incorrect ones. At the same time, it is revealed that the date is December 6, 1941 - the eve of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Having delivered the patrol schedules after a short quibble with Lorenz over their price, Leland is knocked out. He wakes up several hours later and finds out that both Lorenz and Marlow have left the hotel. He immediately calls Smith and warns him to change the patrol schedule, then heads out to the Bountiful plantation, where he sees a number of oriental-looking men preparing a torpedo bomber for takeoff. He is soon caught, however, and is brought inside to meet Lorenz and Marlow.
Marlow turns out to be the daughter of the plantation's owner, Dan Morton, a drunk who is being used by the people who work for him. To Leland's relief, Marlow's only stake in the affair is concern for her father.
Lorenz reveals that they intercepted Smith before he could do anything about the patrol planes, and that they are planning to torpedo the Panama Canal Locks. At the last minute, Leland and Marlow overpower their guard (though Marlow's father is killed in the process), and Leland succeeds in taking over a machine gun and shooting down the plane as it takes off. A firefight ensues between Leland and Lorenz's men. At the end of it, Leland walks in on Lorenz preparing to commit seppuku, but his nerve fails and he begs Leland to shoot him. Leland refuses, as Lorenz has "an appointment with Army intelligence".
The film closes with warplanes overflying the plantation, while Leland tells Lorenz "[if] any of your friends in Tokyo have trouble committing Hara-Kiri, those boys will be glad to help'em out."
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