Duel sous la mer

Submarine Command is an excellent example of the type of good entertainment that Hollywood used to grind out regularly back in the fifties. The story isn't deep, but the writing (Jonathan Latimer) and direction (John Farrow) are very fine, and the actors, especially William Holden, in the leading role, are all in good form. William Bendix provides a kind of stubborn, moral center in the movie, and one can only hope that Holden can get into his good graces. Most of the technical military-professional side of the film is realistically or at least convincingly (to me) handled. The movie's otherwise ho-hum submarine stuff, with all the usual cliches, but so much life is breathed into the old material that it feels fresh and original, no small accomplishment in this kind of film.

Imagine THE CAINE MUTINY, without a mutiny, and you might have the William Holden vehicle SUBMARINE COMMAND (actually more like THE FROGMEN) co-starring SUNSET BOULEVARD girl-next-door Nancy Olson as the wife of Holden's Lt. Commander Ken White, who, initially second-in-charge within the titular vessel, makes a quick decision to submerge when the stalwart/popular captain's still outside...

The audience can see he's been hit by a Japanese zero but the drama relies on Holden's character not knowing if the death was by gunfire or drowning, the latter to save the crew... yet what really matters is stocky CPO Boyer's opinion, and, played by always reliable William Bendix, he doesn't like Holden's guilt-ridden second-guessing lieutenant one bit...

Unfortunately there's no real tension between both otherwise intense actors, and either way, most of the picture takes place post-war as Holden goes from grouchy to grouchier... especially towards wife Olson... until a second chance to make up for past deeds when Korea rears up...

But by this time we're almost through, which is both good and bad: the first since things don't drag too long as the initial 20-minutes held most of the semi-suspenseful, claustrophobic action... and bad since we never experience Holden, Bendix, Arthur Franz or happy-go-lucky scene-stealer Don Taylor in any real threat or danger throughout.

I couldn't disagree more with the reviewer who credits this as Mr. Bendix's best roll. He was good in most of the rolls he took on with the possible exception of The Babe Ruth story. I have three best William Bendix films: Life Boat, Wake Island, and Kill the Umpire. In this film he's play the chief torpedo-man on the Tiger Shark a boat and crew haunted by the loss of their captain on the last day of the war. Bendix's character blames the man who took command during the emergency that resulted in the loss of the captain. After the war William Holden's character has to come to grips with the memory of that day and the loss of his friend. The piece time navy and his conscience put to much pressure on his marriage and he finds himself redeployed aboard the Tiger Shark with many of the old crew for a new war in Korea. The sub is used to assist in the rescue of some commando's stranded ashore in Korea. During this mission the captain finds he has to use tactics he wouldn't have used before.

The problem that Submarine Command had from the start is that it came out in the same year as Operation Pacific which had similar plot situations. It might be better known today if that were not the case. As it is it's not a bad action adventure film and no disgrace to its star William Holden or any of the supporting cast.

When I reviewed Operation Pacific I said that I like submarine films, but inevitably the same situations and clichés follow into each film. In this case William Holden was a newly assigned Executive Officer to the USS Tiger Shark and he was a recent Annapolis graduate who had just done a few shakedown cruises and had never seen any real combat. And it's the summer of 1945.

In action Holden like John Wayne in Operation Pacific is forced to leave his wounded captain, John Gregson on top and dive the submarine and take command. This gains the enmity of CPO William Bendix who was devoted to captain Gregson. Wouldn't you know it, the day this happens, Holden's only experience under fire during World War II is the day the Japanese surrender and news of it comes when the Japanese suddenly break off an engagement with the Tiger Shark.

Unlike the Duke who got an opportunity in this war to redeem himself in a few eyes, Holden had to wait until Korea for his chance. In the meantime he marries Nancy Olson. Submarine Command was their fourth and final film together, the two had been teamed for Sunset Boulevard, Union Station, Force Of Arms, and now Submarine Command. Three good films and one classic isn't a bad record. Olson seemed to be Paramount's answer to MGM's June Allyson in those good girl next door roles. She and Holden clicked very well on screen.

Of course the incomparable William Bendix is here as well. That man never gave a bad performance in anything he was in. He and Holden worked together at Paramount in Blaze At Noon and Streets Of Laredo. They would not be teamed again as well.

Although I liked Operation Pacific better, Submarine Command is a fine film on its own that just suffered from bad timing. Fans of William Holden will like it.

This film begins in the waning days of World War 2 with a new officer by the name of "Ken White" (William Holden) being assigned as the Executive Officer to the American submarine U.S.S. Tiger Shark. Although the boat and crew have recorded 18 confirmed kills Lt. Cmdr. White feels somewhat disappointed that he had no part in any of them having spent most of the war on shore with other duties. He finally gets his chance when the commander allows him to take temporarily take command of the U.S.S. Tiger Shark after a small Japanese convoy is spotted. He then manages to sink two enemy ships before they take evasive maneuvers to escape. Having now resumed command "Cmdr. Joshua Rice" (Jack Gregson) orders the submarine to surface to look for survivors and is the first to go topside. It's at this time that a Japanese Zero attacks the submarine requiring Lt. Cmdr. White to dive immediately. Needless to say, this order seals the fate of both Cmdr. Rice and another sailor who were on deck at the time. It also infuriates one of the senior enlisted men by the name of "CPO Boyer" (William Bendix) who feels that there was sufficient time to bring both of them back inside despite the fact that a Japanese destroyer has spotted them and is approaching fast. From that point on Lt. Cmdr. White is wracked by guilt even though everyone within his chain-of-command concurs with his action once they get back to port. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a rather somber submarine film which focuses heavily upon the post-traumatic stress that Lt. Cmdr. White had to endure which also affected his marriage and his relationships with others as well. Admittedly, I didn't care for the rather quick ending but all in all I found this to be an enjoyable movie for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.