Films set in San Francisco The Eternal Sea (aka The Admiral Hoskins Story) is a 1955 American biographical war film directed by John H. Auer and starring Sterling Hayden, Alexis Smith and Ben Cooper. The film follows the career of Captain John Hoskins, who loses his leg at the Battle of Leyte Gulf and resists attempts to retire him and continues his military service after learning to cope with his disability. He goes on to be promoted to admiral and commands an aircraft carrier during the Korean War. The Eternal Sea was one of a number of more ambitious productions by Republic Pictures, which had traditionally made low-budget second features. Its release was undermined by the studio's growing financial problems which led to its eventual closure in 1959. Plot In 1942, newly promoted Capt. John Madison Hoskins (Sterling Hayden) returns home after two years at sea to spend a seven-hour leave with his wife Sue (Alexis Smith) and their children, before taking command of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8). However, he receives news that the ship has been sunk at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. Hoskins is then reassigned as an instructor at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, much closer to home but "... thousands of miles from the only war he'll get to fight in." Two years later, after teaching some of the US Navy's top students, Hoskins is given command of the aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23) but its present commander, Capt. William Buracker (Hayden Rorke) is retained for the Second Philippine Campaign. During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the ship is severely crippled and Buracker orders her to be scuttled. Hoskins is severely wounded, and following the onset of gangrene his foot is amputated to save his life. He is transferred using Breeches buoy to a hospital ship. On the hospital ship, Hoskins meets "Zuggy" (Ben Cooper), another amputee who lost an arm and is being honorably discharged. He phones his wife to tell her he is okay, saying he has "cured" his athlete's foot. Back in the US after landing at San Francisco he flies home to Philadelphia. His disability makes Hoskins eligible for retirement with the automatic rank of rear admiral, but he pushes himself to be ready to take command of the new Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CV-37) being built in the nearby Navy shipyard. Initially Sue is very upset with