Across the Pacific (1942)

55% of users liked it
(1,236 ratings)

A lively espionage drama that reunited the stars and director of the previous year's The Maltese Falcon, Across the Pacific was originally envisioned as the story of a Japanese invasion of Hawaii. Real-life events of December of 1941, however, precluded such a scenario and the location was changed… More A lively espionage drama that reunited the stars and director of the previous year's The Maltese Falcon, Across the Pacific was originally envisioned as the story of a Japanese invasion of Hawaii. Real-life events of December of 1941, however, precluded such a scenario and the location was changed to the Panama Canal. For reasons known only to Warner Bros., the title was retained despite the fact that none of the action takes place in the Pacific. Humphrey Bogart plays Rick Leland, a disgraced ex-army man, who, after being turned down by the Canadian military, jumps a Japanese steamer bound for the Panama Canal Zone. Also onboard are Alberta Marlow (Mary Astor), a small-town girl claiming to be en route to Los Angeles; Dr. Lorenz (Sydney Greenstreet), a corpulent sociologist with a suspiciously friendly regard for all things Japanese; and Joe Totsuiko (Victor Sen Yung), a happy-go-lucky second generation Japanese-American on his way to visit the old country. But no one is exactly who he or she claims to be and the voyage from Halifax via New York City to Panama becomes a matter of life and death for the passengers in general, and for the future of the United States in particular. Director John Huston was forced to leave the film three weeks into the four-week shooting schedule when summoned to report to the Department of Special Services. According to Huston, he purposefully placed Humphrey Bogart's character in a highly precarious situation and left it up to his replacement, Vincent Sherman, to come up with the solution -- which Sherman did in an especially fiery climax. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By: John Huston, Vincent Sherman
Written By: Richard Macaulay, Robert Carson, Richard Macauley
Genres: Action & Adventure, Romance, Classics, Drama, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1942 Wide
On DVD: Oct 24, 2006
Studio: Warner Home Video

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
John Huston directeds this enjoyable WWII feature, which reunites the Maltese Falcon stars, Bogart, Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Fine John Huston wartime flick, bolstered by Bogart.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Graham J

Though a failure for Huston and Bogart compared to it's predecessor (The Maltese Falcon), this political thriller still entertains. Features great performances from Bogart and Greenstreet.
Randy T

A product of it's time, Across the Pacific was made more for the war effort than for it's cinematic merits. If the cast seems vaguely familiar it's because many of them, including director John Huston, worked together on The Maltese… More
A product of it's time, Across the Pacific was made more for the war effort than for it's cinematic merits. If the cast seems vaguely familiar it's because many of them, including director John Huston, worked together on The Maltese Falcon just the year before. This one is minor league compared to it's predecessor, but it's still replete with Mary Astor's charm and Humphrey Bogart's machismo and that alone makes it worth watching.
danny d

bogey and greenstreet work well together once again in this excellent tale of intrigue. the twists are great and the story is told well in what is an underrated classic helmed by the great john huston.
jay n

Reteaming of the three major players of the Maltese Falcon yields iffy results, the acting is good of course but the story is somewhat lackluster and uninvolving. An average effort especially from someone like Huston.
xGary X

One of John Huston's lesser works, but there's plenty of intrigue, tough guy heroics and the familiar faces of Mary Astor and Sydney Greenstreet make for great entertainment. Bogart and Astor's banter on board ship is particularly good fun.

Cast

            Humphrey Bogart as Richard Lomas Leland

            Sydney Greenstreet as Dr. Lorenz

            Mary Astor as Alberta Marlow

            Charles Halton as A.V. Smith

            Victor Sen Yung as Joe Totsuiko

            Keye Luke as Desk Clerk

            Richard Loo as 1st Officer Miyuma

            Roland Got as Sugi

            Monte Blue as Dan Morton

            Lee Tung Foo as Sam Wing On

            Frank Wilcox as Capt. Morrison

            Paul Stanton as Col. Hart

            Lester Matthews as Canadian Major

            John Hamilton as Court-martial President

            Tom Stevenson as Tall Thin Man

            Roland Drew as Capt. Harkness

            Chester Gan as Capt. Higoto

            Kam Tong as T. Oki

            Spencer Chan as Chief Engineer Mitsudo

            Rudy Robles as Filipino Assassin

            Philip Ahn as Informer Inside Theater

            Dick Botiller as Waiter

            Anthony Caruso as Cab Driver

            Gordon De Main as Dock Official

            Eddie Dew as Man

            Charles Drake
            
            Frank Faylen as Barker

            Ruth Ford as Secretary

            Dick French
            
            Paul Fung as Japanese Radio Operator

            William Hopper as Orderly

            Eddie Lee as Chinese Clerk

            James B. Leong as Nura

            Frank Mayo as Trial Judge Advocate

            Will Morgan as Officer

            Jack Mower as Major

            W. Beal Wong as Usher

            Garland Smith
            
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