Crash Dive

This is one of very few films shot partly at the submarine base in Groton, CT, aka Submarine Base New London, CT.

A few naval combatants rarely seen in Technicolor are visible in the early part of the film. The PT boats seen near the beginning are the 77-foot Elco type. The submarine primarily featured as the fictional USS Corsair is the experimental USS Marlin (SS-205), with a conning tower modified to resemble her sister USS Mackerel (SS-204). A few O-class and R-class submarines, built in World War One and used for training in WW2, are visible in the background of some shots. For wartime security reasons, no submarine classes used in combat in WW2 appear in the film. The USS Semmes (AG-24 ex-DD-189) is seen in one shot; there are probably not many good Technicolor views of a four-stack destroyer available today. The Semmes was being used as a sonar testbed at the time.

I personally did not like how the love story progressed, as Tyrone Power is consistently deceptive and gets the girl anyway.

Another reviewer has assumed that the Nazi base would have to be near New England on the basis that WW2 submarines had a short range. This is incorrect. US submarines in WW2 routinely went from Pearl Harbor to Japan's home waters, patrolled for several weeks, and returned to Pearl Harbor on a single tank of diesel fuel. A Gato-class submarine could cover 11,000 miles without refueling, thus could have patrolled in German home waters while based in Groton if necessary. My assumption is that the Nazi base would be in Greenland, not likely given the realities of the war, but the raid on it still makes for good action.

Tyrone Power and Dana Andrews take on the Nazi's in their submarine. When it comes to nautical movies you just can't beat a good old submarine story, the claustriphobic atmosphere of the sub, the inevitable sweating in the dark, listening to the ping of the sonar and anticipating the rocking explosions of the depth charges... And it's all in glorious colour, which is unusual for a war movie actually made during the war. Throw in a love triangle and a commando attack on a secret Nazi base and you have a solid patriotic entertainment (it even encourages you to buy war bonds over the final credits!).

This was a very enjoyable WWII film, though before I discuss why I liked the movie, I should point out that the film does have one BIG cliché. When Tyrone Power meets a woman (Anne Baxter--here with dark brown hair) and they immediately hate each other, lovers of classic Hollywood films know that this can only mean one thing---they are destined to fall in love by the end of the film!! Aside from this predictable aspect of the film, I really did like the movie.

The first thing I noticed about the film was the gorgeous color film. For 1943, it was terrific--with the most vibrant blues I've ever seen--much like the look of the great film, THE CAINE MUTINY. Twentieth-Century Fox really pulled out the stops to make this film look nice.

As far as the plot goes, it's a pretty exciting and standard submarine film. Now that I write this, I realize that they sure made a lot of great sub films over the years--with hardly a stinker among them. This film maintains the excellent tradition of such lovely films as RUN SILENT RUN DEEP, THE ENEMY BELOW and DESINTATION TOKYO--all lovely films that are both gripping and entertaining.

The film has more plot than just subs and Anne Baxter. It seems that Tyrone Power was very happy and successful aboard PT boats. When he was transferred to sub duty, he wasn't particularly excited, as he thought that patrol boats were the greatest thing since sliced bread. However, over time, he makes good and grows to love the submarine.

CRASH DIVE has some excellent action scenes--particularly the attack on a secret base near the end. The acting good, script very good for a wartime propaganda flick and I particularly liked the sympathetic portrayal of the Black sailor--something pretty rare in a film of the era. Overall, a good and enjoyable film.

This is one of these propaganda and efficienty made warfare movies of the 40s that delivers comic relief in the form of romance . WWII glory movie with a love triangle, submarine battles and agreeable scenes. It deals with second-in-command, a handsome lieutenant : handsome Tyrone Power, who falls hopelessly in love for school teacher : Anne Baxter, only to find out after that she is Submarine Commander Dana Andrews' fiance. Once this little tidbit information is disclosed, things go wrong. Later on, the two sea officers embark on a mission to destroy a Nazi port and a submarine responsible for laying mines in the North Atlantic. And subsequently taking place a terrestrial intervention by a brave commando to vanquish the Nazi enemy fortress, using machine gun, dynamite and other destructive means.

Nice film containing good action, thrills , evocative and impressive sea battles and adequate special effects with a lot of explosions. As FX, miniatures and scale models are pretty well, however, some boats look like toys. Based on a story by prestigious W. R. Burnett and script by Jo Swerling, though it relies heavily on the silly and improbable love story with a non-sense triangular romance. It provides an excessively jingoist view point, as at its final part, it pays a real tribute to Navy, its Cruisers, PTs, Destroyers , Submarines and its crews. Stars three big name actors of the Forties and Fifties, the good-looking Tyrone Power, the always brilliant Dana Andrews and Academy-Award winning Anne Baxter as the woman loved by two naval commanders aboard the same sub. This one has the bonus of a fine support cast, such as : the veteran James Gleason, Dame May Witty, Henry (Harry) Morgan, John Archer, Ben Carter, Frank Conroy, Stanley Andrews, among others.

It contains a thrilling and moving musical score by David Buttolph. As well as shimmering and glimmer cinematography in Technicolor by master cameraman Leon Shamroy who won three Oscars to his name by 1945, and he photographed several super-productions. The motion picture was professionally and skillfully directed by Archie Mayo, though with not originality, being a simple super-patriotic movie. Archie Mayo had a decent cinematic career, directing acceptable films, such as : Night after night, The Mayor of hell, Bordertown, It is love I'm after, Four sons, Confirm or deny, Orchestra wives, Night in Casablanca, being his greatest hit : The petrified forest. Rating : 6/10 acceptable and passable wartime picture that will appeal to genre lovers.

Taken from a story written by W.R. Burnett, this Navy yarn was directed by Archie Mayo. Typical Navy tale for War films of this sort were routinely produced during the 40's. It involves the standard war time plot of two men falling for the same woman. In this case we have our devilishly handsome officer Tyrone Power playing Lt. Ward Stewart who has a definite wartime preference for P.T.Boats and considers them the undependable heart of the U.S. Naval fleet. Unfortunately, he is being reassigned to Submarine duty with a stern commander, namely Lt. Cmdr. Dewey Connors (Dane Andrewa) as the ships's Captain. As per the formula scripts of the war-time era, the two men are in love with the same beautiful leading lady Jean Hewlett (Anne Baxter) and want to marry her. Although both find time to woe her, they also deal with war time problems, namely the enemy. Hazzards abound in the deadly seas they patrol, so much so it doesn't seem likely the officers will survive. The movie becomes standard stuff and because it's filled with guns, bombs and exciting situations, it promises to be interesting. Once that is accepted, the movie is good War-time exciting fun and could lead to you buying some war bonds after the show. If one is a fan of the two leading me, this becomes good entertainment. Nuff said, especially with additional cast members like James Gleason and Harry Morgan. Recommend for the patriotic crowd. ****