Watch Across the Pacific For Free

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This general genre -- Americans fighting Nazism (or in this case the Japanese) before or during World War II, is generally not very high on my list of types of film to watch. However, every once in a while one comes along that is pretty decent, often because it's not as predictable.One thing that makes this particular film a cut above is the cast, much of which was fresh off the success of "The Maltese Falcon". This is a good vehicle for Humphrey Bogart, who plays a GI pretending to be kicked out of the military to act as a sort of spy on some Americans that are up to no good with the Japanese, scheduled right around the bombing of Pearl Harbor, However, in this case the action is taking place centered around the Panama Canal. The primary bad guy here is Sidney Greenstreet, in league with he Japanese. Greenstreet is suitably menacing here. The leading question among the characters is: is Bogart's love interest -- again Mary Astor, a good girl or a bad girl? I actually think Astor is better here than she was in "The Maltese Falcon".There are also many Asian character actors here that you will recognize, even if you don't remember their names: Victor Sen Yung, Richard Loo, and Keye Luke (among others). Another very good character actor here is Charles Halton.Of course, as some of our participants have pointed out, there is negative stereotyping of the Japanese in this film. Well, of course! It was made in the middle of World War II.The degree of suspense here is a little uneven, and there are times when the film moves a little too slowly (particularly in the first half of the film), but overall this film holds your attention.Sidney Greenstreet's love of Japanese culture is really quite entertaining. I never considered him a very versatile actor, but he was very good at what he did well.If there are any criticisms due here, there are two. First, the stunt doubling for Humphrey Bogart here is way too obvious. Second, some of the "special effects" here (such as the single airplane near the end of the film) is quite primitive. But, overall, these two things do not detract much from the enjoyment of the film; they may just make you smile.Recommended if you wish to savor a taste of John Huston's Hollywood version of patriotism. Quite well done for this genre.

IN THE ORDER of things, this film comes three after THE MALTESE FALCON (Warner Bros./1941) and just one before CASABLANCA (Warner Bros./1942). This means that we are treated to a Boagy who is possessed of rapidly rising stock in the Filmworld. After the Former, Mr. B.'s resume qualified him as a more than competent Leading Man in Action film; whereas the Latter proved his worth as a Romantic lead.WITH THE RELEASE of this wartime drama, ACROSS THE PACIFIC (Warner Bros./1942), we witness the re-uniting of THE MALTESE FAlCON's Director, John Huston with Bogart, Mary Astor and Sydney Grenstreet. This was the 4th film done by Mr. Greenstreet; who had been a Stage Actor with a forte of Musical Comedy, before first stepping before the camera & bright lights at age 63!WITHOUT OUR GETTING too deep into the story, suffice it is to say that we have a drama that involves the World War II, Pacific Theatre, espionage, treason and the lowly and cowardly behaviour of those seeking wealth at all cost. The basic plot has been used in other movies, including one with another one of Warners' big Stars.WE HAVE THE benefit of a large cast of supporting players, featuring a good number of Hollywood's Asian Community; such as: Keye Luke, Victor Sen Young and Richard Loo. John Hamilton makes a typically authoritative portrayal as the Army Officer heading the Court Martial.OF ALL OF the performances by the principal players (and they were excellent), it was Sydney Greenstreet's portrayal of the Professor with the uncanny affection for all things of the Orient; especially that of Imperial Japan, the Rising Sun and "the East Asia Co Prosperity Sphere."AFTER MUCH TALK about the "superior" culture of the Far East and how he lives it, Dr.Lorenz (Greenstreet) is unable to take his own life, pleading with Rick Leland to "put just one bullet" in his temple. THE COWARDLY NIPPONFILE didn't have the courage to end his own life by committing 'Jack Brickhouse'. Oh excuse us, Schultz! We meant 'Harry Caray'!

This film contains many aspects of the noir, including the clipped bantering dialogue with the clever intent. Coming soon after The Maltese Falcon, Across the Pacific is something of a mystery movie too.Rick Leland (Humphrey Bogart) is a disgraced military man with dubious loyalties. He gets on a Japanese ship that is sailing to New York City, the Canal Zone and the Orient. While onboard, he becomes familiar with the other passengers: a western businessman named Dr. Leland (Sydney Greenstreet) who has a penchant for all things oriental and a smalltown woman named Alberta (Mastor Astor) who is taking a pleasure cruise.But we sense all is not as it seems. Will Rick sail off into the Japanese sunset, bitter at the country that snubbed him? Will the doctor reveal an insidious intent? Will Alberta prove to be more than a romantic foil for Rick?The action takes place not long before the U.S. would be forced to enter the war. Tensions are high. Eventually there is gunplay and all motives are revealed. Along the way, ATP proves to be an interesting film. The ending reminded me of another film that would follow in 1959--North by Northwest. ATP is a high stakes game of cat and mouse that coexists with a lighthearted romance.My one complaint is that Mary Astor is not an actress I think would inspire lust in Bogart's Rick. Someone like Rita Hayworth would better fit the bill.

Across the Pacific (1942) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Suspenseful war-time thriller from Warner has Humphrey Bogart playing the bitter Rick Leland, a man who turns his back on his country after being court martialed. He finds himself on a Japanese vessel heading towards the Panama Canal where he meets Dr. Lorenz (Sydney Greenstreet) who has spent the past thirty-years working in the orient and a strange woman (Mary Astor) who maybe hiding many secrets of her own. Soon Rick discovers an attempt is going to be made to bomb the canal but he's not quite sure who's in on it and when the attack might come. It's interesting to know that this was originally going to be about an attack on Pearl Harbor but after it was really attacked they changed the location even though they set this film around the same time as the real attack. Having Bogart fight off the Japanese the day before we know about the real Pearl Harbor adds some nice suspense to the film because it makes us realize that this type of plot really could have happened and this is one of the best examples of mixing fact and fiction to create a neat little thriller. I really like the fact that the film starts off with us not really sure what's going on and not knowing which character we should be rooting for or against. We learn what Bogart is up to early on but I think the film does a very good job at keeping us guessing while still trying to figure out what type of attack is coming. Huston does another wonderful job at keeping the film moving at a brutally fast pace and he also manages to milk every ounce of suspense out of the story. Bogart delivers another strong performance and I must say that this was the type of character he was born to play. Ultimately tough but at the same time he makes you question whether or not he's a coward or something more sinister boiling underneath his nature. He perfect fits the worn-down, court martialed aspect early on but we also believe him as the tough guy. Astor is also extremely good in the film as she perfectly gets all the mysterious qualities needed for the film to work but she also gets to display a pretty good love interest for Bogart and she gets to show off some sexuality. I'm not sure what else can be said about Greenstreet but he once again makes for the perfect snake and surely does live up to being one of the greatest actors to play villains. It seems a dozen or so war movies were being released during this period of Hollywood's history but this one here comes off feeling very realistic and it manages to get real drama on what were very real fears back in the day. The great cast and direction really pull off a very entertaining stories making this a must-see for fans of the genre and even though who typically don't enjoy war pictures.