We've Never Been Licked
| We've Never Been Licked | |
|---|---|
Theatrical Poster
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| Directed by | John Rawlins |
| Produced by | Walter Wanger |
| Screenplay by | Nick Grinde |
| Story by | Norman Reilly Raine |
| Starring |
Richard Quine Anne Gwynne Martha O'Driscoll Noah Beery, Jr. William Frawley |
| Music by | Frank Skinner |
| Cinematography | Milton R. Krasner |
| Edited by | Philip Cahn |
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Production
company |
Walter Wanger Productions
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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103 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $918,175 |
| Box office | $1,109,186 |
We've Never Been Licked is a 1943 World War II propaganda film produced by Walter Wanger and released by Universal Pictures. Parts of the movie were shot on location at the Texas A&M University campus. Released in the UK under the title, Texas to Tokyo; re-released in the US as Fighting Command. The cast features Richard Quine, Anne Gwynne, Martha O'Driscoll, Noah Beery, Jr. and William Frawley.
In 1938, Brad Craig, the son of a famous Army colonel, arrives to start his freshman year at Texas A&M University. Brad has spent the past four years in the Philippines and has acquired both an intimate knowledge of Japanese culture and a desire to invest in the modernization of Asia. At the train station, Brad is met by cadet “Cyanide” Jenkins, his new roommate; he is also introduced to sophomore cadet “Panhandle” Mitchell, who wastes little time in penalizing Brad for various violations of cadet conduct. As Brad adjusts to life on campus, he becomes romantically involved with Nina Lambert, the daughter of beloved chemistry professor “Pop” Lambert.
Following an artillery exercise, Brad observes that the brakes on his section’s caisson appear to be damaged. Panhandle disregards Brad’s concerns and orders the section to move out; when the brakes fail and the caisson goes careening out of control, Brad risks his life to improvise a solution and prevent a disaster. His actions, which save Cyanide’s life, earn him Panhandle’s respect. Brad is soon promoted to “fish sergeant” and his upperclassmen delight in exhausting him by constantly staging fights and ordering Brad to intervene; he finally discovers the game and gets revenge.
As Brad’s college career progresses, he discusses the prospect of marriage with Nina. She, however, is secretly smitted with Cyanide (and he with her), though each is hesitant to disclose their feelings for one another. During the Field Artillery Ball, Brad encourages Cyanide and Nina to dance together, and they finally admit their mutual attraction; by the following year, they have become a couple with Brad’s blessing. Brad, meanwhile, lands himself in a difficult position when his classmates pressure him on his affinity for Japan, whose colonization efforts he supports as a means to modernize Asia. Though two Japanese- American cadets, Kubo and Matsui, come to his aid, their justification of Japanese war crimes angers the others and earns Brad the contempt of his friends.
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Wikipedia