Hellcats of the Navy
As the sole movie co-starring Hollywood's only First Couple, Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis,Hellcats of the Navyis either a privileged artifact or a hootworthy campfest, depending on your politics.  Reagan plays a submarine ("hellcat") commander in the Pacific during World War II; Davis is the game little nurse back on shore who's decided he's (this is a quote) "Mr. Right."  They share maybe eight minutes among the film's 82.  Reagan's commander is a pretty glum guy, making unpopular life-or-death decisions into which his executive officer (Arthur Franz) reads nasty personal motives.  This is a B movie all the way: drab supporting cast, script and direction that can't even get the cliches right, and bland studio footage of the actors intercut with speckly stock action shots and blatant miniatures exploding.  Any contemporaneous episode of the syndicated TV seriesThe Silent Servicegot more sense of excitement and wartime pressure aboard a submarine.  Now if only the DVD had included that classicSaturday Night Livetakeoff with Ron Reagan Jr. time-traveling back to theHellcatsset to spark the romance between dad (Randy Quaid) and mom (Terry Sweeney)....--Richard T. Jameson