PT 109 (1963)

Directed by

Leslie H. Martinson

Genre

drama film, war film, biographical film

Country

United States

Runtime

2h 20m

Rating

6.1 of 10 from 33 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

The film follows a young John F. Kennedy as a Navy officer commanding a PT boat in the Pacific during World War II. It shows his crew's survival ordeal after their boat is destroyed by a Japanese destroyer and their eventual rescue.

patriotictensedeterminedinspiringdatedaction-drivenfactual

What happens

PT 109 is a 1963 American Technicolor Panavision biographical war film depicting the actions of John F. Kennedy as an officer of the United States Navy in command of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 in the Pacific theater of World War II. The film was adapted by Vincent Flaherty and Howard Sheehan from the book PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II by Robert J. Donovan, and the screenplay was written by Richard L. Breen. Cliff Robertson stars as Kennedy, with featured performances by Ty Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp and Grant Williams. PT 109 was the first commercial theatrical film about a sitting U.S. president released while he was still in office (although FDR was often depicted in small roles during his administration, most notably in Yankee Doodle Dandy). It was released domestically on June 19, 1963, five months before Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye (1977)
• Cry of Battle (1963)
• Navy (1963)
• Four Days in November (1964)
• The Hook (1963)
• The Great Escape (1963)
• Operation Bikini (1963)
• The Search for Kennedy's PT 109 (2002)