Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953)

Director:

Robert D. Webb

Writer:

A.I. Bezzerides (written by)

Release Date:

2 December 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Tagline:

You see it without special glasses !

Plot:

Mike and Tony Petrakis are a Greek father and son team who dive for sponges off the coast of Florida...

Plot Keywords:

Reef | Florida | Love | Sponge Diving | Swimming

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Robert Wagner	...	Tony Petrakis
Terry Moore	...	Gwyneth Rhys
Gilbert Roland	...	Mike Petrakis
J. Carrol Naish	...	Socrates 'Soc' Houlis
Richard Boone	...	Thomas Rhys
Angela Clarke	...	Mama Petrakis
Peter Graves	...	Arnold Dix
Jay Novello	...	Sinan
Jacques Aubuchon	...	Demetrios Sofotes
Gloria Gordon	...	Penny Petrakis
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Griff Rhys
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jack Burke	...	Conch (uncredited)
Guy Carleton	...	Jamison (uncredited)
John Conatos	...	Jemmy (uncredited)
Jack English	...	Doctor (uncredited)
John George Gladakis	...	Auctioneer (uncredited)
Eugene Halpin	...	Long Arm (uncredited)
James Harakas	...	Card (uncredited)
Rock Hudson	...	Narrator At Opening Underwater Scenes (uncredited)
Jonathan Jackson	...	Lt. Bryant (uncredited)
William Johnstone	...	Crewman of 'Snapper' (uncredited)
Frank Joyner	...	Captain of 'Snapper' (uncredited)
Marc Krah	...	Fat George (uncredited)
John Lehman	...	Conch (uncredited)
James McLaughlin	...	Ambulance Attendant (uncredited)
Demetrios I. Mitsoras	...	Deckhand on the 'Helios' (uncredited)
Jack Pappas	...	Deckhand on the 'Helios' (uncredited)
Michael Pappas	...	Sailor on the 'Helios' (uncredited)
George Psourakis	...	Young Priest (uncredited)
Ski Skewes	...	Conch (uncredited)
Charles Wagenheim	...	Paul (uncredited)
Rush Williams	...	David Rhys (uncredited)
Milton B. Wright	...	Buyer at Sponge Market (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert D. Webb

Writing credits
A.I. Bezzerides		(written by)

Produced by
Robert Bassler	....	producer
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Bernard Herrmann

Cinematography by
Edward Cronjager		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
William Reynolds

Casting by
Owen McLean		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
George Patrick
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Set Decoration by
Fred J. Rode

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Gene Bryant	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joseph E. Rickards	....	assistant director
Jack Sonntag	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Paul Wurtzel	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
W.D. Flick	....	sound
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)
Ray Craddock	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Ben Hendricks	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Ray Kellogg	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Nick Karakos	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Jack N. Young	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Til Gabani	....	underwater photographer (as Till Gabbani)
Henry Gerzen	....	key grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Le Maire	....	wardrobe director
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Lyman Hallowell	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Bernard Herrmann	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Urban Thielmann	....	music arranger (uncredited)

Other crew
Leonard Doss	....	technicolor color consultant
Howard Lightbourn	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1953) (USA) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Company (1954) (UK) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1962) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere) (pan/scan)
• Lumivision (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Platinum Disc (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• SlingShot Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Leisure Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• GoodTimes Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• 20th Century Fox (1954) (Austria) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1954) (France) (theatrical)
• Congress Video Group (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Greatest American Classics (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Mega Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• SabuCat Productions (????) (USA) (DVD)
• United American Video (1990s) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Treasures (1980s) (USA) (VHS)
• Viking Video Classics (1980s) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

102 min | Spain:95 min (DVD edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Greek

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec) | West Germany:12 | Finland:K-12 | UK:U (original rating) (cut) | UK:U (re-rating) (uncut) | USA:Approved (PCA #16484) | Sweden:15 | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Key West, Florida Keys, Florida, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Is part of the Public Domain.

Quotes:

Tony Petrakis:[to Gwyneth Rhys] Hey, you want to know what my real name is? Adonis. My mother named me after a Greek god. I'm a beautiful young man.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Century of Cinema (1994)

Soundtrack:

It Had to Be You

Sponge Turf

Although I would not want to minimize the dangers of deep sea diving which were even more before the invention of scuba gear, the idea that sponge diving is the most dangerous profession in the world as Rock Hudson's narration tells us is a bit much. Yet it's the underwater scenes in Beneath The 12 Mile Reef that hold the audiences attention. On the surface it's your average soap opera about two young people who get together despite the objections of the father of one of them.

Robert Wagner is the boy and Terry Moore the girl. Wagner is the son of Gilbert Roland and Angela Clarke and Wagner and Roland are sponge divers, a trade brought over from the old country. They've settled in Florida and continue to work, but when they try to dive in another area Wagner and Roland find that it's been staked out by Richard Boone and his family who is protective of their turf in general and don't like the Greeks that have settled there. Moore's got a nasty boyfriend in Peter Graves, but she sure likes what she sees in Wagner who isn't named Adonis Petrakis for nothing. He certainly was a lovely sight for the teenage girls back in 1953.

Beneath The 12 Mile Reef got an Oscar nomination for best color cinematography in 1953 but lost to Shane at the ceremony. It's because of those underwater sequences which still hold up well today.

This film also gives you one of the very few opportunities to see Harry Carey, Jr. in a non-western film, playing one of Terry Moore's brothers. Peter Graves just does not cut it as a villain, except in Stalag 17 where his all American personality is what makes him the surprise informant. And J. Carrol Naish, Hollywood's all purpose ethnic plays a sidekick role to Wagner and Roland. I'm sorry Roland was not in the film all the way, he's a favorite player of mine, but his death scene is a frightening one and the best in the film out of the sea.

Beneath The 12 Mile Reef is an average romantic soap opera with some really good color cinematography in the ocean depths. Would the players had a better story to go with the scenery.