Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditsAwards & Reviews
user reviewsexternal reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guidemessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsmemorable quotesDid You Know?
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
box office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsReviews & Ratings for
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef More at IMDbPro »
| Page 1 of 3: | [1] [2] [3] ![[Next]](http://i.media-imdb.com/f86.gif){kind=small} |
| Index | 21 reviews in total |
32 out of 40 people found the following review useful:
Memorable Cinematography & Score Highlight This Melodrama, 3 August 2005
Author:
gftbiloxi (gftbiloxi@yahoo.com) from Biloxi, Mississippi
Directed by Robert D. Webb and released in 1953, this saga of competing
sea sponge divers was noted for its drop-dead gorgeous cinematography
and a brilliant score by composer Bernard Herrmann--and these remain
the great assets of the film to this day.
The story is pure melodrama given an exotic twist. The Petrakis and
Rhys families earn their livings by diving for sea sponges, but when
the Rhys family, led by father Thomas (Richard Boone) resort to dirty
tricks the Petrakis family, led by father Mike (Gilbert Roland) are
forced to resort to risky dives at the dangerous 'Twelve Mile' reef; at
the same time a love affair between son Tony Petrakis (Robert Wagner)
and daughter Gwyneth Rhys (Terry Moore) further complicate the rivalry.
Needless to say, tragedy results.
Both Wagner and Moore were considered rising stars when the film was
made, and although Wagner makes for an unconvincing Greek both give
enjoyable performances as the star-crossed lovers caught Romeo and
Juliet fashion between battling families. Even so, the acting honors
here go to Gilbert Roland and Richard Boone as the warring fathers with
a special nod to Peter Graves as Arnold, an overly aggressive Rhys
diver. Several notable character actors, including J. Carroll Nash, Jay
Novello, and Harry Carey Jr. round out the cast.
Although the cast is solid, the plot is more than a little
predictable--but the chief thing is the photography and the score. REEF
was among the earliest productions made in Cinemascope, and everyone
concerned was determined to make it as visually attractive as possible.
The result is some truly beautiful cinematography, particularly in
reference to the film's many underwater scenes. The score by Bernard
Herrmann, who would later be best known for his work on such Hitchcock
films as VERTIGO, also captures the beauty of the sea to remarkable
effect.
Unfortunately, REEF seems to have fallen into public domain, and there
are numerous DVD and VHS releases on the market. In most cases they are
abominable things: the cinemascope has been reduced to pan and scan,
the colors are muddy, and the sound is poor. There are, however, at
least a few available that give you some idea of what all the 1953 fuss
was about. Although they are hardly renowned for the quality of their
product, the Digiview Productions release is actually quite good; the
Digital Gold release is also more than respectable.
Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer
24 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
Breathtaking, enjoyable and cheerful!, 10 October 1999
Author:
ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
The world beneath the sea is beautiful and dangerous... and the 12-Mile
Reef was too dangerous and too beautiful... The deep you go, the more
beautiful it was...
The title referred to the areas in which sponge divers ply their
harvest frequently at the possibility of loosing their life... Their
sponges vary greatly in shape, size and color... The more prized were
found in the deep of the 12-Mile Reef... The sponge was valued for its
size, woolly texture and irregular surface...
The film begins in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico off the West Coast
of Florida where two families and two cultures are fighting for
existence, and two kids are falling in love...
Tony (Robert Wagner) is a happy good-humored young Greek, honest, brave
and noble... He wins the heart of Gwyneth and conquers by love her
strong tough father...
Gilbert Roland, the father of Tony, is a strong Greek character ready
to fight Peter Graves in any style... But he is a human being scared to
death when he dives in the deep waters of the reef...
Terry Moore is the soft heart kid fascinated by the handsome Greek...
Richard Boone is the tough fisherman dedicated with his two sons to
ambush and to steal the gatherings of others...
Peter Graves, star of the popular TV Series "Mission Impossible" much
later, is the heavy fellow of the picture who beats Tony for conquering
his love... He burns also his old boat and takes his valuable
sponges...
"Beneath the 12-Mile Reef" is Fox's second CinemaScope production after
"The Robe."
Shot on location in Key West and Tapon Springs, Florida, the film is
enjoyable and cheerful, with breathtaking underwater photography,
mysteriously frightening music, and menacing attack of an octopus...
14 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Average Overall, Pretty Good Atmosphere, 22 February 2006
Author:
Snow Leopard from Ohio
An average movie overall, this is helped along quite a bit by its
atmosphere, which makes a relatively creative setting work pretty well.
The actual story consists entirely of very well-worn ideas, but they
work all right because the setting and scenery give the story some
extra life. The cast also has a couple of bright spots, and aside from
being somewhat too long, it's a solid feature for its genre.
The story has a community of Greek sponge fishermen on the Florida
coast facing intimidation, prejudice, and economic competition, with a
budding cross-cultural romance that has the potential either to ease
the tensions or to cause worse conflicts. A young Robert Wagner plays
the main character, and while his performance is rather
one-dimensional, he easily makes his presence felt. Peter Graves is his
antagonist, with Terry Moore as the love interest.
Probably the best performance is given by Gilbert Roland, who plays
Wagner's father. His character is a cocky but knowledgeable veteran of
his trade, who is forced to take ever greater risks to provide for his
family.
The atmosphere is helped by the color photography and by a lot of good
detail in most of the various settings. For much of the movie, you are
constantly reminded of the seaside setting and of the ways that it
drives the characters and the action. All this helps the familiar story
idea to take on a little more interest.
8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
No masterpiece but entertaining, 24 June 2006
Author:
matchettja from Japan
There are some films that can't be labeled as classics, but they have a good story and are generally entertaining. I would say this one falls into that category. Don't look for great acting. If you can imagine Robert Wagner as an ebullient young Greek, then you'll know what I mean. The story centers on some fishing families in coastal Florida and competition to get a good harvest of sponges. Most areas have been over-harvested and to get a good haul, father and son Mike and Tony Petrakis (Roland and Wagner) are forced to go to the 12-mile reef, a dangerous place where divers might slip off the reef and get the bends when they come back up. In the meantime, Tony falls for the non-Greek daughter (Moore) of a rival fishing family who stole their sponges from them. The cinematography, in Cinemascope, is attractive as is the music score, a treat for both eyes and ears. When the divers are in the water, composer Bernard Herrmann really whips it up, with harps and everything. While no masterpiece, "Reef" is, for me, satisfying.
8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
How deep is love?, 4 July 2004
Author:
Michael O'Keefe from Muskogee OK
Robert Webb directs this terrific underwater adventure. Two families of different ethnic background rival for sponges in the Gulf of Mexico off the west coast of Florida. One family of Greek decent is led by Mike Petrakis(Gilbert Roland)and his son Tony(Robert Wagner). Their efforts of diving for valuable sponges are thwarted by Thomas Rhys(Richard Boone)and his team of divers. Arnold(Peter Graves)is the aggressive diver that leads raids on the Petrakis sponge hauls as well as competes with young Tony for the affection of Gwyneth Rhys(Terry Moore). Highlights are Wagner fighting with an octopus; Moore in a swimsuit; and the great underwater scenes. Notice Wagner's dyed black hair. In supporting roles are two veteran actors J. Carrol Naish and Jay Novello. It is said this is the third movie filmed in Cinemascope. It garnered critical acclaim for the breakthrough underwater cinematography.
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
It's All Greek to Sea, 8 March 2008
Author:
wes-connors from Earth
Robert Wagner (as Tony Petrakis) and Terry Moore (as Gwyneth Rhys) are
an attractive couple; and, the color cinematography is lovely in
"Beneath the 12-Mile Reef". Gilbert Roland (as Mike Petrakis) heads up
an entertaining supporting cast. Mr. Wagner's hair is darkened to
appear more Greek (but his on-screen sister's locks are spared). Ms.
Moore is fetching. Still, Edward Cronjager (photographer) and Bernard
Herrmann (musician) are director Robert Webb's most valuable players.
The film helped put Wagner on the map; he won a "Photoplay Gold Medal"
as filmdom's best new actor; moreover, he and Moore easily made Martin
Quigley's Annual Top 10 "Stars of Tomorrow" list, for 1953.
***** Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (12/2/53) Robert D. Webb ~ Robert
Wagner, Terry Moore, Gilbert Roland
6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
nice since my father was the stunt man, 8 July 2007
Author:
steven karakos (skarakos0@hotmail.com) from United States
it was nice to find out the stunt man in the water was my father nick karakos of tarpin springs Florida. it was nice to notice some of the buildings in the movie was at tarpin springs when i was 17 years old. i did notice that in the movie the word tarpin was mention 2x and every time the diver would go into the water a notation of word (Greek) was stated. when i visit my father back when i was 17 years old they would call him Greek. it was a nice movie to watch and i had a understanding of the plot. you can tell they showed some of the Greek life that was made living down in Florida. i don,t know if they still have the sponge diver boat they would give people tours and show how they would pull up spouges. overall i would give this movie a 6.
8 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Showcase For CinemaScope, 18 April 2005
Author:
skallisjr from Tampa, FL United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This film is so old it's available in "bargain" DVDs, but it was quite
compelling visually when it first came out. The story was an excuse for
the underwater photography in widescreen, which was often quite
striking.
Spoilers in following: The story's Tarpon Springs settings were
authentic to the time, and of course, our young hero wins the Cross
Toss, a yearly tradition. This was supposed to bring him a year's good
luck, but the following events were a mixed lot, including the death of
his father.
All of the tragedies that follow force our young hero to tackle the
12-mile reef, an area most sponge fishermen considered too dangerous.
This, of course, enables us to see more underwater scenery.
The sponge-diving sequence is authentic. I visited Tarpon Springs,
where I saw the activity in detail on a tour.
A light film, but okay.
16 out of 29 people found the following review useful:
CAST OF ALL TIME GREATEST !, 24 June 2003
Author:
whpratt1 from United States
This is a film you can view over and over again, a great 1953 film with a great cast of GIANTS in the film industry with great acting by Gilbert Roland, J. Carrol Nash, Terry Moore( was married to the late Howard Hughes), Richard Boone and Peter Graves. Enjoyed the film location of Tarpon Springs, Fla., along the Sponge Docks where the Greeks have a historical heritage. Robert Wagner was just starting out in the film business and becoming a super star for the early 1950's and beyond, and his dark hair in this picture changed his appearance, however, his voice gives him away. There is lots of innocent 1950's love scenes and plenty of drama and excitement to keep you in your seats. This is a wonderful film Classic for all generations to view and enjoy over and over again!
5 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
BENEATH THE 12-MILE REEF (Robert D. Webb, 1953) **1/2, 7 November 2008
Author:
MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta
To begin with, I recall watching this as a Sunday matinée on Italian TV
as a kid. Though one of the very first Cinemascope outings, its
copyright was somehow not renewed by Fox when it was due and,
consequently, it fell into the dreaded Public Domain; that said, the
copy I acquired – as part of a 2-disc 4-movie "Pirates"(!) set – was
surprisingly in Widescreen, even if the image itself proved overly
soft.
Unfortunately, the narrative's unusual background of sponge-fishing
(treated in some detail but emerging to be more dreary than absorbing,
despite nice Oscar-nominated underwater photography) is put in the
service of a clichéd Romeo & Juliet storyline. In fact, while I usually
lap up such vintage Hollywood adventure films, this one was constantly
undermined by a cornball script (amazingly penned by noir expert A.I.
Bezzerides!) in which Robert Wagner, decked-out with an unbecoming
hairdo, is seen immaturely flaunting his Adonis features every so often
(the virile nature of such earthy people is always at the fore in this
type of film!)…while it takes some serious suspension of disbelief to
accept a man of such obvious Latin tinge as Gilbert Roland in the part
of a Greek!
Slightly overlong for its purpose, the film is nonetheless redeemed by
a strong cast (which also includes petite Terry Moore as Wagner's love
interest, Richard Boone her father, Peter Graves the man she jilted,
and J. Carroll Naish as Roland's brother/associate – a role not too far
removed from his CLASH BY NIGHT [1952] characterization), an excellent
score by the great Bernard Herrmann (which seems kind of wasted on such
trivial fare, though it didn't prevent the film from being presented at
Cannes where that year's jury numbered Luis Bunuel among its members
and Jean Cocteau as president!!) and the requisite underwater struggle
with a squid (also featured during this era in the likes of REAP THE
WILD WIND [1942] and TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA [1954]).
For the record, I followed this oater with two other more satisfying
titles from director Webb – WHITE FEATHER [1955] and THE PROUD ONES
[1956] – both Westerns I had acquired some time back through an
acquaintance of my father's but which I hadn't yet gotten around to
checking out until now…
| Page 1 of 3: | [1] [2] [3] |
Related Links
| Plot summary | Ratings | Awards |
| External reviews | Plot keywords | Main details |
| Your user reviews | Your vote history |
Copyright © 1990-2012
IMDb.com, Inc.
Terms and Privacy Policy under which this service is provided to you.
An 
company.