Crime Submarino

When I was a kid, I would come home and this movie would be on. I loved every minute of it. But here's the worst thing. As life would have it, I wound up buying a house just a couple of miles from Tarpon Springs, sponge capital of the world. Yet no one mentions this movie. I was So disappointed. The scene with Lon Chaney Jr. falling on the sponge rake is forever etched in my memory. I think tomorrow, I'll go down to the sponge docks and demand they show this movie!!!! This movie remains one of my favorites. And I just don't understand why it is not mentioned more often. I've asked the people in Tarpon Springs, but they don't seem to know what I'm talking about. Come on, people, the sponge capital of the world should know and publicize this movie.

This film would appeal more to me than the average person. First, it's set in Tarpon Springs--a small town about 45 minutes from where I live. I've visited it several times, and it's a nice place for a day trip. It's also interesting to see what the town used to be like--before it became a tourism mecca. Second, it's about sponge divers--and I love scuba diving and enjoyed seeing the underwater shots (the fish actually appeared to be Florida fish--not some fish from a Hollywood aquarium).

"16 Fathoms Deep" is an odd little film, as it's about a group of guys working in the sponge diving industry. I really wish that the Netflix copy had been in color (it was originally a color film)--it would have been great to see the underwater shots in their vivid glory. Lloyd Bridges has recently mustered out of the US Navy and is looking for a job. Since he's an experienced diver, he travels to Tarpon Springs. However, he has some trouble getting hired on by the local big-shot (Lon Chaney, Jr.). But, when a young entrepreneur buys his own boat, he needs divers and Bridges is hired. Along for the ride is an inexplicable character--a bumbling Dagwood-like fellow played by Arthur Lake (who is also the film's producer). What none of them knows is that one of the crew is evil...pure evil. Or, at least he's looking to sabotage the boat. But why?! The film is shot semi-documentary in style. This means that Bridges narrated large portions of the film. Considering much of this was during the underwater scenes, it made sense. But in addition, the film takes a lot of time explaining about sponge diving--much like a documentary. It's really odd, then, that Arthur Lake is in the movie. His bumbling comic relief is incongruous with the rest of the film and he was not particularly good in the movie. Also, the way the death was handled as well as the unraveling of the mystery was poorly handled--it all happened too quickly and too matter-of-fact (long-time character actor John Qualen was NOT good in this role--he was too emotionally constricted). It should have been slower and more deliberate and seemed rushed. Overall, it's a film with a lot of problems but one I found worth my time--perhaps you will find it that way, too.

A few observations:

In the brief scene about Epiphany you see the young men diving along the lagoon to retrieve the cross tossed in by the Patriarch. This practice STILL occurs each year and it's a really big event (bringing in thousands of spectators). The only big difference is that the water isn't nearly so clear today--the result of a HUGE building boom in the Tampa Bay area over the last 60 years.

After this film, Bridges went on to star in the "Sea Hunt" TV series. You wonder if this movie led to Bridges interest in diving and the sea.

The young man in the film is played by Dickie Moore. Moore has over a hundred credits and was one of Hal Roach's Little Rascals--and a VERY popular child actor in the 30s (because he was so darn cute and talented).

If you visit the Tampa Bay area, try going to Tarpon Springs for a day. It's full of nice shops, LOTS of Greek food and you can either take a fishing trip or watch sponge divers. Not a bad little tourist trap that your family would probably enjoy.

Watching films I am actually between the two: '34 original and the '48 remake - Not sure which version I prefer. The two films are very much a like but there are differences - most notably the ending. Out of the two endings I actually prefer the '48 ending because Mr. Demitri (Lon Chaney) gets it in the end. We did not get the pleasure of watching the towns people get their revenge in the '34.

I did like the narration in this film... it was interesting to hear (captivating) but I liked the action of the '34 a lot better. I also liked the romance in the '34 between Joe Bethel and Rosita.. it played a bigger role in the '34 where as the '48 had less focus on a fictional romance.

Both films are worth watching - they are different in quite a few ways but it has the same story plot.

Also I liked the role switch for Chaney.

8.5/10

16 Fathoms Deep (1948)

** (out of 4)

Lloyd Bridges play a man who gets out of the Navy and heads to Florida to get a job on a sponge boat but he's turned down by the biggest owner (Lon Chaney, Jr.) in the business. he eventually gets a job on-board a new captain's (Arthur Lake) boat and soon they head out to sea to try to do some good fishing so that they can keep the boat. 16 FATHOMS DEEP is a remake of a 1934 film and it's clear that director Irving Allen didn't have much money because there's very little going on here. The biggest problem is that the entire film is rather flat because there's never any real adventure or drama because the majority of the film is nothing but narration. I'm not sure what Bridges was paid but I'd say he would have gotten much more for a narration credit than his actual acting credit. He really isn't given too much to do in regards to acting but he does narrate throughout the entire film and this really just adds a cheapness to the entire picture. Instead of the filmmakers trying to build up tension by telling a story, instead we just get to see cheap scenes played out while the narrator tries to give the emotion and feeling of a scene. This might work when you're reading a book out loud but there's no getting around the fact that this is a movie and the visuals are quite important and director Irving simply didn't add anything to make this feel like a real movie. If he was going to take this approach of explaining everything then perhaps he should have just made a documentary on the subject because it probably would have been better. Again, performance wise Bridges really isn't given anything to do so you can't judge him on this. His narration is pretty good through. Lake is good as the new captain but he too isn't really given enough. Chaney, Jr., who appeared in the earlier film, steals the film as the bad guy but sadly he isn't on screen enough to make a major impact. 16 FATHOMS DEEP features some nice underwater stuff but there's simply not enough going on here to make it worth viewing by anyone other than film buffs.

1948's "16 Fathoms Deep" is a remake of a 1933 title of the same name, from the same poverty row Monogram studios, but using the number 16 instead of the original spelling. Plotwise it's virtually identical, with the youthful hero (Eric Feldary) buying his first vessel on loan from the local villain (Lon Chaney), racing against time to make the annual auction to pay off the debt, unaware of the presence of a saboteur (Ian MacDonald) aboard. Among the differences are two additional characters, navy man Lloyd Bridges and comic relief cook Arthur Lake (channeling Jerry Lewis), who dives for a single sponge. The 1933 original was an exciting, fast paced 57 minutes with no unnecessary footage, while this version features 20 additional minutes of drawn out padding and little drama. The location footage of Tarpon Springs Florida is the most noteworthy aspect of this production, produced, oddly enough, by actor Arthur Lake himself (prominently advertised as being in Ansco Color, but today available only in black and white). Lon Chaney has the distinction of playing the villain here, in a much smaller role than his top billing would suggest, after playing the second billed hero in the original. Narrating from beginning to end is Lloyd Bridges, reunited with Chaney after 1945's "Strange Confession," in what appears to be a dry run for his upcoming 1950s TV series SEA HUNT. Ian MacDonald went on to play Frank Miller in Chaney's 1952 "High Noon," before appearing in Lon's final Universal feature, 1958's "Money, Women and Guns."