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:

The adventures that tore the ocean floor!

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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

In the Robb White novel on which the film is based, it was Commander Stevenson (Edmond O'Brien), the submarine skipper, who refused to consider entering the lagoon to facilitate Lt. (j.g.) Braden's (James Garner) mission, and was killed in the strafing of the Japanese plane while the sub was on the surface, ordering the boat to submerge while he was still alive and wounded in the water. The novel has the more sympathetic Lt. Carney, the sub's executive officer (Carleton Carpenter), take command and decide to enter the lagoon and wait on the bottom for Braden's return. The film substitutes Stevenson's gallant death in the novel for that of Carney's, with Stevenson remaining in command and eventually deciding to enter the lagoon and wait for Braden.

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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

Lt. j.g. Kenneth M. Braden: How come they call you Weary?
Weary: That's my name.
Lt. j.g. Kenneth M. Braden: Nickname?
Weary: No, sir, my real name. I'm the youngest of 13 children. I guess when I was born, my mother couldn't think of another name.

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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

The Sailor's Hornpipe
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played as the submarine returns

User Reviews

2.5 out of 5 action rating

See it – Not a run-of-the-mill submarine movie. James Garner stars as an underwater demolitionist expert in World War II who just happens to be fluent in Japanese. But for some reason he is hand-picked by the government to go on a secret mission that requires neither. His mission involves hitching a ride on a submarine, commanded by an uptight captain who does everything strictly by the book. The submarine takes Garner's character undetected to a Japanese island, where his mission is to scuba dive from the sub to the island, sneak into the enemy outpost, and photograph documents for military intelligence. Most of the movie takes place on the sub. The sub encounters an enemy battleship and enemy planes. The best part of the film is the last 30 minutes, when Garner's character finally gets off the sub and gets to sneak around in the jungle. Despite its unique plot, the rest of the movie is very average, including the action. 2.5 action rating.