Up Periscope (1959)

Must See Movie...

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The best part of watching this movie was later reading the reviews as the actual experience of watching it was pretty boring. As did others, I watched the movie because of the cast – O'Brien's "DOA" is on my list of favorite 100 movies, and I grew up watching Maverick, a show that is still fun to watch. The movie was disappointing; the early film romance (and the later revealed reason for it) was ridiculous and added nothing to the movie, Garner's mission to get the Japanese's radio code was not believable and the tension between Garner and the "by-the- book" captain O'Brien played was uninteresting. The humor provided by Alan Hale Jr. was welcome but not memorable. The set, however, was good as it did indeed give a sense of the claustrophobic atmosphere of a submarine. This movie was an okay way to spend an hour and a half plus on, but not good enough to actually seek out.

**SPOILERS*** It's 1942 and things are not looking that good for the US Navy with the Japanese now in control of the entire South Pacific west of Midway Island. It's under these dangerous conditions that US Navy frogman, or Navy Seal as they would later be called, Lt. Kenneth Barden, James Garner, is hand picked to sneak onto a Japanese held island and photograph, with his mini-spy camera, the Japanese secret code that in the end would save thousands of American lives in the upcoming invasion of the Solomon and Gilbert Islands in the South Pacific!Before he takes off on his mission Barden was having a affair with local California girl Sally Johnson, Andera Martin, who fell madly in love with the handsome hunk of a sailor. What Barden didn't know is that Sally was working for US Naval intelligence and ironically picked him, by his qualifications both under the sheets and underwater, to go on what is considered to be a suicide mission that he may never come back from!A bit slow at first with Braden on the USS Baracuda being shipped out in Japanese infested waters to get on shore and photograph and come back with the secret Japanese naval code with the Japs , in him doing everything possible to avoid contact with them, completely in the dark about it! We have as a sidelight in the film with the by the books and take no BS submarine commander Camdr. Paul Stevensen, Brian O'Brien, who's fanatical going by the book almost has him thrown in the brig by not following US Navel regulations that in fact turned the tide of the war in the Pacific in the US' favor!***SPOILERS*** Nothing really exciting happened in the movie with the exception of a Jap Zero attack on the Baracuda, and a few Jap boats being sunk, until Barden finally goes ashore on the Japanese held island in his what was to be a mission impossible mission that no one believed, including himself, he would survive anyway. It's here where Camdr. Stevensen finally used some common sense and gave Barden some slack in getting back safely to the awaiting sub, that was quickly exhausting it's oxygen supply,that made the mission a success! Even though the stupid and robotic jerk, Camdr. Stevensen, was more then ready to get himself court-martial-ed for doing it! P.S There's also in the film it's beautiful sweet and haunting theme song "Please be Kind" everythime we have both Braden and Sally together. You don't know until later in the film the reason Sally burst into tears when she was with Barden in that it was her recommendation, that Barden was totally unaware of, that may possibility send him to certain death! Luckily for her as well as Barden things didn't turn out all that bad for both of them.

In 1942, in California, the diver Lieutenant Kenneth M. Braden (James Garner) from the navy demolition team falls in love with Sally Johnson (Andra Martin) and proposes her. The reluctant woman asks for more time to decide, but Braden is summoned to travel to a base in the Pacific. Sooner he discovers that Sally is actually a military from navy assigned to check his qualifications for a classified mission. He must travel on board of the submarine Barracuda commanded by Commander Paul Stevenson (Edmond O'Brien) to a Japanese island and photograph their secret radio codes in a very dangerous mission."Up Periscope" is a good war thriller with an unbelievable plot that entertains. I would never dare to compare this film with the stunning masterpiece "Das Boot", but there are good action scenes. I decided to see this movie with very few expectations but in the end I had a pleasant surprise. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): Not Available

I was expecting a fairly mediocre and routine "sub flick" and was pleasantly surprised to find an above average and pretty engrossing movie. The story has some grit and conflict, especially in the hostility of the crew for its "by the book" captain, played with convincing war-weariness by the always-reliable Edmond O'Brien, whose efforts are matched by a very young James Garner. Production values are high, and it's worth catching it in letterbox format. Some of the mistakes in commando procedures have been noted, to which I would add the lack of facial camouflage, as Garner's strikingly white face floats conspicuously above the water in his nighttime swim, an easy target for lookouts. None the less, a pretty good war flick.