Crash Dive (1943)

Director:

Archie Mayo

Writers:

Jo Swerling (screenplay)
W.R. Burnett (story)

Release Date:

22 April 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | Thriller | War

Tagline:

Tyrone Power -- Leading a reckless crew on the war's most daring mission! Battling death in a depth-bombed submarine! Blasting Nazis on a bold Commando raid! Finding love in precious, stolen moments! Crashing his way to unforgettable glory in...

Plot:

A submarine lieutenant and his commander fall in love with the same girl.

Plot Keywords:

Submarine | P.t. Boat | Commando Raid | Explosion | Underwater Scene

Awards:

Won Oscar.

Cast

Tyrone Power	...	Lt. Ward Stewart (as Tyrone Power U.S.M.C.R.)
Anne Baxter	...	Jean Hewlett
Dana Andrews	...	Lt. Cmdr. Dewey Connors
James Gleason	...	Chief Mike 'Mac' McDonnell
Dame May Whitty	...	Grandmother
Harry Morgan	...	Brownie (as Henry Morgan)
Ben Carter	...	Oliver Cromwell Jones

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (MPAA rating: certificate #8371) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Netherlands:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

U.S. Navy Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The PT boats seen at the beginning (and for a brief moment, at the end) of the film are Elco 77-foot PTs, the type of boat that saw intense combat against the Japanese Navy's "Tokyo Express" in the Guadalcanal area early in World War II. The wartime second-series Elco 77-footers, which were the same type as PT 59, John F. Kennedy's second command after PT 109 was rammed and sunk, are seldom seen on film, and hardly ever in color.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Lt. Ward is shown in his uniform wearing naval aviator's flight wings, rather than the submarine service's dolphins. Naval aviation would not be a typical career path into the silent service, but in any case, the second in command of a fleet boat would certainly be expected to have graduated sub school.

Quotes:

[Several submarine crewmen are preparing to go ashore on a commando raid]
Oliver Cromwell Jones: [Looks around at all the blackened faces and hands of the other crewmen] I'm the only born commando here!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Radio Days (1987)

Soundtrack:

America

Very enjoyable and well made WWII war film

This was a very enjoyable WWII film, though before I discuss why I liked the movie, I should point out that the film does have one BIG cliché. When Tyrone Power meets a woman (Anne Baxter--here with dark brown hair) and they immediately hate each other, lovers of classic Hollywood films know that this can only mean one thing---they are destined to fall in love by the end of the film!! Aside from this predictable aspect of the film, I really did like the movie.

The first thing I noticed about the film was the gorgeous color film. For 1943, it was terrific--with the most vibrant blues I've ever seen--much like the look of the great film, THE CAINE MUTINY. Twentieth-Century Fox really pulled out the stops to make this film look nice.

As far as the plot goes, it's a pretty exciting and standard submarine film. Now that I write this, I realize that they sure made a lot of great sub films over the years--with hardly a stinker among them. This film maintains the excellent tradition of such lovely films as RUN SILENT RUN DEEP, THE ENEMY BELOW and DESINTATION TOKYO--all lovely films that are both gripping and entertaining.

The film has more plot than just subs and Anne Baxter. It seems that Tyrone Power was very happy and successful aboard PT boats. When he was transferred to sub duty, he wasn't particularly excited, as he thought that patrol boats were the greatest thing since sliced bread. However, over time, he makes good and grows to love the submarine.

CRASH DIVE has some excellent action scenes--particularly the attack on a secret base near the end. The acting good, script very good for a wartime propaganda flick and I particularly liked the sympathetic portrayal of the Black sailor--something pretty rare in a film of the era. Overall, a good and enjoyable film.