Beneath the 12-Mile Reef

Robert Webb directs this terrific underwater adventure. Two families of different ethnic background rival for sponges in the Gulf of Mexico off the west coast of Florida. One family of Greek decent is led by Mike Petrakis(Gilbert Roland)and his son Tony(Robert Wagner). Their efforts of diving for valuable sponges are thwarted by Thomas Rhys(Richard Boone)and his team of divers. Arnold(Peter Graves)is the aggressive diver that leads raids on the Petrakis sponge hauls as well as competes with young Tony for the affection of Gwyneth Rhys(Terry Moore). Highlights are Wagner fighting with an octopus; Moore in a swimsuit; and the great underwater scenes. Notice Wagner's dyed black hair. In supporting roles are two veteran actors J. Carrol Naish and Jay Novello. It is said this is the third movie filmed in Cinemascope. It garnered critical acclaim for the breakthrough underwater cinematography.

Although I would not want to minimize the dangers of deep sea diving which were even more before the invention of scuba gear, the idea that sponge diving is the most dangerous profession in the world as Rock Hudson's narration tells us is a bit much. Yet it's the underwater scenes in Beneath The 12 Mile Reef that hold the audiences attention. On the surface it's your average soap opera about two young people who get together despite the objections of the father of one of them.

Robert Wagner is the boy and Terry Moore the girl. Wagner is the son of Gilbert Roland and Angela Clarke and Wagner and Roland are sponge divers, a trade brought over from the old country. They've settled in Florida and continue to work, but when they try to dive in another area Wagner and Roland find that it's been staked out by Richard Boone and his family who is protective of their turf in general and don't like the Greeks that have settled there. Moore's got a nasty boyfriend in Peter Graves, but she sure likes what she sees in Wagner who isn't named Adonis Petrakis for nothing. He certainly was a lovely sight for the teenage girls back in 1953.

Beneath The 12 Mile Reef got an Oscar nomination for best color cinematography in 1953 but lost to Shane at the ceremony. It's because of those underwater sequences which still hold up well today.

This film also gives you one of the very few opportunities to see Harry Carey, Jr. in a non-western film, playing one of Terry Moore's brothers. Peter Graves just does not cut it as a villain, except in Stalag 17 where his all American personality is what makes him the surprise informant. And J. Carrol Naish, Hollywood's all purpose ethnic plays a sidekick role to Wagner and Roland. I'm sorry Roland was not in the film all the way, he's a favorite player of mine, but his death scene is a frightening one and the best in the film out of the sea.

Beneath The 12 Mile Reef is an average romantic soap opera with some really good color cinematography in the ocean depths. Would the players had a better story to go with the scenery.

An average movie overall, this is helped along quite a bit by its atmosphere, which makes a relatively creative setting work pretty well. The actual story consists entirely of very well-worn ideas, but they work all right because the setting and scenery give the story some extra life. The cast also has a couple of bright spots, and aside from being somewhat too long, it's a solid feature for its genre.

The story has a community of Greek sponge fishermen on the Florida coast facing intimidation, prejudice, and economic competition, with a budding cross-cultural romance that has the potential either to ease the tensions or to cause worse conflicts. A young Robert Wagner plays the main character, and while his performance is rather one-dimensional, he easily makes his presence felt. Peter Graves is his antagonist, with Terry Moore as the love interest.

Probably the best performance is given by Gilbert Roland, who plays Wagner's father. His character is a cocky but knowledgeable veteran of his trade, who is forced to take ever greater risks to provide for his family.

The atmosphere is helped by the color photography and by a lot of good detail in most of the various settings. For much of the movie, you are constantly reminded of the seaside setting and of the ways that it drives the characters and the action. All this helps the familiar story idea to take on a little more interest.

I remember this movie from the old NBC Saturday/Monday NIGHT AT THE MOVIES from the early 60's! Of course watching it in black and white, fullscreen and on a small TV is not the way to view this.

I wrote this review to defend Robert Wagner's performance. Am I the only one to get he's playing a Greek American; not an old school Greek from the old country? He's not going to have the accent or mannerisms of his father...he's American!!! I also like that Tony (Wagner) was depicted for what he was...a man-child. His father (Gilbert Roland) steps in when he feels Tony is in over his head going up against bully Arnold (Peter Graves).

It also displays a love story that develops..not like today's movies where people hop in bed, then calm down and try to figure out if they even like each other. And Terry Moore is lovely as Tony's love interest Gwyneth.

Of course the Cinematography, Stereo, Wide Screen format and great Bernard Herrmann are superb and add to the overall effect. J. Carroll Naish, Richard Boone and Harry Carey, Jr. lend capable support.

All in all, the 90-minutes amounts to a better movie than its near 5-plus user rating. The plot's no brain twister- Greek sponge divers compete with Anglo counterparts off the coast of Florida. That could be a tricky ethnic premise but it's nicely finessed Romeo and Juliet style.

There's no way early TV could compete with this Cinemascope panorama. The beautifully colorized ocean sights are stunning, while the murky underwater presents a good contrast. Not surprisingly, studios hoped this kind of visual wonder would induce couch potatoes back into theatres. Then too, it's no wonder Wagner's career took off with this showing, even though he's coiffed in unlikely black curly hair. Happily, the young actor proves both spirited and likable in the central role of the Greek son working to equal his dad's (Roland) leadership skills. Roland too amounts to a riveting screen presence, while a face-off between him and Anglo leader Richard Boone would have shaken the rafters. Anyway, I had my hopes. And catch that "lifeline" sending air to the diver. It looks awfully meager given the many hazards below. No wonder Wagner's Tony says he's terrified every time he goes under. I'll keep that in mind next time I use a kitchen sponge.

A number of these folks went on to stellar careers, including Peter Graves who gets to practice his fistic skills. No, there's little in this A-production to call memorable. But for a non-rainy evening, it's an enduring slice of movie entertainment.