Crash Dive (1943)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

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 | Commando Raid | P.t. Boat | Ship Sinking | Map On Screen

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:

Oliver Cromwell Jones: Mac, it's none of my business, and it certainly isn't up to me to give you advice, but if I had a weak heart ...
Chief 'Mac' McDonnell: What are you talking about?
Oliver Cromwell Jones: A man don't take nitroglycerine for dandruff.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Fejezetek a film történetéböl: Amerikai filmtípusok - Egyén és társadalom (#1.7)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Anchors Aweigh

Where WAS that base anyway?

Tyrone Power's last film before going to war was this World War II epic which co-starred him with Dana Andrews and Anne Baxter and a good cast of supporting players. This did win an Oscar for Special Effects with the raid on the Nazi Submarine base.

And that's what makes this thing so stupid. Where was that base? Given what World War II vintage subs could do in performance, that base had to be Block Island, Martha's Vineyard or at worst, the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. You're asked to believe that the Nazis constructed a secret submarine base somewhere on some mythical isle in the Atlantic. These guys went off on some short cruise from New London to find this base. Just where were the Nazis operating?

Tyrone Power must have laughed himself silly every time he thought of this one. Especially in the South Pacific where served with the Marines in several major Pacific campaigns. At his funeral, there was a Marine honor guard as would befit a retired Major.

The rest of the story is your standard triangle the kind Power played in with Don Ameche during peacetime in the 30s. Except that here, the Ameche part was played by Dana Andrews.

One positive note. Black actor Ben Carter played a cook in the submarine galley and he's shown in an actual combat mission. It was an unusual role for a black actor to play at that time and I think he played it well. Some racial stereotyping, but his concern and affection for James Gleason who was the CPO on the submarine was real and rang true.