PT 109 (1963)

Before he becomes commander-in-chief, John F. Kennedy (Cliff Robertson) is a lieutenant, junior grade, in command of a PT-109 boat during World War II. In Leslie H. Martinson's dramatization of the future president's war efforts, Kennedy uses his family name to put himself in the action instead of shirking his duties. Assigned to battle in the Solomon Islands, he leads his crew on treacherous rescue missions. When their ship is cut down, Kennedy and his men must swim to an island for survival.