Original subtitles

(Col. Laird) Water festival?

How lovely.

These natives really know how to live.

You see those drop tanks over there?

Those are called bomber tanks.

No kidding.

Will you hang 'em on my aircraft?

The man is more dangerous to our Command than the whole Japanese Navy.

Don't you understand? A Captain is gonna walk up to you with a ticket

to the Portsmouth Naval Prison.

What do l have to do?

This is top-secret.

(Casey on radio) Hey, Peppy.

Casey, we're on radio silence.

I know, I know. But, well, look down at 4 o'clock.

We'll be flying over 30 of our own gun placements.

We need to take our chances.

J‘ We are poor little lambs J‘

J‘ who have lost our way J‘

J‘ Baa, Baa, Baa J‘J‘

[siren wailing]

(newsreel announcer) The relentless thrust

towards the heart of the Imperial Japanese Empire

took a turn, as our forces in the South Pacific

veered eastward near the Katara islands.

For the Allied Supreme Command,

it is a period of tactical regro uping

and re-evaluation.

For our fighting forces,

a brief respite from the rigors of war

and from the relentless march toward their only goal:

victory against the Japanese.

(Greg) l was on my way to the Rear Area

for a meeting with Gen. Moore at his request.

I wasn't looking forward to it.

Col. Laird had been building a dossier against me and the Black Sheep

ever since l'd formed the squadron.

Laird had it in for me, personally.

And I suppose lcouldn't blame him,

[had it in for him, too.

Since his office was conveniently close

to the Espritos Marcos runway,

[decided to let him know I'd arrived.

[birds chirping]

[airplane engine whirring]

[sighing]

That was Boyington, sir. I saw his markings.

ldidn't hearathing.

fleep engine revving]

How you doin'?

Gen. Moore is expecting you, sir.

Sir, Tuatoma has slowed this war down to a fat thud.

We've got to have some targets.

Well, ljust thought you'd like to know how much fun

we're having out here.

And a Merry Christmas to you too, sir.

[sighing]

[knocking on door]

Come on in, Boyington.

lt could've been Admiral Nimitz.

I can feel it's you like a man knows he's coming down with malaria.

This is top-secret.

Do you know why you're here, Greg?

You're running low on scotch, sir.

Have you got any idea how much sizzle there is in the fry pan?

[sighing]

I heard.

Col. Laird end-played us while you were in Sydney.

He moved the court-martial papers up to the Admiral.

How do you find out these things?

Friends in low places.

But he still has to make it stick.

It's already stuck

on you and all the other screwballs in the 214th.

Now, look at this. Just look at it.

In the last week:

impersonating a Major General,

dereliction of duties.

General, are we fighting a war out here or each other?

You know Laird has a grudge against 214.

Don't change the subject.

My unit hasn't flown a mission in 10 days.

And I've been checking around, neither has anybody else.

Who called the time out?

Well, it's a strategical re-evaluation.

How do you serve that, sir, on a shingle?

I need a mission, and I need a good one.

There's a rumor about a Japanese build-up

on, uh, Tuatoma.

Never heard of it.

And where does it say that a mission gets you offthe hook all the time?

The way this war is bogged down,

missions should hang in clusters like grapes.

Greg, don't you understand?

In about 72 hours,

a Captain is gonna walk up to you with a ticket

to the Portsmouth Naval Prison,

in the heart of beautiful New Hampshire!

You can give me an out, sir.

We're all out of outs.

But for what it's worth,

I'll be a character witness at your court-martial.

I'll try to find something nice to say.

(Greg) When I landed,

I had a feeling I might have some trouble

getting my airplane off the ground again.

And I was right.

There it was, staked down and growing an MP from its wing tip.

There's only one way to deal with MP5:

Either crack 'em in the mouth and steal their jeeps,

or you put on their funny little armbands and give them some grease.

This guy didn't have ajeep, and he was too tiny to hit.

[birds chirping]

No sign of Boyington, huh?

No, sir.

Well, he's gonna spit dog tags

when he finds his plane's gone.

Gone, sir?

Yeah, I'm moving it out.

Sir, uh, Col. Laird put this plane under arrest.

I can't release it without written orders from the Colonel.

Son, you're a hell of a Marine.

And a good MP, too.

Well, let's you and l have a little talk.

No rank, just two Marines.

(Greg) [knew it was only a matter of time

before Laird would be after me again.

I needed a plane ofmy own.

As soon as I landed, I decided to have Casey

run a check on all of the available officers who might be asked

to sit in on my court-martial.

I don't know what I was looking for,

maybe an angel, maybe a friend.

At the least, a way to tip the odds a little in my favor.

How about Admiral Clay?

He's bound to be one ofthe judges.

What have you got on him?

He has a ranch in Wyoming, raises cattle.

Ooh, there's a livestock auction in Melbourne next week.

He might look fondly on a gift of a prize bull or two, huh?

You knuckleheads are gonna walk over

and tap old Clay on his shoulder and say, uh,

Admiral, I wonder if we can interest you

in throwing this here court-martial?

(Casey) I don't want Pappy to go to the brig.

Me, either. Whatever it takes, I'm for it.

What it's gonna take is a mission,

one good score.

Well, there's nothing to shoot at.

This theatre's quieter than a caterpillar's yawn.

There's Tuatoma.

What's that?

I keep hearing that name. What is Tuatoma?

I don't know.

But it's the only target that CincPac seems to have any interest in.

Hey, Pappy, maybe we should take a look at it

before somebody else takes it down.

That's exactly what I was thinking, Bragg.

We'll get up to it north-west ofthe Slot.

We'll fly above 10,000 feet.

The spotters on Choiseul will never see us.

Once we get through the Slot, it is a milk run to Tuatoma.

We'll strafe it,

then we'll get some low-level pictures ofthe damage,

and get out.

Yeah, that's it, Pappy.

Why didn't we think ofthat before?

[airplane engines roaring]

Hey--hey, Papp y.

Casey, we're on radio silence.

lknow, lknow, But, well, look down at 4 o'clock.

Look at that, Pappy.

It's the whole damn Japanese Air force.

Will you get a load of that? There must be 50 of 'em!

How'd they know we were up here?

Listen, we got this thing under control.

What're we gonna do?

(Greg) What do you think we're gonna do?

We can't run from 'em. We gotta fight 'em.

[gun firing]

[gun firing continues]

(Casey on radio) Two more at 3 o' clock.

I got 'em.

[gun firing]

(Greg) We'd never seen so many Zeros in one formation before.

They seemed to know where we were going.

It had the flavor ofan ambush.

And we never got even close to Tuatoma.

That made me wanna know the answer to one question.

(Greg) I've got to know what's on Tuatoma.

Forget it, Greg. We can't get near it.

Intelligence has got to know what's there.

All we have to do is shake it out of 8-2.

Casey,

have you ever been to 8-2?

Pappy.

I can't crack Col. Kyle. I think maybe you can.

Well, I'm just a bookkeeper!

He sees through you and I'm going to beat him?

Well, what about Gutterman?

He could get in at night and crack the safe like he did at the hospital.

They don't have a safe over at 8-2, Casey.

Well, then--then T.J., he can always con one ofthe secretaries.

Or French. French, he does accents, impressions--

Kyle knows every one of us, he doesn't know you.

You see, my problem is sometimes I'm too shrewd for my own good.

You, you're simpler.

That's right.

He couldn't cope with that.

What do l have to do?

Get him to open up the Vector-6 file.

The one with top-secret written all over it.

How?

Trust me.

Uh-uh.

You're in training.

That's right.

Theater Command? We don't get many visitors from Theater Command.

We've heard a great deal about you, Col. Kyle.

Please sit down, Comm. Pritchett.

Thank you.

The word is, uh, good about you.

You run a tight ship.

That is a compliment coming from Theater Command.

We don't just hand them out, either.

Yes, sir. Tight ship.

Admiral Nimitz says

there's nothing like putting your feet up on a desk.

Bull Halsey does it all the time.

Of course, General MacArthur's not too thrilled about it.

Oh, I couldn't hear everything, but it seems to be going okay.

That's good news, Doctor. You better stick with him.

Uh, now, sir, about that Vector-6 file...

Exactly what in the Vector-6 file?

I'm not at liberty to say, sir.

I've got top clearance.

You must understand, sir, there are, you know, regs.

That's right, Commander. I'll have to see your identification.

That's absurd.

Step aside, Colonel.

Your clearance number, sir.

Mayday!

You'll forgive me for this some day.

Hey, what's going on?

What'd you do that for?

What's this all about?

That man cursed the flag.

What were you thinking about, you bum?

[grunting]

[clattering]

At ease!

(Gutterman) Oh, yeah.

It was a diversionary tactic.

(Col. Kyle) What do you men think you're doing?

I won't permit any of this.

Return to your desks immediately!

That's an order!

Where are you going?

Sir, l was carrying top-secret papers.

At ease! At ease!

I got it.

(Ben) Where did you get this?

This is Tuatoma!

(Greg) Tell me about it.

You shouldn't have it! This is top-secret.

I know a lot of secrets, Ben.

I'm sure CincPac would love to know

how a humble Lieutenant mapmaker

manages to have the world's largest collection of Polynesian stamps.

You'd blackmail me?

I'm in deep trouble, Ben.

Well, this time I can't help you.

I know where you can get a beautiful New Zealand collection.

Mint.

This island is all volcanic.

The main peak is the highest spot in that part of the ocean.

See these buildings on the side ofthe mountain?

Do you know what they're called?

(Greg) No.

The Japanese call it "The Nekko-No-Higge."

The Cat's Whiskers.

The most sophisticated detection device ever built.

You brush your teeth a hundred miles away,

Nekko can name your tooth powder.

Radar?

No, not exactly. We don't know how it works,

but it works.

lt's flown copilot with every bomber we've thrown against it.

Perfect mesh.

No matter where we come at it,

it gets at least 100 miles of get-ready.

No wonder they knew we were up there.

Huh?

Never mind.

Did I do you a favor?

Yeah.

Will you do me one? Sure.

Will you get rid ofthis stuff?

I've got all the copies I need.

Don't! You can't do that!

You've got S-2 clearance.

You can get it back and they'll never know it.

Boyington, come on. Be a pal.

I bet you can't wait to get over the flu and dump that stuff.

Ben, your fever's gone down already.

Gentlemen, this is Tuatoma.

What is it?

Looks to me like a lot of Japanese radar.

Only the Japanese ain't supposed to have any radar.

They don't need radar. They've got this gizmo

that can stop the war cold for two weeks.

[inhaling]

We're gonna take it out.

What?

This is a mountain top.

Now that creates a dead spot, a shadow.

Now, if we can get into that shadow,

then we can come from behind right here.

Greg,

this dead spot of yours leads straight back to Tokyo.

That's their ocean back there. They don't need any radar.

That's what they think, Gutterman.

Now fellas, heavy bombers can't make this run.

It would mean that they would have to fly

through five miles of mountain passes.

But we can.

But it's way out of our range.

How do we get to the far end ofthat playground

and still make it home without going dry?

l was just comin' to that.

Any ideas?

Huh.

Well, how about you guys?

Anybody got an idea?

I got an idea.

How about a gas station right about there

with plenty of high octane and clean restrooms?

Any other volunteers?

Pappy, you're asking us t° fly an impossible mission.

Nothing's impossible.

We just gotta figure it out.

This here is impossible.

You're trying to milk a cow by its horns.

I never dreamed I'd ever agree with Gutterman.

Great, you guys.

Just keep staring at the floor.

Don't look up.

[Gutterman sighing]

Hey, Hutch!

No, no, no. The valves aren't ready yet.

Forget about the valves. You see those drop tanks over there?

Those are called bomber tanks.

No kidding. Can you hang 'em on my aircraft?

What?

I need the extra fuel.

You need a cork for the hole in your head.

just got done tellin' you those are bomber tanks.

You can't do that with that.

It's an order.

I want those tanks fitted on my aircraft.

Hutch, lthink I can get it in the air.

It's not you I'm worried about.

Who's gonna tell that plane that it can take off with the extra load?

Corsairs aren't very smart. I'll tell it.

You just fit the tanks.

[sighing]

[engine starting]

(Greg) I knew as l was sitting in that cockpit

that my chances were about 50-50

for getting this bird off the deck.

It was way over the manufacturer's weight limit.

But Laird hadn't left me many odds.

And if] were going to beat the court-martial,

[had to fly against Tuatoma.

And all I could do was hope that this dress rehearsal

didn't kill me.

He needs all the runway he can get.

He's got his tail halfway on the next island already.

Any bets?

You know, I should take you for $50 just to shut you up.

I'll take a $100 to that.

What's the matter with you yardbirds?

What do you want us to do, stand here and pray?

Well, you're on.

In that case, hold that.

(Casey) Come on, Greg.

(T.J.) Come on. Go!

(Bragg) He ain't going to make it.

(Gutterman) That bird can barely fly.

That's it. He got it up there.

(Greg) I knew when we added the 500 pound bomb,

we wouldn't get off the runway at all.

And I couldn't see using a corsair to plough up the jungle.

It looked like I had struck out.

So much for inventive ingenuity.

[grunting]

What do you think, Greg?

Think? I'll tell you what I know.

We add the bombs and we have Corsair submarines.

Hutch?

That's not the way, Pappy.

Some impossible things are just impossible.

Thanks for trying.

Do you know what we're doing wrong?

Yeah, for one thing, we're sober.

Ah, we're being too conventional.

We think extra fuel, bigger tanks, too easy.

Yeah, well, it sure looked easy.

We're Black Sheep, we're supposed to be oddballs.

I'm gonna run this thing through again.

Oh, you're odd, all right.

I'm gonna go collect my bet.

What bet?

Come on, what bet?

Well, uh, we bet on whether you'd make it or not.

You bet on me or the plane?

On the plane.

[both laughing]

Damn you suckers.

Admiral,

I don't know how much longer the Press Corps

is gonna buy those stories of strategical re-evaluations.

Oh, blast the Press Corps.

Sir, rumors are all over the theatre,

we've been stopped in our tracks.

The press wants to know ifthe stories are true.

Lie to them, Grayson.

Why do you think l have you on my staff?

Yes, sir.

What about Tuatoma?

Not a word about Tuatoma.

ljust finished the final reports on last week's losses.

One destroyer, two cruisers, and a flattop

that was lucky to get back to Guadalcanal.

Tuatoma is beginning to make Pearl Harbor look like a victory.

(Greg) I've got the solution to this mess: Katara.

(Bragg) Katara?

(Greg) It's an island north of Tuatoma

with an old runway on it.

I figure one of us could meet us there with fuel to go home

after we've hit the Cat's Whiskers.

Greg, is that by any chance a Japanese island?

Well, yeah. But we can get around that.

Our first problem's getting the fuel.

Everything's off without fuel. We don't have any fuel.

So, we scrub the mission. Nobody feels bad.

No, we don't. We're not scrubbing anything.

We're gonna get that fuel.

How're we gonna do that?

I don't have the faintest idea.

Trust me.

(Col. Laird) So Boyington's up to his old tricks?

You say you got this stuff at the fuel depot?

Uh, what about the magnetos 166 wants?

Ship 'em.

How much booze was there? Three cases, four?

I saw at least three.

Want to bet I know the local distributor for this rotgut?

Anything else?

That clears it.

Oh, he's up to something.

He got himself some fuel.

How is it a lousy Marine like Boyington

can come up with such good scotch?

[clanking]

(Baylor) Hey, come on, speed it up, will you?

Okay, just the gas, right?

(Greg) Right.

Okay. And I drop off at Vella.

When I get there, there'll be a new generator waiting for me?

lt'll still have the ribbon on it.

Okay. You got yourself a deal.

You get the stuff aboard and I'll ship it.

Casey, you found us a good man.

You ordered it, sir.

Oh, listen, you better bring your own dinghies.

lrequisitioned mine the day before Pearl Harbor.

And I'm still waiting for 'em.

This is a rush order.

My tub is ready.

Hey, uh, listen,

we couldn't do business for another generator?

I'm sorry. One to a customer.

Oh.

[vehicle approaching]

Good morning, sir.

How much gas did you steal?

Gas, sir?

It doesn't rain scotch at the fuel depot

without your fine hand in there somewhere, Boyington.

You won't get it offthe island.

Col. Laird, lwas on my way to see you about getting some gas.

We're running a little short, sir.

You were dealing with Baylor.

That means the gas is still here on Espritos Marcos.

Choke on it.

We're expected to participate in the fighting, sir.

Boyington, there are 30 outfits around here

fighting this war like Marines.

I'm going to see you in the brig, Boyington.

Not only will you not get the gas offthis island

but you won't get off, either.

I'll put eyes on the runway 24 hours a day.

l'll glue eyeballs on every dock and pier.

You've got it, but you won't move it.

fleep engine starting]

That lard-brained...

Stow it!

What? Didn't you hear what he said?

I heard what he said.

He was shooting snipers out ofthe trees in China

while you were learning how to spell.

It's the starch in his uniform that I hate

and the war in triplicate.

Don't worry about it, Casey,

I haven't changed.

Well, what about the gas?

What about the gas?

We move it offthe island.

[laughing]

Sir, this is a restricted area.

Sailor, that's Chief Karamowa.

Chief, I think it would be a good idea

to have your picture taken

with Admiral Zumwassa in the lead canoe.

I'm sure he'd love to start the Water Festival.

Sir, you'll have to leave.

We're talking about the Water Festival.

Would you like a PT boat for an escort?

Sir, I must insist.

What is your name, sailor?

Collins, sir.

Are you happy in the Navy?

Yes, sir. It's my career.

Well, you better learn what you're talking about.

How about a low-flying PBY spreading flowers? I like that.

I'll have to send for the officer ofthe deck, sir.

Oh, no, you won't.

You will get the officer ofthe deck.

Yes, sir.

And on the double!

Sorry, Chief.

[whistling]

[birds chirping]

(Greg) This wasn't the best plan I've ever come up with.

But if it fooled Laird long enough

to get both me and the fuel off Espritos Marcos,

it was worth it.

The funny-looking airplane was a Navy duck French y borrowed

to get the fuel to Katara for our rendezvous.

If we couldjust get the gas inside the plane in time.

(Col. Laird) Water Festival?

How lovely.

These natives really know how to live.

They have their festivals in the Spring.

[engine starting]

Pell, he did me again.

I'm sorry, sir, I know you happen to like Boyington.

Whether I like him or not has nothing to do with it.

Exactly. The man is a danger to morale.

He is using the war

for looting, black marketeering, flaunting authority.

The man is more dangerous to our command than the whole Japanese Navy.

He happens to be one of our finest combat pilots.

He's got more kills than anybody else in this theatre.

I'm talking about morale, General. And discipline.

The Corps runs on discipline.

Don't read regs to me, Laird.

I know why Boyington wants that fuel.

Col. Kyle over at 8-2 found this out of place this morning.

And Boyington, he paid him a visit yesterday afternoon.

Now, the way I make it,

Boyington is gonna try to hit Tuatoma. Right here.

Now the man is stealing unauthorized materials, sir.

Maybe this'll wake Fleet Command up to the problem.

I'm beginning to think that you're the problem, Colonel!

Sir?

They won't make it.

He can't file his flight plans,

because he knows that'd tip me off.

If he doesn't get himself creamed by our antiaircraft,

or blown out of the sky by theirs,

he's going to end up in the drink somewhere.

Two hundred miles behind enemy lines.

Piracy of aircraft fuel,

stealing unauthorized papers,

flying an unauthorized...

Laird, knock it off!

I'm going to stop him. I've got no choice.

Put me through to Vella La Cava.

If we come in even one degree off,

ifjust one of our planes ends up in their grid,

we're dead.

Now,

there is a 10-mile arc behind this.

As we get closer, it narrows down.

So when we get to the mountains,

we have to be absolutely right on the money.

Gen. Moore's calling from Espritos Marcos.

Don't read him.

Pappy, what do I do?

I said don't read him.

You think he's trying to raise us

in the middle ofthe night to have a chat?

He's going to order me to scrub this mission.

And I don't want to disobey a General,

especially that General.

All right, now we're over the target.

And remember, four.

Just four of us will get one pass at it,

then we run like hell.

Now they are going to think we have to come back here,

but uh-uh, no, we're going to fool them.

We going here, to Katara.

That's where French will be waiting with the fuel.

We're gonna be flying over 30 of our own gun placements.

Pretty trigger-happy fellows right about now.

How're we gonna keep them from shooting us down?

You're filing this mission's flight plan or what?

No.

Then what are we supposed to do? Drop leaflets?

We are to take our chances.

[men scoffing]

[men muttering]

All right, guys.

This one is strictly volunteer.

And remember just four.

[plane engines droning]

[crickets chirping]

Mmm-hmm.

Well, on the other hand,

we can all be court-martialed.

I said just four.

[plane engines roaring]

We've got Vella La Cava on the horn, sir.

I don't want Vella La Cava. I want Boyington!

[sighs]

The General requests to speak to Maj. Boyington.

lt's Gen. Moore, he's in the air,

about 15 miles out.

He wants to land and talk to you.

(Greg) Tell the General that I'm sorry I missed him.

Give my love and I'll be back in a few hours.

All right.

[clears throat]

Uh, Gen. Moore.

He couldn't answer the call, sir.

He's in the air.

You want to try to raise him direct?

Try raising Australia with a spoon.

General, the antiaircraft placement for 803

should spot them in about 10 minutes.

If you call ahead they can radio a warning to turn back.

I did all I could to stop it.

Call 803. Tell 'em four Corsairs on a heading

for Tuatoma are coming through.

Let them pass. Send the word down the line.

You might as well authorize the mission, sir!

We've got landing clearance from Vella La Cava.

Who wants to land? Let's go home.

(Greg) Coming up on the dead zone.

Let's line up and don't get too far abreast ofeach other.

We'll land up on their scopes.

[plane engines roaring]

We fly any further north, we are going to be over Tokyo.

Let's make our turn and stay close.

[people chattering]

(Greg) We came in over Tuatoma

and started our run through the mountain passes

that would bring us out of the Cat's Whiskers.

If the plan was working,

the enemy wouldn't know we were there

till they heard our engines. And by then,

it'd be too late to stop us.

[beeping]

[people chattering]

[plane engines roaring]

[bombs shells whizzing]

[bombs exploding]

(Casey on radio) Looks like we did it, Pappy.

(Bragg on radio) Make sure you can find this island

where French is supposed to be waiting for us.

lcan't even remember the name ofit.

It's called Katara.

It's a tropical paradise.

We are flying 025 at 1,000 feet.

(Greg) lsaw Don's plane as we flew in,

and I knew the fuel was waiting for us on the beach.

All we had to do was, get down there

and get it back up to the airstrip

before the enemy got us.

The plan was for Don to wait there until we refueled

so we could give him an escort home.

Without protection in broad daylight,

that duck he was flying would be a target

for every Japanese fighter-pilot,

and the antiaircraft gunner between here and Vella La Cava.

Hey, there you are, Pappy.

Set it down and get going.

[engine sputtering]

[soldiers chattering in Japanese]

[engine sputtering]

[explosion]

[engine starting]

[engine starting]

[guns firing]

[gun firing]

(Greg) How're you doing, Don?

(Don) You sure this thing's supposed to fly, Pappy?

(Greg) By the time we got back,

the news of our mission had reached the rear area.

Within 12 hours the allied offensive was rolling again.

As for Col. Laird,

he was in line for a commendation,

since it was one of his squadrons

that knocked out the Cat's Whiskers.

And for some reason

he decided not to have me court-martialed after all.