Torpedo Run (1958)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Joseph Pevney

Writers:

William Wister Haines (writer)
Richard Sale (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 January 1959 (Australia)

Genre:

War | Drama

Plot:

A submarine commander is forced to blow up a Japanese ship with prisoners.

Plot Keywords:

Submarine | Commander | Ocean | WWII | Depth Charge

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Glenn Ford	...	Lt. Cmdr. Barney Doyle
Ernest Borgnine	...	Lt. Archer 'Archie' Sloan
Diane Brewster	...	Jane Doyle
Dean Jones	...	Lt. Jake 'Fuzz' Foley
L.Q. Jones	...	'Hash' Benson
Philip Ober	...	Adm. Samuel Setton
Richard Carlyle	...	Cmdr. Don Adams
Fredd Wayne	...	Orville 'Goldy' Goldstein
Don Keefer	...	Ens. Ron Milligan
Robert Hardy	...	Lt. Redley
Paul Picerni	...	Lt. Burt Fisher

Runtime:

98 min | 95 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) | 4-Track Stereo

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

In Nov. 1958, MGM distributed this film on a double bill with Fiend Without a Face (1958) as the second feature.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where the submarine is using a torpedo to trigger mines, the torpedo triggers a mine but can be seen continuing on its course without damage.

The Most Realistic Submarine Movie Out There

Having served in submarines for six years, and having seen every submarine movie possible, TORPEDO RUN is the most realistic movie yet. The submarine interior including the conning tower brought back a lot of memories. The crew terminology and actions were true to form. The gliches were few but only a submarine historian or WWII veteran would pick up on most of them. The opening scene of the ship in the periscope is not the same ship shown a few seconds later in actual footage being sunk. Also in 1942-1943 torpedo reliability was low and very seldom would only one be fired. I doubt that if a Captain would have known there were prisoners aboard a transport would the chance be taken as Barney Doyle took. At least one transport was really sunk carrying prisoners, but it was not marked as such and it was proceeding as a normal transport. All in all this is my favorite sub movie and I enjoyed every minute if it. Some seem to think it drags on and the story line is to simplistic. That's how it was. A sub's duty was to sink enemy shipping and there would be days of boredom followed by hours of gut wrenching tension amid depth charging, and constantly being chased under by aircraft. I highly recommend TORPEDO RUN.