Torpedo Run (1958)

A submarine commander is forced to blow up a Japanese ship with prisoners.

Director:

Joseph Pevney

Writers:

Richard Sale (screenplay), William Wister Haines (screenplay),

Stars:

Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, Diane Brewster

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Glenn Ford	...	Lt. Cmdr. Barney Doyle
Ernest Borgnine	...	Lt. Archer 'Archie' Sloan
Diane Brewster	...	Jane Doyle
Dean Jones	...	Lt. Jake 'Fuzz' Foley
L.Q. Jones	...	'Hash' Benson
Philip Ober	...	Adm. Samuel Setton
Richard Carlyle	...	Cmdr. Don Adams
Fredd Wayne	...	Orville 'Goldy' Goldstein
Don Keefer	...	Ens. Ron Milligan
Robert Hardy	...	Lt. Redley
Paul Picerni	...	Lt. Burt Fisher

Storyline

The commander of an American submarine during World War II sets out to destroy the Japanese Aircraft carrier which launched the attack on Pearl Harbour. His wife and child have been captured by the Japanese and they are using them and other prisoners of war as human shields for the carrier.

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Plot Keywords:

commander | submarine | japan | pacific | exclamation point in title | 

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Genres:

War | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 1959 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Torpedo los!

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 95 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie represents one of a select group of a few World War II submarine movies which have won the one single Academy Award in a technical category, that's just only the one Oscar in either special effects or sound editing. These movies include Crash Dive; The Enemy Below; Torpedo Run and U-571. The non-WW II sub-movie, The Hunt for Red October also won just the one Oscar as did the WW 2 part sub-movie 49th Parallel, but for Best Original Story.

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Goofs

There was no such ship as the Shinaru leading the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. There were six aircraft carriers, all of them committed planes to the attack. Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku. The first four listed were all sunk at the Battle of Midway in June of 1942. The others were sunk later, but none by submarines.

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Quotes

Sub Crewman: [standing waist-deep in freezing Aleutian water] Have you ever felt anything this cold?
Lt. Redley: Yes... Brighton in August.

User Reviews

Dramatic sub movie

More a drama than an action film, this movie may have a fairly simplistic plot line and a few implausible events but it's primarily about the sort of awful decisions men sometimes have to make in war and the actors all do an admirable job of conveying different reactions to the consequences of a bad call. Particularly good is Glenn Ford as a commander who finds himself risking the lives of his own wife and child for the greater good. Ernest Borgnine is as always superb as his first officer and best friend and the very personal events unfolding in front of the entire crew give an excellent example of how an extremely insular environment like a submarine can be, while still stripping everyone on board of the luxury of privacy. The setting--World War II, and a hunt for an infamous Japanese aircraft carrier--are handled well and if details aren't 100%, it is no less accurate than most Hollywood submarine films, with an interesting personal tone amidst the technical and Navy confines.