Battle of the Coral Sea

1959
Approved
1h 26m

IMDb RATING

5.6/10

862

YOUR RATING

Play trailer2:11

1 Video

42 Photos

Action Drama Romance War

In 1942 submarine commander Jeff Conway secretly photographs Japanese aircraft carriers in the Coral Sea but his submarine is damaged and he's forced to surrender.In 1942 submarine commander Jeff Conway secretly photographs Japanese aircraft carriers in the Coral Sea but his submarine is damaged and he's forced to surrender.In 1942 submarine commander Jeff Conway secretly photographs Japanese aircraft carriers in the Coral Sea but his submarine is damaged and he's forced to surrender.

Director
- Paul Wendkos
Writers
- Daniel B. Ullman
- Stephen Kandel
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.6/10

862

YOUR RATING

Director
- Paul Wendkos
Writers
- Daniel B. Ullman
- Stephen Kandel
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Crewman
(uncredited)

Tom Anthony

Helmsman
(uncredited)

Barry Cahill

Bomber Pilot
(uncredited)

James T. Callahan

Australian Prisoner
(uncredited)

Pat Colby

Sailor
(uncredited)

James Forrest

Australian Prisoner
(uncredited)

James T. Goto

Capt. Yamazaki
(uncredited)

Dale Ishimoto

Japanese Guard
(uncredited)

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Film debut of George Takei.

Goofs
The three Japanese carriers are identified as of the "Shoho Class." In fact, there were only two Shoho Class carriers and at the Battle of the Coral Sea only Shoho was present. The other two carriers were the much larger Zuikaku and Shokaku. The narrator says that all three Japanese carriers were "sunk or damaged;" however, that is not actually true. Only the Shoho was sunk and the Shokaku was damaged, which kept her out of the Battle of Midway a month later. The Zuikaku was not damaged, but her airplane and aircrew losses were such that she also missed the Battle of Midway.

Quotes
Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Conway: In my book, anybody who cooperates with my enemies isn't neutral.

Crazy credits
Opening credits prologue: "One of the greatest and most significant battles in the history of naval warfare occurred in May 1942.

The place: Coral Sea, South Pacific.

The participants: the Japanese Fifth Carrier Division and the United States Pacific Fleet.

The issue at stake was simple and clearcut. The enemy was moving rapidly towards Australia and had to be stopped. He was stopped.

The Allied victory in the South Pacific will stand in world history as a noble monument to the memory of the gallant men and officers of the United States Navy who fought and won the battle of the Coral Sea."

Signed: Rear Admiral John J. Bergen, U S N R President Navy League of the United States

Connections
Edited into WW II Theater: Battle of the Coral Sea (2022)

User reviews24

Review

Featured review

3/10

Not at all what the title would suggest....

When I watched "Battle of the Coral Sea", I naturally thought I'd be seeing a film all about this famous WWII battle. Instead, the battle is tacked on to the last 5-10 minutes of the movie and what precedes that isn't the battle or anything really about the battle! I am sure a lot of audience members were annoyed by this and what the film does show is poorly done (featuring lots of stock footage...some of which showed planes which never could have fought in the battle).

The story ACTUALLY is about Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Conway (Cliff Robertson) and his command of a submarine during the war. His ship is captured in a rather impossible to believe sequence but he is able to skuttle the boat after his crew is taken prisoner. The rest of the movie consists of Conway and a few other officers in a Japanese prison camp plotting their eventual escape.

So is the film any good? Not especially. It's not a good history lesson and the film itself only adequate. Not a terrible film...just not a very good one.