“Down . . . Down . . . Down . . . into enemy waters with the fightin' hellcats of the U.S. sub pack !”
Future "first couple" Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis made their only joint film appearance in Hellcats of the Navy. Ronnie plays Casey Abbott, commander of a WW2 submarine, while Nancy portrays navy nurse Helen Blair, Abbott's off-and-on girlfriend. During a delicate mission in which his sub is ordered to retrieve a revolutionary new Japanese mine, Abbott is forced to leave frogman Wes Barton (Harry Lauter) behind to save the rest of his crew. But Abbott's second-in-command Don Landon (Eduard Franz) is convinced that Abbott's sacrifice of Barton was due to the fact that the dead man had been amorously pursuing Helen.
Directed by Nathan Juran
Ronald Reagan
Cmdr. Casey Abbott (Captain, USS Starfish)
Nancy Reagan
Nurse Lt. Helen Blair
Arthur Franz
Lt. Cmdr. Don Landon (XO, USS Starfish)
Robert Arthur
Freddy Warren
William Leslie
Lt. Paul Prentice
William Phillips
Carroll (as William Phillips)
Harry Lauter
Lt. (j.g.) Wes Barton
Michael Garth
Bill aka Lt. Charlie
