Robert Arthur | Through the Shattered Lens

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Highway to Heaven, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, Mark is a disappointed again.

Episode 4.20 “Aloha”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on March 2nd, 1988)

Jonathan gets Mark all excited by saying that their next assignment is a Hawaiian mission. Mark says, “We’re going to Hawaii!” He’s looking forward to it and who can blame him? After a countless number of assignments that found him working in crummy jobs and depressing neighborhoods, Mark thinks that he’s going to be most beautiful place on Earth.

Nope, sorry, Mark. You’re going to a rundown apartment complex called the Hawaiian Sands. The complex is managed by Aulani (Mokihana), a singer who found fame in Hawaii but not in Los Angeles. Instead, in L.A., she was hit by a truck and left in a wheelchair. Now, she spends her days bitter, constantly yelling at her handyman and former partner, Alvin (Danny Ing). Alvin loves Aulani and Aulani loves Alvin but she’s too angry and scared of opening up emotionally to admit it. When Alvin learns that he doesn’t have much longer to live, he plans to return to Hawaii. Aulani refuses to admit that she cares. Luckily, her new tenant Jonathan is there to set her straight.

As I’ve often said, the main strength of this show was its nonstop earnestness. Even at its most sentimental, it still worked because the show was just so dang sincere. That’s ultimately the case here. Danny Ing gives a very touching performance as Alvin. Your heart breaks for him. Mokihana overacts in the role Aulani, to the extent that she actually becomes pretty annoying. But, despite that, the show itself was so sincere and well-intentioned that it was impossible not be touched by the end of this episode.

Add to that, Hawaii — there’s no place more beautiful to visit. I wonder what Halloween is like in Hawaii. Maybe I’ll find out next year!

At the height of World War II, Commander Casey Abbott (Ronald Reagan) breaks up with nurse Helen Blair (Nancy Davis, the future first lady) and takes command of a submarine that has been tasked with mapping out Japanese mine fields. Abbott struggles at first with commanding his submarine. After a popular diver — and Helen’s new boyfriend — is killed during a mission, much of the crew holds Abbott responsible. While Abbott is able to win back the respect of the crew, he still struggles with his second-in-command, Don Landon (Arthur Franz). Landon wants to command his own submarine but when Abbott gives him a negative recommendation, Landon is forced to consider his past actions. Landon eventually discovers just how difficult it is to be in charge.

Full of stock footage and chintzy special effects, Hellcats of the Navy was the movie that Ronald Reagan considered to be so bad that it led to him retiring from feature films and devoting himself to mastering the emerging medium of television. Gene Hackman had his Welcome To Mooseport. Ronald Reagan had his Hellcats of the Navy. It’s definitely on the cheap and predictable side but, when I watched it earlier today, I discovered it wasn’t as bad as I had heard. Reagan actually gives a pretty good performance as Abbott and the film does show that even a good commander will make mistakes. The main problem is that it’s just not a very exciting film and a good deal of the undersea footage was clumsily lifted from other movies.

Hellcats of the Navy was the one movie that co-starred both Ronnie and Nancy and it’s worth watching for curiosity’s sake. Nancy isn’t in much of the movie and it’s really a role that anyone could have played. There’s not a lot of romantic chemistry between Ronnie and Nancy, they’re both too reserved for that. This film still shows the likability and the natural authority that led to Ronald Reagan launching a second career in politics.

Just think, if Hellcats of the Navy had been a better movie, the past 45 years might have been very different.