The Atomic Submarine (1959)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

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	...	Capt. 'Skipper' Dan Wendover
Brett Halsey	...	Dr. Carl Neilson Jr.
Paul Dubov	...	Lt. David Milburn
Bob Steele	...	CPO 'Grif' Griffin
Victor Varconi	...	Dr. Clifford Kent - [Hungarian] scholar
Joi Lansing	...	Julie - Reef's Blonde Date
Selmer Jackson	...	Adm. Terhune - Chairs Pentagon Meeting
Jack Mulhall	...	White-haired Sec.of Def.Murdock (Pentagon meet)
Jean Moorhead	...	Helen (Mrs Dave) Milburn
Richard Tyler	...	Blond Frogman Carney
Sid Melton	...	Yeoman Chester Tuttle
Kenneth Becker	...	Dark-haired Frogman Powell (as Ken Becker)
Frank Watkins	...	Watkins
Tom Conway	...	Sir Ian Hunt - British scholar

Also Known As:

The Atomic Sub (USA)

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:

The film inspired the movie and TV series VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. It was also remade as an episode of that series.

Goofs:

Factual errors: There is no Nobel Prize in oceanography.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Atomic Recall (2007) (V)

Definitely the blueprint for VOYAGE's The Seaview

What a difference the three years separating ATOMIC SUBMARINE and VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA made! Of course, Allen's much larger budget sure helped too. Still, one can see The Tigershark as being the direct parent of The Seaview.

We have an advanced nuclear sub capable of firing missiles or torpedoes and equipped with a secondary submarine. The Seaview originally carried a small fleet of 2-man submersibles but they got eclipsed by the flashier Flying Sub. And of course you have the senior officer, the younger guy who actually handles the action scenes, and a couple onboard scientists just for the heck of it.

The plot itself is pretty much the model for many of the Voyages to the Bottom of the Sea. The hidden mystery at the heart of an otherwise normal mission, the unexpected monster.... Yeah, this could have been a VOYAGE episode. And in fact, eventually IT WAS! VOYAGE did an episode that adapted ATOMIC SUBMARINE pretty much straight, just changing the sub, the crew names, and a few details (and ditching Joi Lansing's character, alas!).

While ATOMIC SUBMARINE does look frightfully low budget compared to VOYAGE, let alone today's super-bloated budget busters, it works pretty well for a product of its time. And the minimalist, barely illuminated alien saucer interior is surprising effect. I know it creeped me out when I first saw this late one night in '66!