A pacifist-minded sailor struggles to reconcile love, conscience, military duty, and the cost of courage during World War II.
Story Structure — 4 Plot Phases
Love Before Deployment
Susan faces jealousy and emotional conflict while the protagonist receives a naval call-up. Their love is acknowledged, but Susan refuses to break her engagement.
Key Events
Engagement Under Strain — Susan becomes jealous when her fiancé flirts with a client's daughter to secure business. Characters: Susan CahillLocation: Madison Avenue advertising agency
Long Island Dinner Invitation — Susan accepts an invitation to dinner from the agency artist. Characters: Susan CahillLocation: Long Island
Conflicted Lunch Date — Disturbed by his feelings, Susan nevertheless accepts a lunch date for the following day. Characters: Susan CahillLocation: Long Island
Military Call-Up — A telegram orders the agency artist to report for active naval duty.
Location: Advertising agency
Family Introduction — Susan meets the protagonist's mother and learns about his marriage hopes and military call-up. Characters: Susan CahillLocation: The protagonist's family home
Love Without Marriage — Susan admits she loves him but refuses to break her existing engagement. Characters: Susan CahillLocation: The protagonist's family home
Duty Across the Pacific
The protagonist joins the destroyer and encounters disputes over compassion, military discipline, and his pacifist background. Susan is brought to San Francisco for a brief reunion.
Key Events
Unattended Departure — The naval destroyer departs for San Francisco without anyone seeing the new sailor off.
Location: Brooklyn Navy Yard
Survivors Rescued — The ship rescues three survivors from a sunken German submarine.
Location: At sea
Humanity Challenged — Humanitarian treatment of the rescued survivors creates a conflict over military conduct.
Location: USS Poe
San Francisco Reunion — Lt. Blanchard contacts Susan, helping bring her to San Francisco during the protagonist's liberty. Characters: Susan Cahill, Lt. BlanchardLocation: San Francisco
Marriage Agreement — Susan and the protagonist agree to marry immediately after their reunion. Characters: Susan Cahill, Lt. BlanchardLocation: San Francisco
Loss at Pebble Beach — Susan's sister receives notification that her husband has been killed in action. Characters: Susan CahillLocation: Pebble Beach
Trial Under Fire
A hesitation during an aircraft encounter damages the protagonist's standing among the crew. He later helps dispose of an unexploded bomb and receives recognition at a funeral service.
Key Events
Marriage Deferred — Marriage is postponed until the protagonist safely returns from duty. Characters: Susan CahillLocation: Pebble Beach
Air Recognition Crisis — The gunners request permission to fire at an approaching aircraft, but the command is delayed.
Location: Aleutian Islands
Assignment Reversal — After admitting he froze, the protagonist is reassigned to damage control.
Location: USS Poe
Unexploded Bomb — During a Japanese air attack, an unexploded bomb crashes through the deck.
Location: USS Poe
Bomb Thrown Overboard — The protagonist and a chief petty officer throw the unexploded bomb overboard.
Location: USS Poe
Captain's Funeral Tribute — At a funeral service, the captain states that the crew may have died without the rescue effort.
Location: USS Poe
The Cost of Courage
Violence at Dutch Harbor forces the protagonist to confront his own anger. A rescue mission on a Japanese-held island leads to combat, sacrifice, and personal transformation.
Key Events
Dutch Harbor Brawl — A quarrel between naval sailors and merchant mariners becomes a violent brawl.
Location: Dutch Harbor
Natural Anger Admitted — The protagonist tells Lt. Blanchard he felt an urge to kill, and the doctor reassures him that the reaction was natural. Characters: Lt. BlanchardLocation: USS Poe
Rescue Mission Begins — The protagonist volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to rescue stranded airmen and their photographs.
Location: Japanese-held island
Beach Ambush — Japanese soldiers cut off the rescue party, prompting a request for ship-based fire support.
Location: Island beach
Friend Mortally Wounded — A friend kills an attacking soldier, is wounded, and dies before reaching the ship.
Location: Island beach
Return With Portrait — The protagonist returns to Susan carrying a completed portrait intended for his friend's daughter. Characters: Susan CahillLocation: Susan's home
Story Breakdown
Romantic Conflict — Susan faces divided loyalties between an existing engagement and growing love.
Jealousy Begins — Susan reacts to her fiancé's business flirtation with a client's daughter.
Love Deferred — Susan admits her love but refuses to break her engagement.
Unexpected Call-Up — A sudden naval telegram changes the protagonist's private future.
Navy Telegram — The protagonist receives orders to report for active duty.
Family Revelation — Susan learns about his marriage hopes and military obligation.
Shipboard Tensions — Military discipline clashes with compassion and pacifist principles.
Survivors Rescued — The crew takes aboard survivors from a sunken German submarine.
Humanity Challenged — Humane treatment of the survivors provokes military opposition.
Brief California Hope — A temporary reunion creates the possibility of marriage before duty intervenes.
San Francisco Reunion — Lt. Blanchard helps bring Susan to the protagonist during liberty.
Marriage Postponed — A wartime death leads the couple to defer marriage until his return.
Crisis Under Fire — Combat exposes the protagonist's uncertainty and tests his value to the crew.
Delayed Firing Order — He freezes when asked to authorize fire against an approaching aircraft.
Bomb Overboard — He helps remove an unexploded bomb during an air attack.
Confronting Violence — The protagonist recognizes that anger and courage can coexist with conscience.
Dutch Harbor Brawl — A confrontation between naval and merchant sailors becomes violent.
Doctor's Reassurance — Lt. Blanchard tells him that his angry reaction is natural.
Island Sacrifice — A rescue mission becomes the final test of leadership and compassion.
Beach Ambush — Japanese soldiers trap the rescue party along the beach.
Friend's Death — A wounded companion dies before the party reaches the ship.
Portrait Of Memory — The completed portrait carries grief from the battlefield back into civilian life.
Return To Susan — The protagonist returns to Susan after the island mission.
Portrait Delivered — He brings the finished portrait intended for his friend's daughter.
The conflict between duty and conscience is explored in the WWII drama The Deep Six. Alan Ladd stars as Naval gunnery officer Alec Austin, a Quaker whose sincere pacifist sentiments do not sit well with his crew members. When he refuses to fire upon an unidentified plane, the word spreads that Austin cannot be relied upon in battle (never mind that the plane turns out to be one of ours). To prove that he's worthy of command, Austin volunteers for a dangerous mission: the rescue of a group of US pilots on a Japanese-held island. The ubiquitous William Bendix costars as Frenchy Shapiro (!), Austin's Jewish petty officer and severest critic. If the film has a villain, it is Keenan Wynn as ambitious Lt. Commander Edge, who seems to despise anyone who isn't a mainline WASP.
