Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953)

Fierce competition among sponge fishermen forces a Greek-American family to fish in the dangerous 12-mile reef area off the western coast of Florida.

Director:

Robert D. Webb

Writer:

A.I. Bezzerides

Stars:

Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, Gilbert Roland

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Wagner	...	Tony Petrakis
Terry Moore	...	Gwyneth Rhys
Gilbert Roland	...	Mike Petrakis
J. Carrol Naish	...	Socrates 'Soc' Houlis
Richard Boone	...	Thomas Rhys
Angela Clarke	...	Mama Petrakis
Peter Graves	...	Arnold Dix
Jay Novello	...	Sinan
Jacques Aubuchon	...	Demetrios Sofotes
Gloria Gordon	...	Penny Petrakis
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Griff Rhys

Storyline

Mike and Tony Petrakis are a Greek father and son team who dive for sponges off the coast of Florida. After they are robbed by crooks, Arnold and the Rhys brothers, Mike decides to take his men to the dangerous 12-mile reef to dive for more sponges. Mike suffers a fatal accident when he falls from the reef leaving Tony to carry on the business. But now he has a companion, Gwyneth Rhys.

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Plot Keywords:

reef | florida | sponge diving | the bends | stingray | 

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Taglines:

The triumphant adventure of those who plunder the ocean floor for booty, for power, for love!

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Genres:

Adventure

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Greek

Release Date:

2 December 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Höllenriff

Filming Locations:

Nassau, Bahamas

Box Office

Budget:

$1,560,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min 95 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For many years it was widely believed that the failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright had resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market were either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) 16mm pan/scan television copies of the film purchased on the underground market. The legal status of the film was eventually resolved by 20th Century-Fox, and the movie was rescued from public domain so that a quality DVD could be released through Fox Cinema Archives. Fans are now able to enjoy the movie with stereo sound and a quality picture--complete with the "lost" scene in which Gilbert Roland stuffs a cigar into Peter Graves' mouth after beating him in a fistfight.

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Quotes

Tony Petrakis: [to Gwyneth Rhys] Hey, you want to know what my real name is? Adonis. My mother named me after a Greek god. I'm a beautiful young man.

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Alternate Versions

The Platinum DVD release removes the scene of Mike (Gilbert Roland) forcing Arnold (Peter Graves) to eat a cigar.

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Connections

Featured in A Century of Cinema (1994)

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Soundtracks

It Had to Be You
(uncredited)
Music by Isham Jones
Played on the juke box when Tony and Gwyneth dance

User Reviews

Has some redeeming qualities

I remember this movie from the old NBC Saturday/Monday NIGHT AT THE MOVIES from the early 60's! Of course watching it in black and white, fullscreen and on a small TV is not the way to view this.

I wrote this review to defend Robert Wagner's performance. Am I the only one to get he's playing a Greek American; not an old school Greek from the old country? He's not going to have the accent or mannerisms of his father...he's American!!! I also like that Tony (Wagner) was depicted for what he was...a man-child. His father (Gilbert Roland) steps in when he feels Tony is in over his head going up against bully Arnold (Peter Graves).

It also displays a love story that develops..not like today's movies where people hop in bed, then calm down and try to figure out if they even like each other. And Terry Moore is lovely as Tony's love interest Gwyneth.

Of course the Cinematography, Stereo, Wide Screen format and great Bernard Herrmann are superb and add to the overall effect. J. Carroll Naish, Richard Boone and Harry Carey, Jr. lend capable support.