Return from the Sea (1954) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A sailor vows to give up his wandering ways when he falls for a waitress.

Cast & Crew

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Lesley Selander

Jan Sterling

Neville Brand

Chuck "Mac" MacLish

John Doucette

Paul Langton

John Pickard

Film Details

Also Known As

Home from the Sea, Sons of the Navy

Genre

Romance

War

Release Date

Jul 25, 1954

Premiere Information

New York opening: 9 Jul 1954

Production Company

Allied Artists Pictures Corp.

Distribution Company

Allied Artists Pictures Corp.

Country

United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the novelette No Home of His Own by Jacland Marmur in The Saturday Evening Post (29 Mar 1952).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 19m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.85 : 1

Synopsis

Chuck "Mac" MacLish is chief petty officer aboard the U.S. Navy destroyer Morgan , which, after a successful mission on the Korean coast, is ordered back to the San Diego Naval Base to undergo a thirty-day overhaul. Upon docking, most of the crew members reunite with sweethearts and wives, but no one is waiting for Mac, as he has been totally devoted to his career and become a loner. Mac goes to "Pinky's," a small bar and coffee shop, where he talks with the owner about how he is going to start saving money so he can have a home some day. Frieda, a waitress in the coffee shop, overhears the conversation and later, when Mac is drunk, takes him to her room. When he wakes up the next morning and cannot find his wallet, Mac assumes that he has been "rolled," but then finds a note from Frieda stating that she has the wallet and that he should go to Pinky's. While Mac eats breakfast, Frieda explains that she has never taken anyone to her place before but sympathized with him, as she too is lonely. After agreeing to meet when she finishes work, Mac leaves and goes to the naval landing in a taxi driven by Frieda's friend, Jimmy. Jimmy explains that Frieda lives with him and his wife and also reveals that Frieda lost her husband in the attack on Pearl Harbor. When they meet later, Mac and Frieda discover that they are both from Brooklyn and that Mac used to go to a burlesque theater where she sold the tickets. Remembering that Frieda had told him about a dream house for sale in a nearby community, Mac suddenly asks her if they might have a chance of becoming a couple. She does not answer, but kisses him and leaves. A day or two later, Jimmy drives Mac and Frieda to see the house, which is in the middle of an avocado grove, and leaves them alone to have a picnic, during which Frieda tells Mac that her husband was Jimmy's brother. Jimmy returns with the news that the house is available for a deposit of a thousand dollars and that the sale of avocados will help with subsequent payments. Mac and Frieda agree to buy the property, and she gives him her bankbook so that Mac can arrange to have his Navy allotment deposited in a new joint account. The next day, Mac and the Morgan have to return to duty, and Frieda fears for his safety, but promises she will wait at Pinky's every day at six for his return. On board, Mac has the task of breaking in a number of rookie sailors. After a visit to the monument to the fallen at Pearl Harbor, the destroyer heads for the Yalu River, separating North Korea from Manchuria, where bombers from carriers will attempt the dangerous mission of attacking only the Korean halves of three bridges that cross the river. The planes will be at the mercy of enemy anti-aircraft attacks and all damaged planes are ordered to head for the open sea and ditch, whereupon the Morgan will pick up the crews. The campaign is also dangerous for the Morgan , as the seas are uncharted and may contain mines. Mac and his crew are able to pick up crew members who parachute out of the planes but, when the ship swings close to the shore, it hits a mine, which explodes, damaging the hull. The captain requests air cover, but four enemy aircraft suddenly appear and the Morgan's battle stations are manned. Three of the planes are downed but the Morgan's captain is killed, and a young recruit dies in Mac's arms. The fourth plane is downed but crashes onto the Morgan causing great damage and crippling the vessel. However, a dozen U.S. planes fly in and Mac, who has suffered a leg injury, receives a radio message that two destroyers will be rescuing the crew. Later, as Frieda and Jimmy await news of Mac's whereabouts, he is recovering from his leg wound in a naval hospital somewhere in the Pacific. Eventually, Mac is released, and now walking with a cane, returns to San Diego. He heads for Pinky's but is told that Frieda has not been in for several days. As Mac leaves, Jimmy drives up, but he too does not know where she can be found. Suddenly, Frieda runs up and explains that she had been told that Mac was returning to San Francisco and had gone there. Later, immediately after Frieda and Mac's marriage ceremony, a shore patrol officer arrives with orders to take Mac into custody. However, he is taken out in a boat to the refitted Morgan , where the new captain explains that the report on Mac's medical condition requires that he retire. Mac, who has served twenty-two years in the Navy, admits that he does not mind retiring as he has Frieda. Before leaving the ship, Mac is invited to look it over and finds the entire crew respectfully waiting at attention to present him with a gift. Mac salutes the officers and crew, then returns to the dock, where Frieda is waiting for him.

Director

Lesley Selander

Cast

Jan Sterling

Neville Brand

Chuck "Mac" MacLish

John Doucette

Paul Langton

John Pickard

Don Haggerty

Alvy Moore

Robert Arthur

Lloyd Corrigan

Lee Roberts

Robert Wood

Robert Patten

James Best

John Tarangelo

Bill Gentry

Walter Reed

Bert Arnold

Nick Stewart

Navigation officer

Harry Landers

Don Mcshane

Charles Morton

Frank Richards

Don Kennedy

Paul Burke

Gunnery officer

Morgan Jones

Herb Vigran

Pamela Duncan

Michael Monroe

Stuart Whitman

Ray Boyle

Barbara Beck

Carol Brewster

Don Garner

Harry Harvey Jr.

John Lomma

William Boyett

Joe Turkel

Gene Collins

Dan Barton

Joe Haworth

Ed Andrews

Bill Bryant

Rayford Barnes

Tom Moore

Nina Gilbert

Crew

John L. Banse

Set Construction

Ralph Butler

Capt. H. H. Connelly

Technical Advisor

Paul Dunlap

Music Composition and Conducting

Scott R. Dunlap

John C. Fuller

Bert Henrickson

Austen Jewell

Assistant Director

Joseph Kish

Ray Mercer

Special Effects

David Milton

Harry Neumann

Director of Photography

Edward Polo

Marlin Skiles

Mary Smith

Virgil Smith

Don Torpin

Assistant Director

George Waggner

Allen K. Wood

Production Manager

Film Details

Also Known As

Home from the Sea, Sons of the Navy

Genre

Romance

War

Release Date

Jul 25, 1954

Premiere Information

New York opening: 9 Jul 1954

Production Company

Allied Artists Pictures Corp.

Distribution Company

Allied Artists Pictures Corp.

Country

United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the novelette No Home of His Own by Jacland Marmur in The Saturday Evening Post (29 Mar 1952).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 19m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.85 : 1

Articles

Return from the Sea -

March 18, 2015

An aberration for Hollywood, this wartime romance stars two character actors who rarely made it to a happy ending and was put together by a director more comfortable with non-stop action. Perpetual tough guy Neville Brand, one of the most decorated soldiers during World War II, is a grizzled Naval officer who's so married to the sea he's never had time for romance. Then he meets war widow Jan Sterling, one of the screen's best hard-boiled dames. This time, she has a heart of gold as a woman whose tough exterior masks her wounded soul. Before they can settle down on the avocado ranch of their dreams, he's called back to service in Korea for some strong action sequences filmed with help from the U.S. Navy. The film's moving love scenes may come as a surprise to anybody familiar with the career of director Lesley Selander. He began his career shooting low-budget Westerns, eventually settling in at Monogram (later Allied Artists), where he only got a break from sagebrush sagas for the occasional war or crime film. With Return from the Sea, however, he got to demonstrate the subtlety he could bring to more heartfelt material.

By Frank Miller

Return From The Sea -

Return from the Sea -

An aberration for Hollywood, this wartime romance stars two character actors who rarely made it to a happy ending and was put together by a director more comfortable with non-stop action. Perpetual tough guy Neville Brand, one of the most decorated soldiers during World War II, is a grizzled Naval officer who's so married to the sea he's never had time for romance. Then he meets war widow Jan Sterling, one of the screen's best hard-boiled dames. This time, she has a heart of gold as a woman whose tough exterior masks her wounded soul. Before they can settle down on the avocado ranch of their dreams, he's called back to service in Korea for some strong action sequences filmed with help from the U.S. Navy. The film's moving love scenes may come as a surprise to anybody familiar with the career of director Lesley Selander. He began his career shooting low-budget Westerns, eventually settling in at Monogram (later Allied Artists), where he only got a break from sagebrush sagas for the occasional war or crime film. With Return from the Sea, however, he got to demonstrate the subtlety he could bring to more heartfelt material. By Frank Miller

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

This film's working titles were Home from the Sea and Sons of the Navy. A Hollywood Reporter news item added Ward Bond to the film's cast, but he does not appear in the completed film. A title at the film's beginning states: "We desire to express grateful appreciation to the Department of Defense and the United States Navy, for the cooperation which was extended on the production of this picture. We especially salute the men and officers of the USS Maddox on whose ship many of the sequences were filmed."

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