[2] Like other Hollywood war films made in the initial years of U.S. involvement in WWII, Action in the North Atlantic was regarded as a means of stirring patriotism and mobilizing the home front.

The film tells the story of the unsung heroes in the Merchant Marine who brave attacks by German bomber planes and U-boats to deliver vital supplies to the Allies.

"[7] An American oil tanker, the SS Northern Star, commanded by Captain Steve Jarvis, is sunk in the North Atlantic by a German U-boat.

At the maritime union hall, the Northern Star survivors await new assignments, which turn out to be on a brand new Liberty ship, the SS Seawitch, commanded by Jarvis, with Rossi once again his First Officer.

[8] The Seawitch, armed with anti-aircraft guns and dual-purpose cannon manned by trained Navy gunnery personnel, embarks with a convoy carrying supplies to the Soviet port of Murmansk.

But as the war went on and more dramatic action footage became available, the project was changed to a feature film with Edward G. Robinson and George Raft cast in the starring roles.

[13] To add authenticity, the 23-year-old Richard Sullivan, one of two cadet survivors of a recent U-boat attack on a Merchant Marine vessel, was hired as a technical adviser on the film.

[16][17]Since war restrictions did not permit filming at sea, Action in the North Atlantic was shot entirely on Warner Bros. studio sound stages and back lots.

Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, and at cadet basic schools in Pass Christian, Mississippi and San Mateo, California.

[23] Warner Bros. paid compensation to journalist Helen Lawrenson after she alleged that some of the film's dialogue was plagiarized from two of her magazine articles about the Merchant Marine.

[24] Following the film's release, The Pittsburgh Courier reported that Bogart had lobbied unsuccessfully for a black Merchant Marine captain to appear in Action in the North Atlantic.

He was quoted as saying, "In the world of the theatre or any other phase of American life, the color of a man's skin should have nothing to do with his rights in a land built upon the self-evident fact that all men are created equal.

The warm portrayal in the film of America's Soviet allies became an awkward reminder during the Cold War, as TCM Programming Director Scott McGee notes:in the postwar era of chilly American-Russian relations, parts of the film would prove to be an embarrassment to Warner Brothers, namely the climactic "tovarich" (comrade) scene, in which the heroic Bogart and his men are greeted by Russians cheering wildly.

[1] In a one-hour Lux Radio Theatre broadcast on May 15, 1944, Raymond Massey and Julie Bishop reprised their roles while George Raft co-starred, replacing Bogart.