Up Periscope (1959)

In 1942, Navy Lieutenant Kenneth Braden from the underwater demolition team is sent to a Japanese island to photograph secret radio codes.

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

Richard H. Landau (screenplay) (as Richard Landau), Robb White (novel)

Stars:

James Garner, Edmond O'Brien, Andra Martin

Cast

Complete credited cast:
James Garner	...	Lt. J.G. Kenneth M. Braden
Edmond O'Brien	...	Commander Paul Stevenson
Andra Martin	...	Sally Johnson
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Lt. Pat Malone (as Alan Hale)
Carleton Carpenter	...	Lt. Phil Carney
Frank Gifford	...	Ensign Cy Mount
William Leslie	...	Lt. Doherty
Richard Bakalyan	...	Seaman Peck
Edd Byrnes	...	Pharmacist Mate Ash (as Edward Byrnes)
Sean Garrison	...	Seaman Floyd
Henry Kulky	...	Chief Petty Officer York

Storyline

Lieutenant Braden discovers that Sally, the woman he's been falling in love with, has actually been checking out his qualifications to be a U.S. Navy frogman. He must put his personal life behind him after being assigned to be smuggled into a Japanese-held island via submarine to photograph radio codes.

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Plot Keywords:

submarine | u.s. navy | secret mission | underwater | south pacific | 

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Taglines:

A story as big as the seas that rock with its glory!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 1959 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Up Periscope!

Filming Locations:

Pacific Ocean

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aubrey Schenck Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (as Technicolor®)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When braden steps onto the submarine he salutes the rear of the boat, which is where the flag would be displayed, yet over his shoulder the flag can be seen rolled up and leaning against a cable. In the next shot, the flag is at the rear of the boat.

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Goofs

The underwater action is supposed to occur in the South Pacific, but the kelp (underwater vegetation) and fish are indigenous to Southern California where the scenes were obviously filmed.

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Quotes

Commander Paul Stevenson: Oh, uh, one more thing, Mr. Braden, you don't get captured.
Lt. j.g. Kenneth M. Braden: Mm-hmm. I wouldn't think of it, sir.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits: SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC - 1942

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Connections

Referenced in Down Periscope (1996)

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Soundtracks

Please Be Kind
(uncredited)
Music by Saul Chaplin
Played when Braden and Sally are lying on the beach and often in the score

User Reviews

Tense and intriguing WWII submarine drama about a dangerous mission carried out by a demolition expert , James Garner

Well starred by Edmond O'Brien and James Garner , Warner Brothers' "Maverick" Man and with agreeable cast ; there's plenty of emotion and thrills in the final action scenes keep you eyes peeled . This is a great production ready right now in his big-screen , meticulously mounted and efficiently directed by Gordon Douglas . In 1942, Navy Lieutenant Kenneth Braden from the underwater demolition team is sent to a Japanese island to photograph secret radio codes . As a rebellious demolition expert ,James Garner, assigned to serve on Edmond O'Brien's by-the-book sub . His assignment : to sneak onto Japanese-held island and steal a top-secret code book .

This underwater actioner contains suspense , thrills , intrigue , a love story and many other things . Although being a routine submarine movie also packs some thrilling moments and results to be pretty good . This nail-biter is a tightly-knit drama centered on the relentless sea maneuvers of a submarine sailing undercover toward a Japanese island . Thrilling as well as exciting battle of wits between two officers : James Garner-Edmond O'Brien , who gradually come to respect each other . Trouble is Commander Paul Stevenson/Edmond O'Brien , may not wait for Lt. J.G. Kenneth M. Braden/James Garner to complete his assignment before taking the submarine back underwater . Both of whom are a compellingly balanced match as two clever as well astute commanders . Interesting screenplay , being based on the novel by Robb White and script written by Richard Landau . The film is famous as one of the best WWII submarine movies though some scenes at sea , however, suffer from the utilization of obvious models in a just as obvious studio tank . Adequate special effects , though all underwater miniature submarine shots were reused from the film Destination : Tokyo (1943) . The main cast , support actors and technicians spent about a month filming on board this ship . Inexorable duel of great stars into a submarine , as nice acting by James Garner as a demolition expert unwillingly assigned to a sub and Edmond O'Brien as stiff-upper-lip commander . Secondary cast is frankly good such as a likable veteran Alan Hale Jr. as Lt. Pat Malone , beautiful Andra Martin , a very young Edd Byrnes as Pharmacist Mate Ash , Frank Gifford , Bernie Hamilton , and this picture marks the feature film movie debuts for Wareen Oates as a sailor who is constantly eating and always to be found in the mess hall heating . Colorful and vivid cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie in excitement Technicolor smash , including spectacular maritime scenes . Thrilling as well as suspenseful musical score . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Gordon Douglas who captures the claustrophobic up and undersea tension . Rating : 6.5/10 . Better than average , well worth watching .

This nail-biting sea epic represents one of a select group of a few World War II submarine movies which have nice special effects and breathtaking sound editing . These movies include ¨Crash Dive¨ ; ¨Torpedo Run¨ and ¨The Enemy Below ¨. Furthermore , other important films about submarines are the followings : ¨Run Silent Run Deep¨ by Robert Wise , ¨Crimson tide¨ by Tony Scott with Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman; ¨K19¨ with Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson and the best ¨Das Boot¨ (1982) by Wolfgang Petersen with Jurgen Prochnow .