Crash Dive (1943)

A submarine lieutenant and his commander fall in love with the same girl.

Director:

Archie Mayo

Writers:

Jo Swerling (screenplay), W.R. Burnett (original story)

Stars:

Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, Dana Andrews

Won 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Tyrone Power	...	Lt. Ward Stewart (as Tyrone Power U.S.M.C.R.)
Anne Baxter	...	Jean Hewlett
Dana Andrews	...	Lt. Cmdr. Dewey Connors
James Gleason	...	Chief Mike 'Mac' McDonnell
May Whitty	...	Grandmother (as Dame May Whitty)
Harry Morgan	...	Brownie (as Henry Morgan)
Ben Carter	...	Oliver Cromwell Jones

Storyline

Against his personal preference, PT boat commander Ward Stewart is made executive officer of the submarine USS Corsair. On leave before sailing, he meets schoolteacher Jean Hewlett and gives her a romantic rush...unaware that she's the sweetheart of Dewey Connors, his new commander. At sea, the men bond while fighting German Q-ships. When will they discover their mutual romantic rivalry? Will it interfere with a spectacular commando raid on a secret German base?

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Plot Keywords:

submarine | p.t. boat | commando raid | washington d.c. | naval uniform | 

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Taglines:

Tyrone Power -- Leading a reckless crew on the war's most daring mission! Battling death in a depth-bombed submarine! Blasting Nazis on a bold Commando raid! Finding love in precious, stolen moments! Crashing his way to unforgettable glory in...

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

1943 (UK)

Also Known As:

Ss 111

Filming Locations:

U.S. Navy Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White (1956 reissue) Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film utilizes an oft-used storyline of the war movie genre which has two soldiers in love with the same girl.

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Goofs

With the submarine on the bottom the captain (Conners) orders fuel, debris, and clothing be jettisoned to confuse the destroyer. The flotsam is shown floating out of the submarine and to the surface. The purpose of this is to convince the enemy that the submarine has been hit and sunk. In the debris is seen what is apparently a dummy made from dungarees etc. It seems that this would be counterproductive because once the enemy found the dummy they'd know for sure that all the debris was fake, the sub had not be sunk, and would recommence firing depth charges.

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Quotes

Jean Hewlett: That isn't gold on your uniform - it's brass!

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Connections

Featured in Going Hollywood: The War Years (1988)

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Soundtracks

America
(uncredited) (aka "My Country 'tis of Thee")
Music by Lowell Mason, based on the melody from "God Save the Queen" by Henry Carey
Lyrics by Samuel Francis Smith
Played during the Washington montage

User Reviews

Where WAS that base anyway?

Tyrone Power's last film before going to war was this World War II epic which co-starred him with Dana Andrews and Anne Baxter and a good cast of supporting players. This did win an Oscar for Special Effects with the raid on the Nazi Submarine base.

And that's what makes this thing so stupid. Where was that base? Given what World War II vintage subs could do in performance, that base had to be Block Island, Martha's Vineyard or at worst, the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. You're asked to believe that the Nazis constructed a secret submarine base somewhere on some mythical isle in the Atlantic. These guys went off on some short cruise from New London to find this base. Just where were the Nazis operating?

Tyrone Power must have laughed himself silly every time he thought of this one. Especially in the South Pacific where served with the Marines in several major Pacific campaigns. At his funeral, there was a Marine honor guard as would befit a retired Major.

The rest of the story is your standard triangle the kind Power played in with Don Ameche during peacetime in the 30s. Except that here, the Ameche part was played by Dana Andrews.

One positive note. Black actor Ben Carter played a cook in the submarine galley and he's shown in an actual combat mission. It was an unusual role for a black actor to play at that time and I think he played it well. Some racial stereotyping, but his concern and affection for James Gleason who was the CPO on the submarine was real and rang true.