Duel sous la mer

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.

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.

The nightclub pictured in Submarine Command was the Club Royal located at 3rd and C street in downtown San Diego. The wallpaper was black with chartreuse horses pictured, the booths were red. Walter Fuller was the band leader and played trumpet. This nightclub was owned at the time by Albert Bertolino who appears briefly in the bar scene. His wife,Una was the attractive blond seated at the bar. William Holden and Nancy Olsen were on the set at the time and were kind enough to visit with me and my family during the filming of this scene at a restaurant next door to the club. Third street at that time consisted of one bar after another. These clubs were razed in the latter part of the 20th century.

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.

William Holden did a nice job in this patriotic movie but for the most part this film seemed be the same plot from so many war-time movies. A commander had to make some hard decisions by letting people die in order to save the ship. Of course, at least a few of the people disagree with the decision- and there we have the rub of the story. The only difference in this tale than others. is the fact that most of the mental conflict about the decision comes at the close of the war instead of playing out during the war. So this seemed like a reused plot with names being changed for the audience approval.

Do not get me wrong, the movie has some gifted actors that gave nice performances. Along with Holden, William Bendix and Nancy Olson did a nice job keeping the story interesting and the viewer involved in the story. Even when the writing (at the end) was rushed and forgiveness came like a flash, the actors made the transition flawlessly. Perhaps a bit more time should have been planned for the ending instead of feeling rushed to an conclusion. But since this was not to be, we are left with a film that is at least entertaining and we can enjoy the talent of the actors. Nice watch.