Gray Lady Down (1978)

A Navy Captain uses his experimental Snark to reach a nuclear submarine stuck on an ocean ledge.

Director:

David Greene

Writers:

David Lavallee (novel), James Whittaker (screenplay),

Stars:

Charlton Heston, David Carradine, Stacy Keach

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlton Heston	...	Capt. Paul Blanchard
David Carradine	...	Capt. Gates
Stacy Keach	...	Capt. Bennett
Ned Beatty	...	Mickey
Stephen McHattie	...	Danny Murphy
Ronny Cox	...	Cmdr. David Samuelson
Dorian Harewood	...	Fowler
Rosemary Forsyth	...	Vickie Blanchard
Hilly Hicks	...	Page
Charles Cioffi	...	Admiral Barnes
William Jordan	...	Waters
Jack Rader	...	Harkness
Antony Ponzini	...	Caruso
Michael O'Keefe	...	Harris
Charles Robinson	...	McAllister (as Charlie Robinson)

Storyline

The USS Neptune, a nuclear submarine, is sunk off the coast of Connecticut after a collision with a Norwegian cargo ship. The navy must attempt a potentially dangerous rescue in the hope of saving the lives of the crew.

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Plot Keywords:

nuclear submarine | submarine | rescue | collision | underwater | 

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Taglines:

Trapped underwater... with time running out.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Norwegian

Release Date:

April 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sauvez le Neptune

Filming Locations:

San Diego, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirisch Corporation, The, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) (uncredited)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Feature film debut of Christopher Reeve.

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Goofs

When resting on the bottom, the crew are seen on the mess decks watching a movie. In real life, the non-essential crew would have been sent to their bunks and the ship would have been placed on reduced electrical load in order to preserve precious battery power. There would not have been any movies or cooked meals.

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Quotes

Capt. Paul Blanchard: Fourteen hundred and fifty feet! They really built this baby!
Murphy: Thank God!
Capt. Paul Blanchard: God and General Dynamics!

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Connections

Referenced in The Abyss (1989)

User Reviews

Good disaster movie with spectacular special effects as well as magnificent acting from Heston and Keach

Nice underwater drama film based on a real-life incident about pitting man and machine . It deals with an US Navy atomic submarine (commanded by Charlton Heston on his final voyage and as second in command Ronnie Cox) that has accidentally collided with Norway freighter and goes down into deep . The movie concerns upon an American sub , the complications originated for a nuclear scape and fight against time . But the submarine, and its crew, are ill prepared for the challenges they will face . A two-man rescue operation by means of an experimental driving craft (captained by David Carradine and Ned Beatty) try to find the victims , as many sailors will have to sacrifice themselves to save life of crew members. And a greatest ship based in San Diego California with an expert crew of ¨Submarine Rescue Unity¨ heads the sinking location.

Runtime film is overlong , the flick is slow moving and a little boring , though a bit monotonous is quite interesting. Tense and exciting at times and climatic ending , but lot of minutes are superfluous ,it has half hour of excess, however the movie is enough agreeable.

The yarn is interesting and based on real deeds as submarine U.S.S. Thresher that sank in 1963 in one of the worst catastrophes at sea. There are suspense ,thriller and action, though the scenario is mostly developed into submarines.

Charlton Heston's performance as commandant is excellent, he hands perfectly the role , Heston has gotten the best character along with David Carradine as valiant skipper . Ronny Cox's acting as the contender official is first rate. Facing off between two commanders is top-notch . And large support cast as Stephen McHattie, Dorian Harewood, Charles Cioffi, Rosemary Forsyth and look for Christopher Reeve and Michael O'Keefe .

David Greene direction is fine and cinematography is atmospheric and colorful . Jerry Fielding music is spectacular and adjusted to film.

The movie will appeal to disaster genre enthusiasts and action lovers . Rating : 6,5 , better than average .