Submarine D-1 (1937)

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Frank Wead (story)
Frank Wead (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 November 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Submarine | Training | Collision | Inventor | Accidental Death

Cast

Pat O'Brien	...	'Butch' Rogers
George Brent	...	Lt. Commander Dan Matthews
Wayne Morris	...	'Sock' McGillis
Frank McHugh	...	'Lucky' Jones
Doris Weston	...	Ann Sawyer
Henry O'Neill	...	Admiral Thomas
Dennie Moore	...	Arabella
Veda Ann Borg	...	Dolly
Regis Toomey	...	Tom Callan

Runtime:

100 min | USA:94 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #3498)

Filming Locations:

Coronado Beach, Coronado, California, USA

Company:

Cosmopolitan Productions

Trivia:

Two cast members in studio records/casting call lists did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie. These were (with their character names): Ronald Reagan (Paul) and Broderick Crawford (Mike). Reagan is billed 6th in Daily Variety's preview cast list, indicating he was in the preview print. In addition, his character is mentioned in the pressbook as pivotal and a friend of Ann since childhood. However, none of the reviews mention him or his character, in all likelyhood because he was cut from the final released print.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Throughout the movie Naval personnel are shown wearing their covers (hats) indoors. In the U.S. Navy covers are only worn indoors if a person is on watch, therefore almost every occurrence in the movie is incorrect.

Soundtrack:

Bringing in the Sheaves

FAILED THE FLOAT TEST

After watching this on TCM the other night I imagined the German Admiral Dernitz watching SUBMARINE D-1 and being lulled into thinking, "Acht du Leiber! Zoze Americahn zubs all zink.. vee vill rrrrool ze vorld mit mein U-Boats!" The fact is, all the subs in this A-'37 Warner's entry all meet untimely ends in the same general place: at the bottom of the sea. My biggest problem is with George Brent--- the popularity of this guy remains an enigma to me... Brent's blandness reaches new plateaus here; his performance is as bland as the powdered eggs they eat on those subs. Real-life WWII hero Wayne Morris plays a near idiot and unbelievably is promoted to Chief (apparently without a board exam or an initiation!--- this is NOT the Navy I knew--- you'd think that a guy like Frank 'Wings of Eagles' Wead would've added a little more realism). Everyone else performs as expected with Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh essentially regurgitating their roles from HERE COMES THE NAVY (also directed by Lloyd Bacon) some 2-1/2 years earlier. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a waste of time, it just plays like a clever conspiracy between Jack Warner and the War Dept. to make the future axis powers believe we build submarines that consistently meet their doom during engineering quals. A 6.5 out of 10.