.gif)
Task Force (film)
Encyclopedia
Task Force is a war film
filmed in black and white with some Technicolor
sequences about the development of U.S. aircraft carrier
s from the USS Langley (CV-1)
to the USS Franklin (CV-13)
. The film stars Gary Cooper
, Jane Wyatt
, Walter Brennan
, Wayne Morris, Julie London
, and Jack Holt
.
Jonathan L. "Scotty" Scott (Gary Cooper
) spends 27 years, from 1921 to 1948, promoting naval aviation and the power of the aircraft carrier, during which time he antagonizes powerful people in the Navy and Congress, and marries the widow (Jane Wyatt
) of a fellow flier who died in a crash during a carrier take-off aboard USS Langley (CV 1). Throughout, he has the help and friendship of his mentor and superior officer Pete Richard (Walter Brennan
).
Cast notes:
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
filmed in black and white with some Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
sequences about the development of U.S. aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s from the USS Langley (CV-1)
USS Langley (CV-1)
USS Langley was the United States Navy's first aircraft carrier, converted in 1920 from the collier USS Jupiter , and also the U.S. Navy's first electrically propelled ship...
to the USS Franklin (CV-13)
USS Franklin (CV-13)
The USS Franklin , nicknamed "Big Ben," was one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy, and the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in January 1944, she served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning four battle stars...
. The film stars Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
, Jane Wyatt
Jane Wyatt
Jane Waddington Wyatt was an American actress perhaps best known for her role as the housewife and mother on the television comedy Father Knows Best, and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock on the science fiction television series Star Trek...
, Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
, Wayne Morris, Julie London
Julie London
Julie London was an American singer and actress. She was best known for her smoky, sensual voice. London was at her singing career's peak in the 1950s. Her acting career lasted more than 35 years...
, and Jack Holt
Jack Holt (actor)
Jack Holt was an American motion picture actor. He was a leading man of silent and sound films, and was known for his many roles in Westerns.-Early life:...
.
Plot
Depicted as a 1917 graduate of the Naval Academy, Naval AviatorNaval Aviator
A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...
Jonathan L. "Scotty" Scott (Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
) spends 27 years, from 1921 to 1948, promoting naval aviation and the power of the aircraft carrier, during which time he antagonizes powerful people in the Navy and Congress, and marries the widow (Jane Wyatt
Jane Wyatt
Jane Waddington Wyatt was an American actress perhaps best known for her role as the housewife and mother on the television comedy Father Knows Best, and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock on the science fiction television series Star Trek...
) of a fellow flier who died in a crash during a carrier take-off aboard USS Langley (CV 1). Throughout, he has the help and friendship of his mentor and superior officer Pete Richard (Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
).
Cast
- Gary CooperGary CooperFrank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
as Jonathan L. Scott - Jane WyattJane WyattJane Waddington Wyatt was an American actress perhaps best known for her role as the housewife and mother on the television comedy Father Knows Best, and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock on the science fiction television series Star Trek...
as Mary Morgan - Wayne Morris as McKinney
- Walter BrennanWalter BrennanWalter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
as Pete Richard - Julie LondonJulie LondonJulie London was an American singer and actress. She was best known for her smoky, sensual voice. London was at her singing career's peak in the 1950s. Her acting career lasted more than 35 years...
as Barbara McKinney - Bruce BennettBruce BennettBruce Bennett was an American actor and Olympic silver medalist shot putter. During the 1930s, he went by his real name, Herman Brix .-Early life and Olympics:...
as McCluskey - Jack HoltJack Holt (actor)Jack Holt was an American motion picture actor. He was a leading man of silent and sound films, and was known for his many roles in Westerns.-Early life:...
as Admiral Joseph M. ReevesJoseph M. ReevesJoseph Mason "Bull" Reeves was an admiral in the United States Navy, who was an early and important supporter of U.S. Naval Aviation... - Stanley RidgesStanley RidgesStanley Ridges was a British-born actor who made his mark in films by playing a wide assortment of character parts...
as Senator Bentley - John RidgelyJohn RidgelyJohn Ridgely was an American film character actor with over 100 film credits. He appeared in the 1946 Humphrey Bogart film The Big Sleep as blackmailing gangster Eddie Mars and had a memorable role as a suffering heart patient in the film noir Nora Prentiss .The Chicago, Illinois-born actor...
as Dixie Rankin - Richard RoberRichard RoberRichard Rober was an American film actor known for his rugged roles in films. Rober died in an auto accident in 1952 at age 42. He appeared many B-movies and film noir-type films including Call Northside 777 , Sierra , and The Well .-Filmography:-External links:...
as Jack Southern - Art Baker as Senator Vincent
- Moroni OlsenMoroni OlsenMoroni Olsen was an American actor.-Biography:Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah to Mormon parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Marsha Hoverholst who named him after the Moroni found in the Book of Mormon. Some sources have claimed that Olsen's birth name was John Willard Clawson, or even John Willard...
as Admiral Ames - Ray MontgomeryRay MontgomeryRaymond James Montgomery is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder. He played during three seasons at the major league level for the Houston Astros. He was drafted by the Astros in the 13th round of the 1990 amateur draft...
as Pilot - Harlan Warde as Timmy Kissell
Cast notes:
- Task Force was the only film Gary Cooper and Jane Wyatt made together, and was the last of the eight films Cooper and Walter Brennan made together.
- Edmond O'BrienEdmond O'BrienEdmond O'Brien was an American actor who is perhaps best remembered for his role in D.O.A. and his Oscar winning role in The Barefoot Contessa...
has a voice-only role as a radio announcer who gives the news of the attack on Pearl HarborAttack on Pearl HarborThe attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
.
Production notes
- Robert MontgomeryRobert Montgomery (actor)Robert Montgomery was an American actor and director.- Early life :Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery, Jr. in Beacon, New York, then known as "Fishkill Landing", the son of Mary Weed and Henry Montgomery, Sr. His early childhood was one of privilege, since his father was president of the New...
was originally considered for the leading role. - During the filming of Task Force Gary Cooper was almost seriously injured on two occasions. The first was on the during gunnery practice, when an unmanned target plane caught fire and passed over the deck before crashing in the ocean. The second incident occurred when a naval barge Cooper was riding broke up on the rocks at the edge of Long Beach Harbor during a thick fog. Cooper was quickly rescued, but was hospitalized with a high fever.
- Near the end, the film changes from black and white to TechnicolorTechnicolorTechnicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
in order to unobtrusively use actual combat film shot in color. Warner Bros. obtained Technicolor footage filmed during the war in the Pacific, including the Battle of Midway, the Japanese attack on and a kamikaze attack on USS Franklin. The production also used original black-and-white footage of the , the first American aircraft carrier, and the . - During the Battle of MidwayBattle of MidwayThe Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
scene, the "Japanese carrier" blowing up is actually being destroyed by .
Trivia
- When Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan attend the mid-1920's reception in Washington, D.C. The Chief of Naval OperationsChief of Naval OperationsThe Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
is called "Admiral Ames" (Moroni Olsen); the real CNO was Admiral Edward Walter EberleEdward Walter EberleEdward Walter Eberle was an admiral in the United States Navy, who served as Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy and third Chief of Naval Operations.-Early years:...
. The movie CNO is clean shaven, Eberle had a full beard.
- Seen listening to Scott (Gary Cooper) tell Sen. Bentley (Stanley Ridges) about the use of aircraft carriers over battleships in future naval warfare and that Japan is a threat to the United States. The real Japanese naval attaché who would have heard that conversation was Captain Isoroku YamamotoIsoroku Yamamotowas a Japanese Naval Marshal General and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II, a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and a student of Harvard University ....
. Later, Admiral Yamamoto would be the architect of Pearl HarborPearl HarborPearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
.
- In the movie "White Heat", when Arthur "Cody" Jarrett played by James Cagney is chased by federal investigators, to lose them, he drives the car into San-Val Drive In, where "Taskforce" movie is showing. Later in the movie, when Cody's mother is interrogated by the cops, she says that she was with Verna (Virginia Mayo) watching "Taskforce" movie.
External links
- Task Force film review at Classic Film Guide
- Task Force film review