‘Battle Stations’: Where Valor Finds Its Sea Legs

A Navy chaplain provides guidance to a feisty crew and one tough ship in this World War II action film.

Buck Fitzpatrick (William Bendix, L) meets navy chaplain Joseph McIntyre (John Lund), in “Battle Stations.” Columbia Pictures

NR | 1h 21m | Drama, War | 1956

Attention spans today are measured in seconds, even milliseconds, by well-funded movie marketing teams. Early jolts of action are often the bait that filmmakers hope will keep viewers engaged through the rest of their film’s runtime. Film posters are packed with images of explosions and trailers tease a firefight.