Arrgghh!! Whether or not this is a good film, I am surprised that most of the reviewers don't mention the god-awful men's chorus that inappropriately drones on and one with even greater solemnity than a Biblical epic!! It's horrible and annoying--and undermines much of the film. Why this was chosen for the soundtrack I have no idea, as it grates on the nerves like no other soundtrack I can recall! Yes, it's that bad and after a while it sounds almost like bees swarming--I kid you not! Aside from the demoniacally-inspired chorus, the next thing you'll probably notice is the unusual style of the film. Instead of a typical bio-pic, this one is told in a semi-documentary style--with very serious narration punctuating various vignettes of a very small portion of Admiral Halsey's life. This small cross-section of his life consists of just five weeks!! So, it's hard to exactly call this a 'bio-pic' as it would seem to imply more than just a tiny portion of the subject's life.

The film is also surprisingly different from what you'd expect because the telling of the story is very straight-forward and without adornment. Simple and direct seem to be the motto for this film...and have a male chorus that sounds worse than cats begin tortured.

If you want a film version of all of Halsey's life or a warts-and-all film, this is not the movie for you. However, it is very competently made and worth seeing...even with the evil chorus from Hell--though I AM deducting two points for this!

Fleet Adm. William F. Halsey Jr. (James Cagney) takes over as Guadalcanal heats up. He faces the Japanese forces at the height of their power under the command of Yamamoto.

The intriguing aspect of this war movie is the lack of action scenes. This is unique among big American war movies. There is plenty of military hardware but the whiz bang has been left off-screen. The Japanese characters speak without subtitles. There is a constant narration throughout the movie. The overall effect is an air of authenticity. There are some lighter moments which may be ill-advised. This movie does better concentrating on the details of the events and planning but it needs a consistent map showing the units involved. I like the general idea if not always the result.

This is a surprisingly engaging war film, considering there are no action scenes. The movie is well-acted, although Dennis Weaver's "Chester" accent is a bit over-the-top. Cagney is superb as Admiral Halsey, in my opinion his best role ever. His understated pain in ordering only a 'routine' search for his missing son is beautiful, and the heart-to-heart with Roy Webb over the day's combat losses is a textbook lesson in the responsibilities of command. The use of the off-screen narrator in lieu of subtitles to present the Japanese side of the issue is tremendously effective; one wishes it had been used in other films as well. Although there are no combat scenes in the movie, the suspense is palpable as the command staff lives the battle through the air-to-air and ship-to-ship transmissions of men fighting for their lives.

For the war movie or history buff, or the die-hard Cagney fan, this is a fine movie!