Run Silent, Run Deep (1958)

Brilliant and touching

Absolutely the worst movie.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Film Review: "Run Silent Run Deep" (1958)Director Robert Wise (1914-2005), before producing his high-end Hollywood productions of 1960s, comes this minor Submarine action drama, starring acting stars Burt Lancaster (1913-1994) and Clark Gable (1901-1960) neatly put together as on-screen characters of a 1st officer and his captain on a U.S. American submarine in the Pacific of WW2. The picture tinted in black & white can not create a blast as to say the character-driven suspenseful moments as the preliminary released competitor project "The Enemy Below" (1957) by 20th Century Fox, where actor Robert Mitchum and Curd Jürgens owned the suspense level 90 Minute through the picture even sharing only one scene together. Here the acting collaborators do not get along, much to the disadvantage of a struggling, seemingly forced directions by Robert Wise. An improved version of a closed-to-the-same set up picture of two Hollywood stars fighting for survival and personal convictions on a submarine is available with the movie called "Crimson Tide" starring Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington directed by Tony Scott (1944-2012) from the year 1995. © 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)

Director Robert Wise opted to create his sets using the actual dimensions of a real submarine, an idea that helped one visualize the close, claustrophobic quarters naval men were subjected to while living and working under water. Keeping that in mind, it seemed to me that some scenes might have diverted from that formula, but in general one gets an idea how cramped the quarters would have been on the USS Nerka.Virtually every submarine film one is liable to watch has elements that make the picture intense and exciting. The 1981 film "Das Boot" is probably the best of the genre, and you get a pretty good adrenaline rush with 1990's "The Hunt for Red October". This one has it's moments when Lieutenant Jim Bledsoe (Burt Lancaster) goes up against Commander 'Rich' Richardson (Clark Gable); the senior officer received the assignment after spending a year at a desk job when an earlier sub he commanded was destroyed by a Japanese naval ship. So right off the bat there's a degree of tension between the two men, especially after the Nerka's crew fully expected Bledsoe to get the job.The thing that kept nagging me about the story was Richardson's willingness to directly defy the orders of naval superiors to avoid sailing into the Bungo Straits off the coast of Japan. I didn't think that plot element was effectively dealt with, although I don't know how one would recall a renegade submarine captain once he was out in the middle of the ocean. The ending of the story probably dealt with that issue well enough by having Richardson buried at sea.The most disturbing factor the story dealt with, and I wouldn't know if it ever happened for real, was when Commander Richardson ordered three dead sailors to be evacuated along with ship debris by means of the torpedo tubes. As inhumane as that sounds, it was an effective stratagem to convince the Japanese commander that the sub was destroyed. The business about repeated drills to attack the bow of an enemy ship at the beginning of the mission seemed credible enough until you get a look at how difficult that would actually have been. Not much margin for error there, which makes me question if even the most experienced submarine captain could pull it off.

I happen to love this film genre. When done well, it reaches a high level of tension and suspense. My dad, a WW2 USN vet, introduced me to this film on TV when I was a kid. He was an aviator who actually flew in PBY's that hunted enemy subs but all men in the Navy had great respect and admiration for the Silent Service. Submariners were an elite bunch. It was dangerous and the subs of the WW2 era were tiny, at least in comparison to modern nuclear subs. They hunted as lone wolves and if sunk, the chances of survival was slim.RSRD stars 2 of the great leading men of the era, Gable as Captain PJ Richardson and Lancaster as his XO, Jim Bledsoe. At 57 Gable was way too old to be believable as a sub skipper as was Lancaster, who was in his mid-40's, although he was in excellent shape and looked 10 years younger. Gable looked every day of 57 and more, this was one of his last films. Hollywood loves to sanitize war by having older men doing jobs that were generally covered by teenagers and guys in their 20's. But if you can buy into the plausibility of a guy of Gable's age being a sub commander, he does an excellent job as a man obsessed with hunting down the ship that sank his previous command. As the Nerka's XO Lancaster has to do a delicate balancing act. He and most of the crew are questioning their Skippers motives and believe he is willing to sacrifice them in order to settle his personal vendetta. But as a loyal Navy officer the notion of taking over command is verboten, until the commander is incapacitated and then he realizes, as commander that he must also take on the dangerous task of sinking the enemy. RSRD has all the elements we love in sub movies. The depth charge attack, the silent running scenes, listening to Tokyo Rose on the radio, the elation of sinking the enemy ships and the dramatic burial at sea. Robert Wise does a great job of capturing both the camaraderie and the excruciating tension of men living in close quarters never knowing if this may be their last day. Wise doesn't spend much time on back story, this is a tight 93 minutes without any wasted scenes. Familiar faces such as Jack Warden and Brad Dexter have good parts and a young Don Rickles provides a bit of comic relief, he incorporates a bit of the schtick that became the basis of his stand up persona. "Clear the decks, lookouts below. DIVE, DIVE!!" Terrific movie and great film genre!

Recently I saw the submarine movie, 'Phantom' and I liked it. This inspired me to look for more submarine movies and I stumbled on to this. This is a brilliant movie. The story line is simple enough. Clark Gable plays captain Rchardson, a submarine commander demoted to a desk job following the sinking of his vessel by the Japanese. He gets another chance to captain a sub. In defiance of orders, he goes after the Japanese destroyer that had sunk his original sub. He has to fight not only the Japanese but also his own lieutenant and a reluctant crew. He eventually triumphs. However, it is a costly victory. Captain dies of the wounds sustained during an action and is buried at sea before the vessel can reach the port. This film reminded me of Captain Ahab and his pursuit of Mobydick. That this old black and white film made more than half a century ago could keep me entranced is proof that this is a great film. After all only classics transcend limits of time and geography. I rate this film as a classic movie.