Monday, April 6, 2020

Dad's Movies: "Run Silent, Run Deep" (1958)

I skipped ahead on the list when I saw this pop up on BD a while back.

So, Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) doesn't need much commentary from me. This is one of the influential submarine movies which seems to have influenced many TV shows (Star Trek, anyone?) and films. A wartime pressure cooker which pits two strong personalities against each other. Clark Gable's commander goes against orders to carry out a revenge mission and his second in command, Burt Lancaster, does not approve.

I think in movies like this, we know what we are getting with leads like these; whether you enjoy this is mostly dependent on whether you like these actors, especially Gable who played similar versions of the same character throughout his career. The other key is for larger than life leading actors to be put into appropriate characters. This film nails that criteria for sure.

Robert Wise directs and keeps the movie tight and the performances aren't out of control. This isn't Das Boot or anything but for the late 1950s, it has a good degree of realism. Very entertaining.

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