It’s been a long long time since I saw that movie. The only thing I remember about it is they had an old double acting steam pump in the engine room … obviously a prop for mechanical effect. The boat had Cleveland engines, 16-278s and what I recall most about them is they were a hoot to start when cold because you could count the cylinders firing and follow the action around the engine until it warmed up a bit. That and changing heads! The other 90 percent of my time was FMs which I really liked a lot.
Both FM and Clevelands smoked like mad when starting. We used to play with the overboard exhaust valves (hydraulic actuated) when starting alongside the dock. We would keep it closed until the engine started to spool up then open it to shoot a huge smoke ring across to the next pier.
Never saw a direct reversing FM until sailing with Alaska Marine Highway on the Tustumena before they changed it over to EMDs.