Action in the North Atlantic (1943)

Humphrey Bogart: Lt. Joe Rossi

Photos 

Quotes 

• Lt. Joe Rossi : Now, that's the word of God. And it's good. But I don't think He'd mind if I put my oar in. These are eight men we knew and liked, guys like us. Guys we ate with and slept with and fought with. Well, we were just a little luckier than they were. We'll miss them. All of them.

• Capt. Steve Jarvis : [to a departing German U-boat after it has rammed his survivor lifeboat]  Go on, laugh, you apes! You've had your blood and fire to make you laugh, but I swear to God our time is comin'! We'll pay ya back! We'll hunt ya down and slice ya like a piece of cheese!

  Lt. Joe Rossi : Oh, they can't hear you.

  Capt. Steve Jarvis : No, but God can.

• Lt. Joe Rossi : [about Wright's gun crew]  They're takin' 'em kinda young these days, ain't they?

  Ens. Wright : We're *getting* them young, Mr. Rossi, we're not taking them. Those boys all volunteered for this duty.

  Lt. Joe Rossi : Don't get me wrong, Ensign, I'm not objecting to their youth. I'm all for it.

  Ens. Wright : They've all been trained for this job.

  Lt. Joe Rossi : Well, I hope so, because just between you and me, Mr. Wright, I don't think *my* men could hit the deck with their hats.

• Lt. Joe Rossi : These nights are killers, aren't they?

  Cadet Robert Parker : Yeah, I lie in my bunk with my clothes on and try to sleep, but every time that engine slows, my heart speeds up. In time, I think I can train myself to have an iron nerve, like you have.

  Lt. Joe Rossi : Yeah, let me tell you something about my "iron nerve," son. It's made of rubber just like everybody else's, so it'll stretch when you need it. People got a funny idea that being brave is not being scared. I don't know, I always figured, you weren't scared, there's nothing to be brave about. The trick is, how much scaring can you take? I got an idea you can take plenty.

• Bartender : Did you hurt your hand?

  Lt. Joe Rossi : Never do.

• Lt. Joe Rossi : No matter how many tanks and planes and guns you pile up, no matter how many men you got, it doesn't mean a thing unless the men get the stuff when they need it.

• Lt. Joe Rossi : Baby, there's one thing you gotta understand. Maybe we guys know more about what's going on than most people. We've been hanging around Axis ports for a long time and we've seen what they do. What we've seen ain't nice. So we... we can't sit around holding hands with all that going on.

• Lt. Joe Rossi : The Front? The Front's right off Sandy Hook; it ain't more than 10 miles from here.

  [a reference to the U-boats hunting in New York and New Jersey coastal waters]