Hell Below (1933)

Director:

Jack Conway

Writers:

Edward Ellsberg (novel)
Laird Doyle (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

9 June 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Drama | War

Plot:

On leave in Italy, Lt. Tommy Knowlton falls in love with Jean Standish, who's not only married, but is the daughter of his submarine's commander...

Plot Keywords:

Submarine | Officer | Love | Italy | Carnival

Cast

Robert Montgomery	...	Lieut. Thomas Knowlton, USN
Walter Huston	...	Lieut. Comdr. T.J. Toler, USN
Madge Evans	...	Joan Standish
Jimmy Durante	...	Ptomaine
Eugene Pallette	...	'Mac' MacDougal
Robert Young	...	Lieut. (JG) Ed 'Brick' Walters
Edwin Styles	...	Flight Comdr. Herbert Standish
John Lee Mahin	...	Lieut. (JG) 'Speed' Nelson
David Newell	...	Lieut. (JG) Radford
Sterling Holloway	...	Seaman Jenks
Charles Irwin	...	Buck teeth marine sergeant

Also Known As:

Pigboats (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #1373-R, 31 August 1935 for re-release) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The destroyer shown sinking in the movie is an actual decommissioned WWI destroyer, USS Moody. Additions were made to the superstructure to replace missing sections, and scuttling charges simulated the torpedo hit.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the depth charge runs by the German destroyer, in multiple scenes, the wake of the camera-crew ship is clearly visible in the lower right corner.

Soundtrack:

Ciri-Biri-Bin

This movie has it all: action, melodrama, comedy, and romance!

Robert Montgomery and Robert Young are outstanding as a duo of young submarine officers stationed in Italy during World War I. The dialog is highly entertaining, and Jimmy Durante is hilarious as the ship's cook, "Ptomaine". Walter Huston's character is inspiring as the captain of the submarine, a stellar example of an officer and a gentleman. One of the most interesting aspects of this movie was the level of technology displayed in the battle scenes. I was surprised at how similar the technology of World War I was to the technology displayed 25 years later in World War II. Basic human nature was portrayed as very similar to modern times, and far from the conservativism I thought existed in the so-called "innocent" past. All in all I felt that the cast, characters, action scenes, and view of history depicted in this movie were first-rate.