Anticipation is high among both movie buff and boat lovers with “The Finest Hours,” a heroic action-thriller that tells the remarkable true story of the greatest small boat rescue in Coast Guard history.
On February 18, 1952, a massive nor’easter struck New England, pummeling towns along the Eastern seaboard and wreaking havoc on the ships caught in its path, including the SS Pendleton, a T-2 oil tanker bound for Boston, which was ripped in half, trapping more than 30 sailors inside its rapidly-sinking stern.
The big budget Disney movie that tells the story of the daring operation to rescue the stranded men with Coast Guard Captain Bernie Webber leading a four-man small boat crew.
The crew set out in a wooden lifeboat with an ill-equipped engine and little, if any, means of navigation, facing frigid temperatures, 60-foot high waves and hurricane-force winds.
“The Finest Hours” premieres in theaters across the country on Jan. 29.
The online publication The Collider has written a lengthy story detailing the real people behind the Hollywood actors portraying them.
