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The Fighting Seabees

Play trailer Poster for The Fighting Seabees Released Apr 10, 1944 1h 40m War Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A morale-boosting tribute to the US Navy's Construction Battalions who followed behind the troops invading Pacific islands held by the Japanese to build runways, roads and bridges. Wedge Donovan is the civilian head of a construction company approached by the Navy to train their men as specialists. Instead, the impetuous Donovan wants to prove his crew are up to the job, but they are shot up by the Japanese.
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The Fighting Seabees

Critics Reviews

View All (6) Critics Reviews
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com One of John Wayne's popular WWII movies, in which his hero shows the exepected rebellious independence. Rated: B- Mar 23, 2011 Full Review Steve Crum Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers WWII flag waving + Duke Wayne = can't miss action. Rated: 3/5 Aug 10, 2006 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Standard WW2 flagwaver. Rated: B- Feb 11, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Sep 25, 2005 Full Review Linda Cook Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) Rated: 4/5 Sep 20, 2005 Full Review Robin Clifford Reeling Reviews Rated: 4/5 Jan 13, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Liam D It may not be the greatest or iconic war movie ever but it's a fantastic one Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/07/22 Full Review william d For once The Duke is not infallible. He makes some mistakes that get his men killed. This rare vulnerability does not make the film any better, but the battle scenes certainly do. They are truly impressive, with lots of explosions and hundreds of extras running around, much better than the usual 1940s era war movie fare. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member This was a movie during WW2 that was not only inspirational to the homefront, but had all the good things you needed to make it an exceptional movie. The ending was hard for me to see as a young kid in the 50's, but I truly remembered the star power of the actors, a truly outstanding movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Racist, sexist, poorly written, and badly acted, The Fighting Seabees is interesting only as a WWII propaganda curiosity and a window into the less-than-politically-correct times. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Watching one of my all time favourite movies. I watched it countless times as a kid. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member another good WWII propaganda pic Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Fighting Seabees

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A morale-boosting tribute to the US Navy's Construction Battalions who followed behind the troops invading Pacific islands held by the Japanese to build runways, roads and bridges. Wedge Donovan is the civilian head of a construction company approached by the Navy to train their men as specialists. Instead, the impetuous Donovan wants to prove his crew are up to the job, but they are shot up by the Japanese.
Director
Edward Ludwig
Producer
Albert J. Cohen
Screenwriter
Borden Chase, Æneas MacKenzie
Distributor
Republic Pictures
Genre
War
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 10, 1944, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 8, 2018
Runtime
1h 40m
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