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We’ve Never Been Licked (1943) movie poster

Timeline

We’ve Never Been Licked (1943) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
1943 · 103 mins · English
Directed by
John Rawlins
Starring
Robert Mitchum, Noah Beery Jr., Moroni Olsen, Harry Davenport, Paul Langton, Cliff Robertson

Brad Craig enrolls in a strict military academy, arriving with a rebellious attitude that the senior cadets promptly break down. As he adapts to the school's discipline, he becomes infatuated with a professor’s attractive daughter, only to discover she prefers his roommate, complicating his newfound friendships.

Romance Drama Cast, crew & box office
On this page (5)
  1. 1 Events in order (13)
  2. 2 Timeline questions answered
  3. 3 Movie threads
  4. 4 Movies like We’ve Never Been Licked
  5. 5 Every angle

13 events in order · contains spoilers

We’ve Never Been Licked Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of We’ve Never Been Licked (1943) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Brad Craig arrives as a freshman at the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas

    Brad Craig begins his first year on campus, fresh from years in the Philippines. He meets his new cadet roommate Cyanide Jenkins and his stern upperclassman Panhandle Mitchell, setting up the social dynamics that will drive his college experience.

    When
    1938
    Where
    Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M University) campus

  2. Caisson brakes incident tests Brad's nerve

    During an artillery exercise, Brad notices the brakes on his section's caisson may be faulty. Panhandle ignores his concerns, and the brakes fail, sending the caisson out of control. Brad improvises a risky solution that saves Cyanide and earns him a hard-won measure of respect.

    When
    1938
    Where
    Artillery training grounds and campus

  3. Brad earns fish sergeant and endures hazing

    Brad's quick thinking during the caisson incident earns him promotion to fish sergeant. His upperclassmen retaliate by staging fights and forcing Brad to intervene, a pattern he eventually learns to outsmart. The hazing ordeal strengthens his resolve and military discipline.

    When
    1938
    Where
    Ao&M Texas campus, cadet barracks

  4. Brad's romance with Nina Lambert begins

    Brad becomes involved with Nina Lambert, daughter of chemistry professor Pop Lambert. Though Nina is secretly attracted to Cyanide, both she and Brad hesitate to acknowledge their feelings at first. The campus romance threads through the social circles of the cadets.

    When
    1938-1939
    Where
    Campus, chemistry department and social venues

  5. Field Artillery Ball and the blossoming romance

    At the Field Artillery Ball, Brad nudges Cyanide and Nina toward each other, encouraging them to dance. Their mutual attraction becomes undeniable, strengthening the love triangle around the cadet corps. The moment marks a turning point in Brad's personal life.

    When
    1939
    Where
    Field Artillery Ball, Texas A&M campus

  6. Classmates worry about Brad's stance on Japan

    As Brad's college years progress, some classmates worry about his support for Japan during rising tensions. Two Japanese-American cadets, Kubo and Matsui, defend him, but their views provoke anger and contempt among others. The campus climate grows increasingly tense as the war clouds gather.

    When
    1939-1940
    Where
    Campus and barracks

  7. Guarding the Chemistry Building and a sabotage clue

    While patrolling the Chemistry Building, Brad discusses a counter-poison-gas invention with Pop Lambert. Pop hides the formula to protect it, but Brad notices tampering as Kubo and Matsui raid the office. He realizes a larger plot is at work among outside agents.

    When
    1939-1940
    Where
    Chemistry Building, Pop Lambert's office

  8. Confrontation with the spies and the missing formula

    Brad tails the conspirators to a traveling salesman working for the Japanese. He offers to provide the formula in exchange for a bribe, but hands them a version missing a key element that would render it useless. The treachery deepens Brad's sense of danger and betrayal.

    When
    1939-1940
    Where
    Chemistry Building and the salesman’s meetings

  9. Brad is accused of treason and ostracized

    The commandant lacks sufficient evidence to charge him formally, but the student body shuns him and he is effectively ostracized. Facing isolation, he decides to leave the university rather than endure further hostility. His departure marks a shift from student life to a life shaped by foreign entanglements.

    When
    Months later
    Where
    Texas A&M campus

  10. Brad joins the Japanese Navy as a propagandist

    Months after leaving, Brad works for the Japanese Navy, recording English-language propaganda for distribution back home. He is tasked with radio commentary about an impending Japanese assault, a role that drags him into the conflict from the other side. The loyalty test is complete as the war intensifies.

    When
    Late 1930s to early 1940s
    Where
    Japanese Navy propaganda operations

  11. Brad's covert contact with Cyanide signals a shift

    As a Japanese mission unfolds, Brad calls in to the American air forces, revealing his undercover infiltration and offering his services to the U.S. forces. The move helps coordinate a counterstrike and undermines the Japanese plan. The radio contact rekindles a personal link with Cyanide, his former ally.

    When
    During WWII (1942-1943)
    Where
    Pacific theater airspace

  12. Brad sacrifices himself to disable the Japanese carrier

    During the battle, Brad crashes his own aircraft into the Japanese carrier's flight deck, crippling the vessel and giving American forces a critical edge. He dies in the attack, fulfilling his complicated arc from campus to war.

    When
    1942-1943
    Where
    Japanese carrier in the Solomon Islands theater

  13. Brad is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor

    Brad's heroism is recognized after his death. He is awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery, closing his arc from a cadet to a war hero. The award cements his legacy within the annals of the war effort.

    When
    1942-1943
    Where
    United States honors; Medal of Honor

Last updated: October 09, 2025 at 12:39

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Timeline questions answered

We’ve Never Been Licked Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of We’ve Never Been Licked (1943): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why does Brad give the Japanese spies a fake formula?

Brad discovers that Kubo and Matsui are stealing his friend Pop Lambert's chemical formula for protecting soldiers from poison gas. Rather than hand over the real formula to Japanese agents, Brad deliberately provides a version missing a key element that would render it useless. He does this to protect the invention while still appearing to cooperate with the spies.

  • poison gas formula
  • espionage
  • spy plot
  • pop lambert
Q2

Why is Brad accused of treason?

After Brad meets with the traveling salesman working for Japanese intelligence, he is accused of treason for allegedly trying to sell Pop Lambert's formula to the enemy. The commandant lacks enough evidence for formal charges, but the student body ostracizes him anyway, believing he betrayed his country for money.

  • treason accusation
  • formula
  • spy
  • ostracism
Q3

Why does Brad join the Japanese Navy after leaving A&M?

After being ostracized from A&M and leaving the university, Brad becomes a Japanese propagandist recording English-language radio broadcasts for the US. The movie implies this was a deliberate infiltration, Brad was working undercover within Japanese operations to eventually help the American war effort from within.

  • propaganda
  • undercover
  • japanese navy
  • infiltration
Q4

How does Brad contact the American forces during the battle?

While assigned to give radio commentary on the Japanese assault on the Solomon Islands, Brad uses his position to contact the US Navy fighter group led by his old friend Cyanide Jenkins. He reveals his covert infiltration and offers his services to the American forces, setting up his final act of sacrifice.

Foreshadowing: Brad's radio experience from his propaganda work enables this contact.

  • cyanide jenkins
  • solomon islands
  • radio contact
  • fighter group
Q5

Why does Nina end up with Cyanide instead of Brad?

Although Brad becomes romantically involved with Nina Lambert, she is secretly attracted to his roommate Cyanide Jenkins. During the Field Artillery Ball, Brad encourages them to dance together, and they finally admit their mutual feelings. Brad blesses their relationship, and they become a couple by the following year.

Foreshadowing: Early hints show Nina's interest in Cyanide during their campus interactions.

  • nina lambert
  • cyanite jenkins
  • love triangle
  • romance
Q6

Why does Panhandle Mitchell start respecting Brad?

After the caisson brakes fail during an artillery exercise, Brad risks his life to improvise a solution that saves Cyanide Jenkins' life. This act of courage earns Panhandle's respect, and Brad is promoted to fish sergeant. The dangerous incident proves Brad's worth despite his rebellious attitude.

  • panhandle mitchell
  • caisson
  • promotion
  • respect
  • fish sergeant
Q7

Why do Kubo and Matsui defend Brad at A&M?

When classmates worry about Brad's support for Japan, two Japanese-American cadets Kubo and Matsui come to his defense. However, their justification of Japanese war crimes angers other students and earns Brad their contempt. It later emerges that Kubo and Matsui are actually Japanese agents working for a spy ring.

  • kubo
  • matsui
  • japanese cadets
  • spy ring
Q8

Why does Brad crash his plane into the Japanese carrier?

After revealing his infiltration to American forces, Brad deliberately crashes his own aircraft into the Japanese carrier's flight deck. This self-sacrifice disables the carrier's ability to launch aircraft, giving the US Navy carrier group the advantage in the battle. Brad dies in the explosion.

Foreshadowing: Brad's radio contact sets up this coordinated American attack.

  • medal of honor
  • carrier
  • solomon islands
  • sacrifice
Q9

What happens to Brad after he leaves A&M?

After being ostracized and leaving Texas A&M, Brad works for the Japanese Navy as an English-language propagandist. He records radio broadcasts intended for distribution in the United States and is assigned to comment on the impending Japanese assault on the Solomon Islands, before ultimately turning against his assignments.

  • propaganda
  • post-college
  • japanese navy
  • solomon islands
Q10

What was Pop Lambert's formula supposed to protect against?

Pop Lambert invents a formula that would protect servicemen from poison gas. While Brad guards the Chemistry Building, he discusses the invention with Pop, who hides the formula to prevent tampering. The Japanese spies specifically target this formula for use against American forces.

  • poison gas
  • pop lambert
  • chemical weapon
  • formula

Movie threads

More Movies Like We’ve Never Been Licked, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes We’ve Never Been Licked tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Intense institutional coming of age stories like We’ve Never Been Licked

Stories of young recruits tested by discipline, friendship, and betrayal. If you liked the high-stakes drama of We’ve Never Been Licked, explore more movies about young protagonists undergoing a trial by fire within strict systems. These films share a tense atmosphere, heavy emotional weight, and themes of friendship, betrayal, and ultimate sacrifice.

  • tense
  • claustrophobic
  • defiant
  • patriotic
  • anxious
  • melancholic
  • Tone: tense, heavy, patriotic
  • Pacing: steady, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative typically follows a defiant outsider who enters a rigid institution. Their initial rebellion is systematically broken down, replaced by a hard-won sense of duty and brotherhood. This growth is tested by a central conflict—often involving a romance, a rival, or a hidden treachery—culminating in a moment of profound sacrifice that redefines their character.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here for their shared setting of oppressive institutions, their focus on a transformative character arc from rebellion to duty, and the potent mix of tense camaraderie, high emotional stakes, and often bittersweet conclusions.

Taps movie poster

Taps

1981
Band of Brothers movie poster

Band of Brothers

1000
71: Into the Fire movie poster

71: Into the Fire

2010
A Few Good Men movie poster

A Few Good Men

1992
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Brotherhood movie poster

Brotherhood

2011
Camp X-Ray movie poster

Camp X-Ray

2014
Commitment movie poster

Commitment

2013

Wartime espionage and sacrifice dramas like We’ve Never Been Licked

Personal loyalties clash with patriotic duty in high-stakes war settings. Fans of the suspenseful spy plot and heroic sacrifice in We’ve Never Been Licked will find similar tension in these wartime stories. Discover movies about hidden traitors, stolen secrets, and the heavy price of patriotism, all set during global conflicts.

  • suspenseful
  • patriotic
  • anxious
  • tense
  • melancholic
  • treacherous
  • Tone: suspenseful, tense, bittersweet
  • Pacing: steady, suspense-building
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These narratives often unfold within a confined wartime community, where an external threat fuels an internal witch-hunt for a traitor. The protagonist becomes entangled in the espionage, either as an accused or an investigator, leading to a climactic act of self-sacrifice that exposes the truth and saves others, resulting in a bittersweet victory.

Why they belong together: This thread connects films through their shared focus on wartime settings, plots driven by espionage and the search for a mole, a pervasive tone of suspicion and suspense, and conclusions defined by a heroic, costly sacrifice that blends national triumph with personal loss.

Secret Mission movie poster

Secret Mission

1942
Cloak and Dagger movie poster

Cloak and Dagger

1946
After Tonight movie poster

After Tonight

1933
First Comes Courage movie poster

First Comes Courage

1943
Code Name: Emerald movie poster

Code Name: Emerald

1985
We’ve Never Been Licked movie poster

We’ve Never Been Licked

1943
Hanover Street movie poster

Hanover Street

1979
The Hour Before the Dawn movie poster

The Hour Before the Dawn

1944

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Every angle

We’ve Never Been Licked (1943) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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