The Enemy Below (1957)

Touches You

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

This is a feel good movie where high morals are exhibited by the crew on both sides. For its time it is an excellent movie. However, certain events are unbelievable. In particular the time the American destroyer has lost the German sub for 50 minutes...then reads the mind (of the German captain) as to where the sub will be and is right on top of it without having to ping or anything and instantly drops depth charges.Before the German movie 'Das Boot' was released, the realism wouldn't have stood out so. 'Das Boot' did to sub movies what Star Wars did to sci-fi. After Star Wars, any sci-fi movie had to have higher visual standards, while after 'Das Boot', all sub movies needed higher realism. Of course 'Enemy Below' was released in the 50's and was as good as any sub movie in its day.The end of the movie, where the German sub surfaces.........that defies all logic of a German U-boat commander. That might only happen vs a freighter, not a destroyer. So how does one rate a decent sub movie released over 60 years ago? By the standards of its day or the standards after 'Das Boot'? I gave it an 8. The story is so good, but the unrealistic command decisions at times threw me even years ago. If your a stickler for realism you may want to avoid this title. Its good as a sort of history lesson of sub films. Also great performances by the main actors and a lot of good lines in it.

Dick Powell's "The Enemy Below" is one of the most intensely suspenseful military movies of all time as well as one of the best World War II movies ever made. The movie is based on a novel by D.A. Rayner who served in the British Royal Navy in the Battle of the Atlantic which is where the movie and the novel was set but the movie itself was shot in the Pacific Ocean on actual Navy ships, and instead of using British characters American characters are used for this movie. Robert Mitchum stars as Captain Murrell who is in charge of a Navy destroyer that is monitoring the Atlantic Ocean for enemy activity with a sonar radar and then Murrell and his crew soon find out that there is a German submarine underwater before the Germans find out that there is an American destroyer above them, and then an intense battle starts between two very experienced military minds of Murrell and the German captain (Curd Jurgens) which could produce deadly results, which makes the movie all the more suspenseful thanks to Wendell Mayes' expertly written script. The movie does present an anti-war sentiment on both sides which is a common feeling these days thinking that governments send soldiers to the battlefield for nothing but to die and get money out of it which is an understandable view but people like me who are neutral when it comes the situation of war only support the cause of war depending on the circumstances and our very own national security. But now enough about politics and back to the movie, I found the performances to be very effective throughout the movie especially from both Mitchum and Jurgens. As well as Powell's magnificent direction, but like most movies they don't come without their flaws because like humans being imperfect movies aren't always perfect either. The problem I had with this movie were minor because with the battle scenes I didn't find the music very fitting with the events that were unfolding throughout the movie which made the movie a little less suspenseful than it should have been. Otherwise it was a really enjoyable and very entertaining movie to watch.

During World War II, an American destroyer meets a German U-Boat. Both captains are good ones, and the engagement lasts for a considerable time.Interesting note: The 1966 Star Trek episode "Balance of Terror" is closely based on this film, with the USS Enterprise cast as the destroyer and the Romulan vessel, using a cloaking device, as the U-boat. It is reported that Gene Roddenberry later paid a fee to the estate of Gary Cooper, who owned the rights to the film.I enjoyed this film for what it is, but it tends to be the standard war film, which is not my favorite genre. That is my fault, not the fault of the film. I love them picking up singing and dancing on their monitors, and I appreciate Robert Mitchum for pretty much anything he does.

Somewhere in the South Atlantic during World War 2, an American Destroyer captained by experienced captain Murrell (Robert Mitchum) spots something close by on its radar screen and sets about trying to discover what is lurking in the vicinity. The crew on board the destroyer soon discover that they have in fact spotted a German U-Boat and set about trying to destroy it. However, the German U-Boat captain (played by Curt Jurgens) is an experienced captain and isn't prepared to give up without a fight. The two captains set about trying to destroy their opponents vessels by attempting to outwit each other, but who will end up prevailing?Whilst the likes of Mitchum, Jurgens and Hedison were all great here and worked well together I think what makes this film so great is Wendell Mayes wonderful screenplay. This is a classic example of a superb cat and mouse thriller/hunt or be hunted/battle of wits type affair. The film flits between the two vessels and shows the two men planning their attacks against the other and it's presented in a way that is both insightful and totally unpredictable. From about the 30 minute point, Mayes starts to crank the tension up and never really lets up. This is the same person that was one of those that were responsible for the wonderful screenplay for the original Poseidon Adventure (and this earlier effort is every bit as good as The Poseidon Adventure). Mayes is good at characterisation and here we don't hate the characters or pity them or necessarily like them, but we respect them and respect is clearly an important concept in this film.I was also impressed that Mayes seemed to keep bias out of the film and told the story pretty straight; it never felt like a flag-waver and felt more like an anti-war film but without all of the heavy politics or bias.The cinematography is fantastic and the direction is also superb. Mayes screenplay also gives the film a sense of urgency meaning that the film never lags or feels boring.The ending of the film may cause a problem to some people and I wasn't sure what to make of it myself; it didn't go in the direction I expected it to, but again due to the respect that the two captains showed for each other maybe this was the best direction for the film to take. Despite this though, I still enjoyed The Enemy Below and would definitely recommend this film. If you like cat and mouse type films then I guarantee you'll enjoy this.