The Atomic Submarine (1959)

Director:

Spencer Gordon Bennet

Writer:

Orville H. Hampton (written by)

Release Date:

29 November 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

"Our fleet of atomic submarines has disappeared!"

Plot:

Ships mysteriously disappear on route across the Arctic Sea, and a specially-equipped submarine is sent to investigate.

Plot Keywords:

Submarine | Arctic | North Pole | Part Narrated | Torpedo

Cast

Arthur Franz	...	Cmdr. Richard 'Reef' Holloway
Dick Foran	...	Cmdr. Dan Wendover
Brett Halsey	...	Dr. Carl Neilson Jr.
Paul Dubov	...	Lt. David Milburn
Bob Steele	...	CPO 'Grif' Griffin
Victor Varconi	...	Dr. Clifford Kent
Joi Lansing	...	Julie
Selmer Jackson	...	Adm. Terhune
Jack Mulhall	...	Justin Murdock
Jean Moorhead	...	Helen Milburn
Richard Tyler	...	Frogman Carney
Sid Melton	...	Yeoman Chester Tuttle
Kenneth Becker	...	Frogman Powell (as Ken Becker)
Frank Watkins	...	Watkins
Tom Conway	...	Sir Ian Hunt

Also Known As:

The Atomic Sub (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

72 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | USA:Passed (PCA #19423) | West Germany:12

Company:

Gorham Productions

Trivia:

Last film of Victor Varconi.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Magnetic North Pole is not located under the Geographic North Pole, which is where the UFO returns in the film to "recharge its batteries" from the Earth's magnetic field. Science had acknowledged this at least two decades before 1959, which was when the film had been released. More current maps show it shifting a bit to the north of Canada.

Quotes:

Narrator: It was foolish. It was insane. It was fantastic.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Atomic Recall (2007) (V)

Cyclopic Submarine

8 out of 10 for effort in the category of lo-budget Sci-Fi Tomfoolery.

What can I say… old "B" grade sci-fi films from the 50's and 60's are really fun to watch. This one is favorite of mine; I'll watch it over and over again. Somehow these movies re-ignite childhood memories of Saturday afternoons at the show or late night TV popcorn fests. Sure they're stinkers, but the odor they emit are as evocative as an exotic fragrance that stimulates half-forgotten memories.

Lots of stock footage; voice-over narration; maps with squiggly chase routes; a solid cast of character actors; cheap, but eerie and imaginative effects… all earmarks of the trashy Drive-in and Matinée fare. Remember "Double Features" or "Triple Features"? Movies like "Atomic Submarine" were the Chinese takeout menu of the 50's cinema scene – quick and filling, but not much else!

If you like ATOMIC SUBMARINE, you'll also like KRONOS; IT, THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE; TARGET EARTH; THE CRAWLING EYE; FIEND WITHOUT A FACE; I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE; THE BRAINS EATERS; THE CURSE OF THE FLY along with many others too numerous to mention. All flawed by their cheapness, but remembered for a few minutes of imaginative storytelling.