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Across the Pacific (1942)

Director(s) John Huston, Vincent Sherman (uncredited)
Producer(s) Jerry Wald
Top Genres Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance, War
Top Topics Spies
More Films Directed by John Huston More Films from 1942 More Films from the 1940s Top Classic Movies of the 1940s Top Spies Films

Across the Pacific Overview:

Across the Pacific (1942) was a Action - Adventure Film directed by John Huston and Vincent Sherman (uncredited) and produced by Jerry Wald.

SYNOPSIS

After being given a phony dishonorable discharge, Army officer Richard Leland (Bogart) offers his services to Chiang Kai-Shek and the Chinese. On his journey through the Panama Canal, he comes across Dr. Lorenz (Greenstreet), a spy determined to blow up the Canal. It should be noted that the characters in the movie never reach the Pacific or cross it for that matter. Huston ultimately left production literally mid-scene to join the armed forces, leaving command of the movie in the hands of young director Sherman. This second feature directed by Huston reunites most of the cast from The Maltese Falcon (1941). Also available in a colorized version.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Across the Pacific BlogHub Articles:

Lady Esther and the Screen Guild Players – Across the Pacific – 1943

By Bogart Fan on Mar 13, 2014 From The Bogie Film Blog

My Review —Drastically Abridged, but It Works!—  Honorary Bogie Fix:  out of 5 Radio Bogies! The Lowdown For my synopsis of the storyline from Across the Pacific, you can read my original write up on the film here. What I Thought I know that I probably don’t need to say this, but yo... Read full article

Across the Pacific – 1942

By Bogart Fan on Mar 9, 2014 From The Bogie Film Blog

My Review —As Good as an Action Thriller Can Get— Your Bogie Film Fix: out of 5 Bogies! Director: John Huston (Vincent Sherman finished the film, uncredited, after Huston was called off to film war documentaries.) The Lowdown After being kicked out of the military for stealing funds, ... Read full article

24 Bogie Movie Marathon #12: Across the Pacific (1942)

By Google profile on Nov 18, 2010 From Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog

About MeBlogger, Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog and more. Please add my Google profile to your circles. (from Film Noir Photos) What an excruciatingly boring film. I could not get into it no matter how hard I tried. The story was convoluted, the characters were not interesting and I quickly ... Read full article

Across the Pacific (1942)

By Raquel Stecher on Nov 30, -0001 From Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog

(from Film Noir Photos) What an excruciatingly boring film. I could not get into it no matter how hard I tried. The story was convoluted, the characters were not interesting and I quickly lost interest. In my research of Bogart's connection with Ben Affleck (don't ask), I discovered that Bogie wo... Read full article

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Across the Pacific Quotes:

Rick Leland: How are you doing, angel?
Alberta Marlow: I think I got pushed in the face by someone. My - My lipstick's smeared.
Rick Leland: Aww, you look cute.
Alberta Marlow: And now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go to my cabin... and faint.
Alberta Marlow: I'm not so obsessed with money as you seem to be. I can do without it.
Rick Leland: You stick around with me and you'll get plenty of practice.
Rick Leland: I never saw anybody like you, you never have any clothes on.
Alberta Marlow: Well if anyone heard you complaining about it they would put you in a psychopathic ward.
Rick Leland: [to Lorenz as they both view U.S. planes overhead] Any of your friends in Tokyo have trouble committing hari-kiri, those boys'd be glad to help them out.
Rick Leland: If you catch pneumonia, what will happen to our romance?
Alberta Marlow: What will happen to it anyway, if you don't shave.
See More Quotes from Across the Pacific
Across the Pacific Facts
The last-minute screenplay change from Pearl Harbor to the Panama Canal was not implausible. Until the mid 1930s US military exercises concentrated on defending the Panama Canal from air, amphibious & small craft attack and were extensively covered by the press.
The film's original trailer copied the same format as the one for The Maltese Falcon (which had the same director and three of the same cast members), beginning with Sydney Greenstreet's face against an otherwise dark background as his voice narrated.
Though the film's plot was changed from Rick Leland foiling a Japanese plot to blow up Pearl Harbor to a Japanese plot to blow up the Panama Canal (necessitated when the Japanese actually attacked Pearl Harbor without Leland being there to stop them), the title wasn't, so the film is called "Across the Pacific" though the characters never even get TO the Pacific, much less across it.
Director Vincent Sherman met with John Huston just before Huston left the project to join the Army Signal Corps and shoot documentaries for the war effort. The two directors conferred just before they were about to shoot the scene in which Leland is trapped in the movie theatre and three assassins are trying to kill him. "How does he get out?" Sherman asked. Huston replied, "That's your problem! I'm off to the war!"
Director John Huston went off to join the war effort before the film was finished, and Vincent Sherman directed the final scenes.
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