Submarine D-1

Enjoyable inter-War military adventure drama featuring the U.S. Navy submarine service. Based upon the story "Submarine 262" by Frank "Spig" Wead, who wrote a number of similar screenplays highlighting various parts of the fleet. This particular drama features the use of the McCann Rescue Chamber and Momsen Lung in a dramatic rescue of men from a sunken submarine off the coast of Point Loma, California. George Brent is remarkably low key and effective as the Commanding Officer. Also included is a love triangle between Chief Petty Officer Butch Rogers (Pat O'Brien), Petty Officer First Class (later Chief Petty Officer) Sock McGillis (Wayne Morris), and Ann Sawyer (Doris Weston). Comic relief by Lucky (Frank McHugh). Some development of what it takes to be a successful sailor in the submarine service - the ship is as strong as its weakest sailor. A young Broderick Crawford appears in a small part and Ronald Reagan was cast in one of his earliest appearances in a bit part but his scenes were left on the cutting room floor. Good shots of the rest of the Pacific Fleet as they work through Fleet Problem 20. Recommended.

"Submarine D-1" is a typical but terrific Warner Brothers, pre-WW2 movie on the glory of the U.S. Navy and in particular the submarine service. It has a great cast lead by Pat O'Brien, George Brent, Wayne Morris, and Frank McHugh but does not have Broderick Crawford among its players.

"Submarine D-1" contains great performances by Pat O'Brien as the Chief Petty Officer, Wayne Morris as the cocky sailor who finally matures into a first-rate CPO, and George Brent as the dedicated and somewhat fatherly submarine captain. Frank McHugh is also on hand as Warner Brothers' guaranteed laugh-getter for sure-fire comic relief. Henry O'Neil is well-cast as the wise-old admiral.

"Submarine D-1" is loaded with action, thrills, and comedy but contrary to many film sources Broderick Crawford is not in the film. I watched the entire film from beginning to end and can absolutely verify that he does not appear in this otherwise great old movie.

Given the fact that every sub in this movie ends up at the bottom of the ocean floor during sea trials I would venture to guess that Admiral Karl Dönitz saw this and figured, "Acht Di leiber! Our U-Boats vill annnnnhiliate zose Americahns!" This would lull anyone into thinking our sub fleet was sub par. But technically, this isn't a bad movie... it's just it's so predictable. George Brent's acting is as bland as the Navy's powdered eggs and lovable lug Wayne Morris is a near-idiot that somehow makes Chief (the Navy sure must've been different than when I was in it--- no board and no initiation!). Frank McHugh does a swell job of playing Lucky, a symbiotic twin of the character Droopy he played 3 years earlier in HERE COMES THE NAVY. Nice stock shots of the Panama Canal and much better than the usual Warner Bros. middling level special effects. All in all, I hope that this was planned as a cunning piece of disinformation rather than a testimonial to the skills of the U.S. Navy in the mid-1930's. I wonder if Swede Monson ever saw this?

Good film. Black and white movie regulars george brent, frank mchugh, pat o'brien. Here, in this pre world war two film, they are all navy men on a sub, trying to get from the east coast to san diego. Along the way, they have all kinds of adventures. A training session on the bends, and how to avoid them. Some interesting footage of what might be the panama canal. War games with other ships. The female lead, doris weston, only made nine films, and died young at forty two. Keep an eye out for dennie moore as arabella... she was "olga" in a hilarious role in "the women" from 1939. This could be used as a training film, although i'm sure a lot of the equipment and info are outdated. The side plots are a bit hokey, but it probably would have been boring without them. Co-star wayne morris really was a war hero, but also died young at age forty five. Directed by lloyd bacon. He also made forty second street and wonder bar.

This is a tough movie to rate, mostly because it's from a period when Warner Brothers was struggling to produce new, distinctive movies that didn't star Errol Flynn. This flick about the men aboard a submarine as it travels from a surprisingly mountainous Long Island to Long Beach, then to the bottom of the ocean contains all the standard tropes of the military movie of the era and submarines in particular. Pals at work, fighting about dames? Check. Young hothead who straightens up and becomes a part of the outfit? Check. Calm, all-wise commander who shows up at odd moments to issue fiats and, and whose unflustered command during the crisis keeps things from falling apart? Check. Submarine trapped at the bottom of the ocean while everyone rallies around to save the crew? Check.

It's all performed well by the typical large, competent Warner Brothers cast under the direction of workhorse director Lloyd Bacon. As a result it's an eminently watchable example of the genre. Where it is of most interest is in the technology of rescue, the telephone that floats to the surface with its provenance written in large letters; the suited diver who heads down to attach a cable to the trapped boat. It's interesting to see the evolution of these, and associated techniques from Capra's SUBMARINE (1928) to this one.

The genre would evolve rapidly in the war years, with the emphasis on battle tactics and suspense. For the moment, this was the model in use.