Hell and High Water (1954)

Director:

Samuel Fuller

Writers:

David Hempstead (story) and
Samuel Fuller (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 February 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A privately-financed scientist and his colleagues hire an ex-Navy officer (Widmark) to conduct an Alaskan...

Plot Keywords:

Nuclear Weapon | Island | Assistant | Scientist | Soldier Of Fortune

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Richard Widmark	...	Capt. Adam Jones aka R.J. MacDougal
Bella Darvi	...	Denise Montel aka Prof. Denice Gerard
Victor Francen	...	Prof. Montel
Cameron Mitchell	...	'Ski' Brodski - sonar operator
Gene Evans	...	Chief Holter
David Wayne	...	Tugboat Walker
Stephen Bekassy	...	Neuman
Richard Loo	...	Hakada Fujimori

Runtime:

103 min | USA:99 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #16624, General Audience)

Filming Locations:

Arc de Triomphe, Paris 8, Paris, France

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

In his review of the film, New York Times critic Bosley Crowther misquoted the foreword, implying that the film was based on a true story in which announcements about an explosion had been made by the White House and Atomic Energy Commission.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the landing party is making its escape from the second island, Captain Jones' hat falls off as they are getting in the dingy. The actor is clearly a dark-haired double for Richard Widmark.

Quotes:

Hakada Fujimori: I am sorry to tell you, your friend is dead.
Captain Adam Jones: [stunned] Dead...?
Hakada Fujimori: His plane crashed returning from an Arctic expedition. No-one survived.
Captain Adam Jones: [sadly] He never *did* like to fly!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera (1996)

Okay submarine drama with fine special effects

This is merely an okay submarine drama in which the deservedly Oscar nominated Special Effects take the prize. The premise is that there is a northern Pacific island that is suspected of harboring atomic warfare and a team of independent scientists hire a former WW II submarine group to take their prize scientist there to check it out. The mcguffin is that they plan to bomb Asian sites using a USA bomber and so get us blamed. Needless to say, our heroes win in the end. But not without some fine underwater submarine effect work, some incredible bombing and firestorm work on land, and a climactic bout with the bomber taking off at the end. The acting is only so-so. Interesting to note that this year two submarine movies were vying (along with giant ants in THEM!) for the Special Effects Oscar and the other one won - 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA.