Submarine Alert (1943)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Frank McDonald

Writer:

Maxwell Shane (writer)

Release Date:

28 June 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | War

Tagline:

Calling All Agents! STAND BY FOR THRILLS! ADVENTURE! ACTION! (original print ad - many caps)

Plot:

Nazi spies use a stolen shortwave transmitter prototype to broadcast top secret shipping info to an offshore Japanese sub...

Plot Keywords:

Radio | Spy | Engineer | Nazi | Shipping

Cast

Richard Arlen	...	Lewis J. 'Lee' Deerhold
Wendy Barrie	...	Ann Patterson
Nils Asther	...	Dr. Arthur Huneker
Roger Pryor	...	G.B. Fleming
Abner Biberman	...	Commander Toyo
Marc Lawrence	...	Bela, fifth columnist
John Miljan	...	Mr. Bambridge / Capt. Haigas
Patsy Nash	...	Tina Deerhold
Ralph Sanford	...	Agent Freddie Grayson

Also Known As:

Interceptor Command (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

66 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Sweden:15 | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:Approved (PCA #8599)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Pine-Thomas Productions

OK Once It Gets Going

Once this wartime B-feature gets going, it's not bad, and it builds up enough suspense and intrigue to help you look past the low production values. Richard Arlen and Wendy Barrie also contribute with solid performances in the two leading roles. For movies of the era and genre, it is a little less strident than most in its attacks on Axis nationalities, giving somewhat more emphasis to the personal plight of the main character (Arlen).

Arlen plays a radio engineer who, not being a US citizen, finds himself out of work when the FBI orders his employer to let him go. While Axis spies try to dupe him into helping them with a special transmitter that they are using to target Allied tankers, the G-Men are still keeping their own tabs on him. Barrie comes into the story as something of a wild card.

The script takes somewhat too long to set things up, and it adds some characters that are never used for anything of importance, so that it takes a while to start making any real progress. But after that, it works all right, as Arlen's character finds himself in one fix after another. By portraying the federal agents as rather heartless and unimaginative, the movie's tone becomes somewhat darker than what you might normally expect from a picture whose general aim is to promote the Allied cause.

Though there's nothing new or particularly impressive about "Submarine Alert", there's probably enough to make it worth seeing for those who have an interest in the era and genre.