Run Silent Run Deep (1958)

A U.S. sub commander, obsessed with sinking a certain Japanese ship, butts heads with his first officer and crew.

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

John Gay (screenplay), Edward L. Beach (based on novel by) (as Commander Edward L. Beach)

Stars:

Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Jack Warden

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Clark Gable	...	Cmdr. 'Rich' Richardson
Burt Lancaster	...	Lt. Jim Bledsoe
Jack Warden	...	Yeoman 1st Class Mueller
Brad Dexter	...	Ens. Gerald Cartwright
Don Rickles	...	Quartermaster 1st Class Ruby
Nick Cravat	...	Russo
Joe Maross	...	Chief Kohler
Mary LaRoche	...	Laura Richardson
Eddie Foy III	...	Larto
Rudy Bond	...	Sonarman 1st Class Cullen

Storyline

The captain of a submarine sunk by the Japanese during WWII is finally given a chance to skipper another sub after a year of working a desk job. His singleminded determination for revenge against the destroyer that sunk his previous vessel puts his new crew in unneccessary danger.

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Plot Keywords:

submarine movie | submarine | submarine crew | captain tyrannical | destroyer | 

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Taglines:

Gable and Lancaster make the seas boil in the battle adventure that hits like a torpedo!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

27 March 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Run Silent, Run Deep

Filming Locations:

Salton Sea, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions, Jeffrey Pictures Corp.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Exterior shots of submarines seen moving during the undersea sequences were actually scale models manufactured by special effects personnel. These f/x were considered cutting edge at the time.

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Goofs

When Gable and Warden are playing sink "Bungo Pete" in Gable's office, a model battleship is on Gable's desk. This was obviously a Revell kit, likely a model of the USS Missouri, that dates from the mid 50's.

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Quotes

Commander Richardson: A fleet boat of the Navy, a submarine with her fighting power still intact! And you'd take her back to Pearl? I don't believe it!

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits: "Bungo Straits Near the Coast of Japan 1942"

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Connections

Referenced in Ban the Sadist Videos! (2005)

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Soundtracks

Anchors Aweigh
(uncredited)
Music by Charles A. Zimmerman

User Reviews

A "War" movie that succeeds at all levels

This is a wonderful movie depicting the experience of one United States Navy submarine during the Second World War. The "Silent Service" never looked better.

It is filmed in black and white, which is (possibly) a salute to the "Victory at Sea" series of a few years before, but this film would not work as well in color (in contrast with "Das Boot," which would not work as well in black and white). Like "Das Boot," the sets are realistic and give the viewer an intimate feeling of the claustrophobia that existed on these small subs.

The script is excellent, although I have one recommendation: Try to watch this film in a "closed caption" mode. I hear fine, but when I watched it a second time in closed captioned, I picked up even more, particularly the names of the crew.

Gable and Lancaster are a little too old for the roles they are playing. But, this is a small complaint in comparison to their remarkable performances. It's easy to think of Gable as "Rhett Butler," no more and no less, but this film illustrates what a very fine actor he was. Lancaster is excellent, and gives a preview of his Oscar-winning turn in "Elmer Gantry," just a year or two later.

This is an old-fashioned film made with the able assistance of the U.S. Navy, and one cannot help but feeling a little pride in our nation and gratitude for our brave WW II veterans, after watching it. Highly recommended.