Submarine Command (1951)

Another military drama via submarine, this time giving William Holden his turn underwater. He plays a Naval Commander aboard the Tiger Shark in the final days of WWII; as second-in-command to the captain, he makes a decision in the midst of battle which costs the captain his life. Haunted by this alleged failure (which the captain's own widow tells him was not his fault), Holden hopes to redeem himself during the Korean War. One-part military drama, another part soul-searching soaper. Holden gets surly as his self-confidence plummets, lashing out at his new bride (Nancy Olson, who gave up a $300-a-week advertising job just to play housewife!), while disgruntled Chief Petty Officer William Bendix gives Holden such a rough time--when nobody else does--that his personal motives come under question. The dialogue is so rote that only exceptionally talented actors could get by with it, with Holden doing double-duty, narrating in flashback (a device which fared better for Holden in "Sunset Blvd."). Still, that grave voice-over gives the movie its only dramatic thrust, as what we're seeing on the screen is rather dull and predictable. Film is curiously stifled emotionally, though it has solid cinematography by Lionel Lindon. ** from ****

Just saw the movie on TCM. Recommended for submarine buffs. Fairly accurate commands and procedures. They took bits of true stories as most of these kinds of movies tend to do. Howard Gilmore was awarded the Medal of Honor for ordering his boat down after being wounded and realizing that to make it below would delay the dive and probably lose the boat. Gene Fluckey, another Medal of Honor winner and also known as The Galloping Ghost of the China Coast, took his boat into a Chinese harbor filled with Japanese shipping, sank a few and ran in shallow water, dodging gunfire until he had enough water to dive. Bill Holden should have been running as soon as he surfaced to send his radio message. In summary, better than average and pretty enjoyable if you know a little historical background.

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.

Submarine Command is an excellent example of the type of good entertainment that Hollywood used to grind out regularly back in the fifties. The story isn't deep, but the writing (Jonathan Latimer) and direction (John Farrow) are very fine, and the actors, especially William Holden, in the leading role, are all in good form. William Bendix provides a kind of stubborn, moral center in the movie, and one can only hope that Holden can get into his good graces. Most of the technical military-professional side of the film is realistically or at least convincingly (to me) handled. The movie's otherwise ho-hum submarine stuff, with all the usual cliches, but so much life is breathed into the old material that it feels fresh and original, no small accomplishment in this kind of film.