Fredric March

Based on the famous Scopes Monkey trial of 1925 a Tennessee schoolteacher Bertram Cates (Dick York) is arrested for teaching his students Darwin's theory of evolution. The case receives national attention and one of the newspaper reporters, E.K. Hornbeck (played by Gene Kelly), arranges to bring in renowned defense attorney and atheist Henry Drummond (Spencer Tracy) to defend Cates. The prosecutor, Matthew Brady (played by Fredric March ) is a former presidential candidate and famous evangelist. The two are old adversaries and clash throughout the film. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Cates's girlfriend is the daughter of the town's bombastic preacher (Claude Akins). Throughout the movie, the sarcastic reporter mocks the bible toting hostile townsfolk. Drummond eventually calls the prosecutor to the stand and prods him to explain various biblical stories such as Jonah and the whale. Eventually, the great Biblical Literalist is forced to concede that certain Biblical accounts cannot be taken literally, but must be interpreted intellectually. With that concession, Drummond is able to assert Cates has every right to hold a differing opinion, including about the Book of Genesis and to deny him that right is unjust. Matthew Brady is so rattled by Drummond's questioning that he collapses under the strain. In the end, despite his badgering of Brady, Drummond is sympathetic to his beliefs. The judge (Henry Morgan) issues a $100.00 fine much to the dismay of many in the courtroom.

U.S. Navy Lieutenant Harry Brubaker (William Holden) is a pilot who previously fought during World War II, went back to his civilian job as an attorney, and is now a recalled naval reservist further engaged in the Korean War flying F9F Panthers in the Korean War from carriers. He is returning from a mission where his jet sustained battle damage and he has to ditch it into the bone chilling cold of the Sea of Japan. Brubaker is about to freeze to death when a Navy rescue helicopter a Sikorsky HO3S-1 appears. The rescue helicopter that saves Brubaker is flown by an enlisted Naval Aviation Pilot (NAP), the eccentric green top hat-and-scarf wearing Chief Petty Officer Mike Forney (Mickey Rooney), with Forney's crewman AD2 Nestor Gamidge (Earl Holliman) jumping into the freezing water to hook Brubaker to the rescue harness. Forney had often been in trouble for brawling and sporting a non-regulation green top hat and scarf while flying his helicopter as encouragement to downed pilots in the water. Back aboard his ship, the aircraft carrier USS Savo Island Brubaker is called to the quarters of Rear Admiral Tarrant, the Carrier Task Force 77 commander, who has taken an interest in Brubaker. Rear Admiral Tarrant (Fredric March) lost his own son at the Battle of Midway during World War II and Brubaker's manner and bearing brings back memories of his lost son. Brubaker complains about the unfairness of his recall when most actively flying/actively drilling Naval Reserve pilots weren't recalled (Brubaker hadn't been flying in the Reserve), America is not actually "at war", and most Americans have no involvement. Tarrant advises that, "All through history, men have had to fight the wrong war in the wrong place, but that's the one they're stuck with." The admiral finds the pilot is tired of war and just wants to return to civilian life to be with his family and the legal career he left behind. Nevertheless, they both agree to the necessity of seeing this conflict through to its conclusion. A new mission is set. The target is a group of bridges used by Communist forces. Commander Wayne Lee (Charles McGraw), the Commander of the Carrier Air Group ("CAG"), is dedicated to his men, but Tarrant would rather see him dedicated to his mission. Lee had come to Tarrant with a complaint over the carrier captain's overuse of engines on tied-down aircraft during docking. However, when reminded that the captain would be writing his performance review, Lee backs down -- a weakness which prompts Tarrant to decide not to recommend Lee for promotion. The Savo Island returns to port in Japan. Brubaker is told that his wife Nancy (Grace Kelly) and children have arrived in Tokyo on an unexpected visit, and he is given a three-day pass during a port visit. Their reunion is interrupted when Nestor shows up at their hotel asking Brubaker's help in bailing Forney out of the guardhouse after a brawl with another sailor. Nancy, anxious to have her husband back home, is terrified to discover the signs of a man ready to crack from combat fatigue. Nancy is deep into thoughts of being left as a widow. Tarrant tries to support her, although he, too, remembers how his own daughter-in-law had almost turned insane after losing her husband, Tarrant's son. Back on a carrier off Korea, Brubaker flies as wing-man for Commander Lee, the carrier air group commander known as "CAG" (from his position as Commander, Air Group in the carrier), on a dangerous reconnaissance to photograph the bridges. Back to the carrier, Lee presents to his pilots the air photos taken from a low pass over Toko-Ri. The flak is extremely dense, and the pilots have to fly very low into the banks of the river while receiving fire from all sides. Brubaker gets sick after this briefing and believes his days are numbered. He is ready to write a letter to Nancy predicting his own death. Forney crosses the captain of Savo Island once too often, and then he is exiled to a helicopter scow. As he is leaving the ship, he notices Brubaker's distress and relates a "cure" for bad nerves that have worked for him, standing on the bow of the ship and facing the waves. Brubaker follows his advice and finds renewed strength within himself. Lee tries to boost the pilot's morale by asking him to stay behind if he feels he cannot accomplish his mission. Brubaker vows to do his duty. The initial attack is on a series of bridges. Lee organizes two formations, the second one to be led by Brubaker. The results from the first attack are incomplete, so he orders the second group led by Brubaker to attack. Brubaker's team dashes in low and completes the destruction of the last bridge. In the attack on the bridges, the antiaircraft fire is intense, but the jets destroy the bridges without a loss. Lee then directs the air group to attack a secondary target, an ammunition dump. As Brubaker completes the run, his fighter aircraft receives a hit that creates a fuel leak. Lee escorts Brubaker, guiding him back to the carrier, but the fuel loss will not allow Brubaker to overcome the last hill before the sea. He belly-lands onto a relatively flat area. The rescue helicopter and his faithful friends Mike and Nestor land close by to pick him up, but North Korean ground troops arrive and machine gun the helicopter, killing Nestor and eliminating any chance of flying out of danger. They try to hold off the enemy with pistols and Forney's and Gamidge's M1 carbines until they can be rescued, but both are killed by the North Korean and Red Chinese soldiers. After getting confirmation from the U.S. Army that the three Americans are killed, Admiral Tarrant is shattered by the news and demands an explanation from Commander Lee of why he attacked the second target. Lee retorts that despite the losses, the mission was a success. Tarrant sorrowfully must accept that Lee has "matured", recommending him for promotion. The film ends with Tarrant alone, wondering where Brubaker and all the others under his command could have found the bravery to do what is asked from them.

Semi-fictional account of pirate Jean Lafitte's involvement in the War of 1812. In the War of 1812, the British have sacked Washington and hope to capture New Orleans, where pirate Jean Lafitte romances blueblooded Annette de Remy and openly sells his loot in a pirates' market. But he never attacks American ships. Can the British bribe Lafitte to help them? Can Lafitte persuade American authorities of his loyalty? Will a love triangle between Annette and pretty Dutch girl Gretchen (survivor of a pirates' prize) bring about Lafitte's undoing? —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

An eccentric woman learns she is not dying of radium poisoning as earlier assumed, but when she meets a reporter looking for a story, she feigns sickness again for her own profit. Hazel Flagg of Warsaw, Vermont receives the news that her terminal case of radium poisoning from a workplace incident was a complete misdiagnosis with mixed emotions. She is happy not to be dying, but she, who has never traveled the world, was going to use the money paid to her by her factory to go to New York in style. She believes her dreams can still be realized when Wally Cook arrives in town. He is a New York reporter with the Morning Star newspaper. He believes that Hazel's valiant struggle concerning her impending death is just the type of story he needs to resurrect his name within reporting circles after a recent story he wrote led to scandal and a major demotion at the newspaper. He proposes to take Hazel to New York both to report on her story but also to provide her with a grand farewell to life. She accepts. Wally's story results in Hazel becoming the toast of New York. In spending time together, Wally and Hazel fall in love. Hazel not only has to figure out what to do about her relationship with Wally, but also how to conclude her now very public story, which all of New York expects will be a public and imminent death. Others, however, may conclude the story for her. —Huggo To redeem himself after a hoax, reporter Wallace Cook proposes a series of stories on doomed Hazel Flagg. Hazel discovers she really doesn't have radium poisoning, but still accepts the big fling in New York that Cook offers her. At first, she has a great time, but complications arise when she and Wally fall in love, and an Austrian specialist discovers that Hazel is faking. —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>