Narrations by: LT. Robert Taylor
Writers: John Stuart Martin and Eugene Ling
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
After reviewing two horrible films, I have decided to take the time in reviewing something which was very decent. The Fighting Lady is perhaps a good film for those who admire history, war, and military service. As for the name of the ship itself, it is known as the Yorktown. However because of the time constrains and the secrecy of its objectives, it was referred to as the Fighting Lady during filming. What I admire about this film is how there are no actors, special effects or lines of dialogue. Everything filmed is real.
PLOT SUMMARY:
The plot of The Fighting Lady is more along the lines of a filmed documentary about the crew of a Carrier in the Pacific Theater. It begins with the ship being commissioned in 1943 and what we see first are a group of fighters in a training session about landing on the carrier. However, Captain Jocko is not impressed with the speed of the flight crew and scalds them for not moving fast enough. He also goes on to say that if it had been a war zone, the effectiveness of the crew would have been unacceptable. Afterwards, the Fighting Lady heading towards the Pacific on its way to participate in battling the Japanese. While there is no combat at this point in time, the film crews give a tour of the ship from its hanger deck to its superstructure and various other components of the ship.
The crew itself is then displayed and we are introduced to who these brave men are and their roles on board the Fighting Lady. Since there is no action at this point, we are treated to scenes of the crew performing duties such as cooking food, sorting mail, tending to the sick, and other mundane tasks to keep the ship afloat and its crew occupied in the lulls between combat operations. At other times, the crew takes time out to enjoy leisure activities from swimming to writing letters home.
The action starts only when the Fighting Lady enters Japanese occupied waters. First we are treated to a spectacular display of American firepower over the Marcus Island fortress. Cameras attached to the planes gives us a pilots eye view of the battle overhead. Afterwards, the pilots return to the carrier to report on a successful attack. Pilots then spend their time resting up, recounting their battles and are briefed by officers regarding what was destroyed in the battle.
The film then fast forwards to 1944, the good ship and crew have been out to sea for quite awhile and are getting used to the routines of running the ship. It then takes place in the battle of Kwajalein and again we are treated to yet another battle. From that point onward, The Fighting Lady becomes a predictable repetition of scenes which at times bore the viewers. First we get battle scenes in the Pacific between Americans and Japanese. Afterwards we are treated to clips which depict life aboard the carrier from crew members in their daily duties to an explanation of an aspect of the ship. In other words, everything at this point seems to be an endless rehash of what has gone on before. The only change we do see regards Captain Jocko being promoted which enables a new captain, Dixie, being placed in command.
At the films "climax", there is an enormous battle over Guam which has the Fighting Lady joining up with other ships to inflict a serious blow to the Japanese fleet. In yet another montage of bombing raids, dog fights, battleship shellings and explosions at sea, the American fleet is victorious and the Fighting Lady is now a seasoned ship with a well seasoned crew. Sadly, the crew must also deal with those who died while out at sea, among those were young sailors introduced to the viewing audience at the beginning of the film.
COMMENTS:
Despite this film's repetative scenes, it captures life aboard a carrier in the Pacific Theater far more accurately than any work of fiction. The fact this film was made at the time of the War with an actual crew in actual combat helps create a film which surpasses any Hollywood movie. While the constant lulls in combat may generate a sense of boredom in the viewing audience, it does generate what the men must have felt in times between combat. There is no doubts that the men suffered actual boredom during the times the ship was not in combat. Various parts of The Fighting Lady display this fact when various crew members would rather be piloting than laying around doing nothing.
Second of all, the sacrifice made by the men in the Pacific Theater must never be forgotten. The film ends on a sad note when one realizes that a number of the crew has either moved on to other assignments or died altogether. One can only ponder what became of the remaining crew after the war considering that once the war was over, so was their job in the Pacific. Still, their work is felt to this very day regarding the many Americans who are free because of the Fighting Lady and many other ships like it.
OVERALL SCORE: 7
While this film does have its good points in the fact there are no actors or special effects, the repeating lulls and combat scenes will leave some upset. However, the vast majority will nonetheless be in awe in the reailty of this film considering it was a War and that War was fought well.
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