The Atomic Submarine (1959)

Director:

Spencer Gordon Bennet

Writer:

Orville H. Hampton (written by)
(more)

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 | North Pole | Arctic | Underwater | B Movie

Cast

Arthur Franz	...	Lt. Cmdr. Richard 'Reef' Holloway
Dick Foran	...	Cmdr. Dan Wendover
Brett Halsey	...	Dr. Carl Neilson Jr.
Tom Conway	...	Sir Ian Hunt
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
Kenneth Becker	...	Frogman Powell (as Ken Becker)
Sid Melton	...	Yeoman Chester Tuttle
Frank Watkins	...	Watkins
Pat Michaels	...	Narrator (voice)
John Hilliard	...	Saucer Voice (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edmund Cobb	...	Passerby (uncredited)
Frank Lackteen	...	Passerby (uncredited)

Directed by
Spencer Gordon Bennet		(as Spencer G. Bennet)

Writing credits
Orville H. Hampton		(written by)
Irving Block		story (uncredited)
Jack Rabin		story (uncredited)

Produced by
Irving Block	....	producer associate
Alex Gordon	....	producer
Orville H. Hampton	....	associate producer
Jack Rabin	....	producer associate
Henry Schrage	....	co-producer

Cinematography by
Gilbert Warrenton		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
William Austin

Art Direction by
Don Ament
Daniel Haller		(as Dan Haller)

Set Decoration by
Harry Reif

Makeup Department
Emile LaVigne	....	makeup artist (as Emile Lavigne)

Production Management
Edward Morey Jr.	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Clark L. Paylow	....	assistant director (as Clark Paylow)
Arthur M. Broidy	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Max Frankel	....	properties

Sound Department
Ralph Butler	....	sound
Martin Greco	....	sound editor (as Marty Greco)

Special Effects by
Milton Olsen	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Irving Block	....	special effects designer and creator
Louis DeWitt	....	special effects designer and creator
Jack Rabin	....	special effects designer and creator

Camera and Electrical Department
George Satterfield	....	chief set electrician
Arthur Lane	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Harry Lewis	....	grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Norah Sharpe	....	wardrobe
Roger J. Weinberg	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Neil Brunnenkant	....	music editor
Alexander Laszlo	....	conductor

Other crew
Ruth Alexander	....	assistant to producer
Jack W. Cash	....	dialogue supervisor (as Jack Cash)
Jack W. Cash	....	production associate (as Jack Cash)
Judith Hart	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Gorham Productions

Distributors

• Allied Artists Pictures (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner-Pathé Distributors (1960) (UK) (theatrical)
• Mercator-Film (1963) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD) (Included in the "Monsters and Madmen" box set.)
• Epoca (Argentina) (video)
• Monterey Video (video)
• Teleworld (19??) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• Ryder Sound Services  sound recording

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:

The trailer for this Allied Artists release played down the science fiction elements and made it look more like a military action film.

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)

Decent Story Makes Up For A Few Weaknesses

I honestly didn't think this was too bad. It's most obvious weaknesses are the very poor special effects, which over and over give a very cheap, low-budget feel to the movie. Having said that, the story - while it perhaps lacked the action that modern sci-fi viewers have come to expect - was not bad. Essentially, there's a mystery involving a number of Maritime disasters that have occurred in the Arctic Ocean, and the atomic submarine Tigershark is sent to investigate. Upon its arrival, it discovers that the disasters are being caused by a flying saucer with a somewhat ridiculous looking alien on board who has plans for his species to colonize the earth. If that sounds familiar, it's probably because it's the plot for about 75% of the episodes of "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea!" The Tigershark doesn't seem as advanced as the Seaview was, but you can certainly see this as a direct ancestor of that movie/TV series. The performances here were all right, if at times a little dry. The attempt to create tension between Reef and Nielson didn't work that well, primarily because I just never understood the level of antipathy Reef seemed to have, the ultimate solution as the submarine faced off against the flying saucer seemed in the end a bit too simple and easy, and the last scene was a little bit too corny, quite frankly. Overall, though, this was an enjoyable enough experience. 7/10