The Fighting Seabees

Released Apr 10, 1944

1h 40m

War

List

100%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

73%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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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

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Robin Clifford

Reeling Reviews

Rated: 4/5

Jan 13, 2003

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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

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Edward Ludwig

Director

John Wayne

Lt. Cmdr. Wedge Donovan

Susan Hayward

Constance Chesley

Dennis O'Keefe

Lt. Cmdr. Robert Yarrow

William Frawley

Eddie Powers

Leonid Kinskey

Johnny Novasky

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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
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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