The battle of wits between a destroyer and Submarine has been depicted in several films, and this one seemed to have all the ingredients to make a tension filled story. But for me it fails at many levels.
The transition of the crew of the US ship, from cynicism - believing their new Captain, (Robert Mitchum) is inexperienced and green - to out and out, ready to die for loyalty, happens far too quickly to add anything meaningful to the story.
Early on, in an attempt to give us some understanding of the background of the two opposing commanders, we see each confiding to a fellow officer. In the case of the US Captain, it is the ship's doctor. But their first scene together, both irritated and bored me at the same time.
Meeting the captain for the first time, the doctor makes friendly conversation with him, by way of welcome. But the entire dialogue between them is all one sided, while the doctor listens with respect and understanding to the captain's history, not once does the captain show the slightest interest in the Doctor.
If the scriptwriter's intention was give us a sympathetic understanding for the captain's motives and ideals, then for me, it failed miserably. He just seemed self-absorbed – not, I feel, a good quality in anyone, let alone the captain of a ship in times of warfare, when keeping up moral should be high on his list of duties.
The captain's story was the usual cliché - while captaining a ship prior to joining the navy, his wife was killed by a German torpedo attack - how many films use the avenging wife's death motive? – So, in his words, "I decided to be at the firing end for a change" - at least that's the gist of what he said.
Later in film there is a scene which could be seen as comical. The US captain approaches a crewman - who is lying in bed recovering, having lost all the fingers of one hand – and offers these words of sympathy:
"You'll be going home now. It won't be long before you're back in your old civilian job. What did you do?"
"I was a watchmaker" replies the crewman.
The captain and others around the bed all look uncomfortable. So the captain didn't know is previous occupation? Shouldn't he at least made some enquires beforehand? Again this shows his lack of interest in the people around him – I'm sure, we're supposed to like the captain, it's only because the Captain is played by Robert Mitchum, that I can take to him at all.
The German U-boat commander, Played here by Curt Jurgens, also confides with a fellow officer - he has stopped believing in the war and the political leaders. He fought in the previous war and has almost happy memories of it, and he dislikes the one and only member of his crew who still has loyalty to "der Fuhrer".
Again I found this all a bit boring, contriving yet again to give another potted history in one scene. I'm not saying the film is awful, but its average rating here is, I feel, way above what it deserves.
A depiction of Sea battle that is, in my opinion, head and shoulders above this, is "Run Silent, Run Deep".
The transition of the crew of the US ship, from cynicism - believing their new Captain, (Robert Mitchum) is inexperienced and green - to out and out, ready to die for loyalty, happens far too quickly to add anything meaningful to the story.
Early on, in an attempt to give us some understanding of the background of the two opposing commanders, we see each confiding to a fellow officer. In the case of the US Captain, it is the ship's doctor. But their first scene together, both irritated and bored me at the same time.
Meeting the captain for the first time, the doctor makes friendly conversation with him, by way of welcome. But the entire dialogue between them is all one sided, while the doctor listens with respect and understanding to the captain's history, not once does the captain show the slightest interest in the Doctor.
If the scriptwriter's intention was give us a sympathetic understanding for the captain's motives and ideals, then for me, it failed miserably. He just seemed self-absorbed – not, I feel, a good quality in anyone, let alone the captain of a ship in times of warfare, when keeping up moral should be high on his list of duties.
The captain's story was the usual cliché - while captaining a ship prior to joining the navy, his wife was killed by a German torpedo attack - how many films use the avenging wife's death motive? – So, in his words, "I decided to be at the firing end for a change" - at least that's the gist of what he said.
Later in film there is a scene which could be seen as comical. The US captain approaches a crewman - who is lying in bed recovering, having lost all the fingers of one hand – and offers these words of sympathy:
"You'll be going home now. It won't be long before you're back in your old civilian job. What did you do?"
"I was a watchmaker" replies the crewman.
The captain and others around the bed all look uncomfortable. So the captain didn't know is previous occupation? Shouldn't he at least made some enquires beforehand? Again this shows his lack of interest in the people around him – I'm sure, we're supposed to like the captain, it's only because the Captain is played by Robert Mitchum, that I can take to him at all.
The German U-boat commander, Played here by Curt Jurgens, also confides with a fellow officer - he has stopped believing in the war and the political leaders. He fought in the previous war and has almost happy memories of it, and he dislikes the one and only member of his crew who still has loyalty to "der Fuhrer".
Again I found this all a bit boring, contriving yet again to give another potted history in one scene. I'm not saying the film is awful, but its average rating here is, I feel, way above what it deserves.
A depiction of Sea battle that is, in my opinion, head and shoulders above this, is "Run Silent, Run Deep".