Submarine Command

This movie has to be William Bendix's finest role. Noted for his portrayal of comic characters, such as Chester A. Riley in "The Life of Riley," in this movie Bendix is a moody, brooding sailor harboring a deep-seeded resentment toward the commander of a submarine, played by William Holden. The other characters in the movie are quite forgettable and the storyline itself, although interesting, is nothing particularly special and as a post-World War Two movie, it lacks the intensity of movies made during the war. But William Bendix's portrayal makes this movie worth watching and makes this movie, if not a classic, at least a work of art that merits consideration and an honorable mention.

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.

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.

William Holden is Cmdr. White a quite mature man who suffers through the boredom of the post WW II Navy. He is chained to a desk on a base near his old submarine, which has been decommissioned and mothballed. He visits it periodically to experience his wartime ghosts. He is so bored that he seriously considers chucking the Navy and taking a more lucrative civilian job. Nancy Olson plays his understanding Navy wife. William Bendex is also on hand with old time Chief Petty Officer wisdom and to remind Holden of his ghosts.

Don Taylor portrays the fun and games Navy pilot who is anything but mature. He is teaching ROTC at a nearby college. They met at the end of the war when White's submarine rescued him. They maintain a friendship even though White is at times disturbed by his happy-go-lucky well adjustment.

When The Korean War starts White is rescued from his desk and placed in command of ----- (You guessed it!) his old submarine. Taylor and Holden are united again off the Korean Coast where boat and men undertake a movie ending dangerous mission.

This was a feel good war movie that wasn't loaded with dated propaganda. Holden narrates as he did in Sunset Blvd. where he first played opposite Olson.

If you like military movies, this is a good one.

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.