La Mission secrète du sous-marin X-16

This film is a good thriller of a top secret naval operation in the South Pacific during World War II. James Garner's assignment calls for him to swim to a Japanese-controlled island and decipher a code that the Navy needs to anticipate enemy intentions. The film has a claustrophobic feel to it as most of the scenes are filmed below topside as the submarine makes its way to the destination island. There are Japanese destroyers about, dropping depth charges and making matters uncomfortable for the crew. Edmond O'Brien is the sub's by-the-book commander, still shaken by the loss of a crew member during a recent assignment, and he and Garner share a mutual dislike that sets in motion Garner's mission-impossible task. Garner's whirlwind courtship with Andra Martin is the only false note of the movie which adds nothing to the plot. The cast and tech credits are good.

This film is a hidden gem. When one talks of WWII submarine films, movies such as Das Boot and Run Silent Run Deep come up but Up Periscope rarely gets a mention.

The plot, to sum it up, is about a US navy submarine in the early days of the war with Japan. It has been given a task to deliver a commando (James Garner) to a remote Japanese outpost in the Pacific to do some reconnaissance work. Along the way many perils face both him and the boat.

Its a great film because it doesn't get too dramatic and the subplots are there in just the right amount, not overpowering the main story. The captain of the ship is a good yet slightly flawed man and the characters in general aren't one dimensional. The tension is genuine and the film keeps you at the edge of your seat. Visuals are great too, thanks to the cooperation of the Navy and some very well done miniature scenes.

If you like war films, navy films, WWII films or just a good thriller, watch this.

Navy frogman goes on super secret mission to steal ultra secret Jap code books. Pretty phony actually - seems the Nips would have shouted "oy li chu dat lee ho phuk di hong fong fuuuuuuuuu!", or "those explosions looked like a ruse, let's check on the code books!". When Garner exited the water he made enough noise to wake the whole island, no real commando would have done that. Still not a bad film, fairly exciting: it had the usual Navy ships during combat footage plus a few "toys in the tub" scenes. I appreciated the submarine; it was cramped, hot, and miserable looking, exactly like the genuine article. I abhor those movie subs that sport hallways and rooms more fitting to the Trump mansion than a Naval vessel.

Robb White's World War II naval-combat/coming-of-age novel is one of my lifetime favorites, so I eagerly anticipated seeing this movie on video. Unfortunately, the book spoiled it for me. I'm sure I would have liked this movie much better if I had never read the book. To be fair, this is a good war flick on its own merits.

O'Brien is the sub commander, who loses the trust of his crew, Garner the naval officer assigned a commando mission-but the real story here is the vintage cast-Richard Bakalyan and Warren Oates are joined by TV's familiar faces: Edd (Kooky) Byrnes, Henry (Otto Schmidlapp from "Life of Riley") Kulka, and Alan (the Skipper from "Gilligan's Island") Hale Jr. The fine performances are punctuated by adequate action scenes that result in a very watchable picture.