Factual error: At the beginning of the movie, Forney, who is an enlisted man (a chief petty officer), replies to an officer's orders with, "very well, sir." Officers say "very well" to enlisted personnel, but for an enlisted man to say "very well" to an officer is a serious breach of naval etiquette.
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)
1 factual error
Directed by: Mark Robson
Starring: William Holden, Mickey Rooney, Fredric March, Grace Kelly
Character mistake: RAdm Tarrant (Frederic March) is on the command deck watching the helicopter land. He's wearing a ball cap with his rank insignia, 2 stars. But they're inside down (points down).
Lt. Harry Brubaker: I'm a lawyer from Denver, Colorado.
Mike Forney: Judas, how'd you wind up in a smelly ditch in Korea?
Lt. Harry Brubaker: I was just asking myself that same question.
Trivia: Although the carrier used in the movie was the U.S.S. Oriskany, for the film it was given the fictitious name of U.S.S. Savo. I do not know why that name was chosen or by whom, but it was a very ironic choice. Although many U.S. carriers have been named after famous battles that were American victories (including Oriskany), the Battle of Savo, early in WWII, was one of the worst defeats in the history of the U.S. Navy.