'The Finest Hours' shows extraordinary ocean rescue by US Coast Guards in 1952

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- "The Finest Hours" tells the story of four members of the U.S. Coast Guard who set out to rescue 32 sailors trapped on a damaged oil tanker off the coast of Cape Cod.

The movie is based on a true story of what happened during a horrible New England storm in February 1952.

Ben Foster, one of the stars of the film, said the four men did something seemingly impossible.

"These are real super heroes. So getting the opportunity to represent the men and women of the Coast Guard is a privilege," he said.

Chris Pine said he feels like he's playing a big star, a man named Bernie Webber who knew he and three volunteers might die on the mission. But Webber also knew it was his job as a member of the Coast Guard to try and save the men in peril.

"Whether it happened in 1952, or whether it's happening today in your local communities with your police officers, firefighters, EMTS, whether it's happening abroad with the Marines or Naval officers or Air Force pilots - this is happening all the time. People choose to do this and they don't ask for pats on the back," he said.

In the movie, Casey Affleck plays an engineer on the S.S. Pendleton, an oil tanker that gets ripped in half and struggles to stay afloat while the Coast Guard fights to make it to the engineer and the rest of the crew on time.

"The demands were the things that were the most appealing. That it seemed like it would be a fun challenge," he said.

"The Finest Hours" is in theaters nationwide on Friday and is rated PG-13.