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 | south pacific | world war two | 

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Taglines:

Warner Brothers' "Maverick" Man! Bigger Than Ever Now and Ready Right Now in his Big-Screen Big-Excitement Technicolor Smash!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Susan Oliver, under contract to Warner's, turned down the female lead in this film. Her contract was broken, and she primarily did TV guest starring roles after that point.

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Goofs

When Lt Braden arrives at the Japanese base, he removes an explosive device from a small, black plastic bag. Plastic bags were not patented until the late 1950's.

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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

Hail! Hail! The Gang's All Here
(uncredited)
Music by Theodore Morse and Arthur Sullivan
Played when the submarine crew watch the ship come into port

User Reviews

A superior cast bolsters this otherwise routine war drama.

O'Brien is the sub commander, who loses the trust of his crew, Garner the naval officer assigned a commando mission-but the real story here is the vintage cast-Richard Bakalyan and Warren Oates are joined by TV's familiar faces: Edd (Kooky) Byrnes, Henry (Otto Schmidlapp from "Life of Riley") Kulka, and Alan (the Skipper from "Gilligan's Island") Hale Jr. The fine performances are punctuated by adequate action scenes that result in a very watchable picture.

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