In this movie we learn a bit about the plan and recruitment of men to serve as hybrid construction workers/soldiers. John Wayne was a natural choice to serve as the prototypical SeaBee -- an undisciplined individual, but determined, willing and able.

Join JW and his colleagues as they work and fight their way across the Pacific, building runways and roads, and anything else that needed to be made. During their spare time, they did some fighting, and JW finds time for some romancing (doesn't he usually?).

A good telling, and an interesting movie, but not quite 5-star material. Well worth a watch though!


Lesser Wayne Vehicle   November 4, 2002
James L. (Toronto, Canada)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

In one of his lesser starring efforts, John Wayne plays the leader of a construction company that goes on to help form the Fighting Seabees, an armed group of workers. Prior to the Seabees, the construction crews building air strips and other military installations weren't allowed to carry arms. Wayne is stubborn and determined to say the least, and he pushes to have his men armed for battle as they work on curiously named islands in the Pacific during the Second World War. The film's focus is torn between the establishment of the Seabees and Wayne's romance with journalist Susan Hayward. Neither plotline is developed enough, and considering that it appears to be a war film, there's not much to the fighting in the film. It's not a bad film, but it suffers from a low budget and a script that needed much more work. However, there is a rare chance in this film to Big John jitterbug, which is good for a laugh.


Navy Heritage - US Navy Seabees   July 16, 2004
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This movie has become a part of lore among the men and women of the finest combat contstruction organizations of the US military. It is a nice Hollywood adaptation of the creation of the US Navy Seabees. And who can forget the best character in the movie -- Natasha! It's not often that you see JW's character make the ultimate sacrifice. I watch this and see the beginning of some traditions and attitudes still in practice today. "With Compassion for Others, We Build - We Fight, for Peace with Freedom," from the Seabee Museum. Remember their montra: Seabee Can-Do.


Shows the Seabees Doing It To It   October 15, 1999
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

The Navy Seabees did a whole lot to win the war in the Pacific. This movie shows how civilian contractors failed in combat situations, and how the Navy created a new kind of builder-warrior. And who better to illustrate the metamorphasis than The Duke?

The Duke puts on a uniform, accepts rank and begans growling for reports the Navy way. In exchange, he and the crew have become people who can fight as well as build.

While it's kind of a low budget film, many people will relate to the scene where The Duke sends the bulldozer into the machine gun nest.


Fair DVD   May 9, 2003
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I was disappointed with the quality of the DVD. The movie was not restored, it was copied from a fair print. I liked the movie.