With one exception, all of the movies I've reviewed over the past few months have been fairly recent releases. Today, we step back in time.
Here are five wonderful war flicks from the early days:
— Sink The Bismarck (1960)
— The Enemy Below (1957)
— Destination Tokyo (1943)
— Run Silent Run Deep (1958)
— Operation Petticoat (1959)
And there are certain features that distinguish these films from the modern war flick. There's no gorgeous starlet awaiting our hero when he returns home. There's no trick computer gimmicks or the latest, hot special effects. There's no frantic, hurried-up pace; in fact, some of the events actually take place in (gasp!) real-time. There's no thunderous music score when the bad guy is finally bested. And, just as interesting, there's no long list in the credits of stunt men. If there's any list at all.
In other words, these films are genuine.
Some of these movies also exemplify the old adage, War is months of boredom punctuated by moments of extreme terror. Unlike the modern flick, where something semi-disastrous has to happen every 9.3 minutes in order to keep the viewer's attention, Destination Tokyo has almost zero action in it until the very, very end. Run Silent Run Deep has a whopping one engagement in it until the finale.
In a way, it's a refreshing change.
Sink The Bismarck
This might be my favorite of the bunch. Good character development of the main players, fairly realistic photography, it features the absolutely delicious Dana Wynter in her prime, and the story line stays fairly close to what really happened.
Here's the big ol' girl blowing HMS Hood outta the water:
I have an article on the sinking of the Bismarck here.
The Enemy Below
On the other hand, there's lots of action in this puppy from beginning to end. It's basically a cat-and-mouse game between a US destroyer, captained by the redoubtable Robert Mitchum, as he chases a German U-boat across the seas, helmed by the quintessential German sub captain, Curt Jürgens.
Here's their first engagement:
And, just to note, not everything goes Mitchum's way. After all, those U-boat captains were a wily bunch.
Destination Tokyo
Based on a true event, this is the story of a US submarine sneaking into Tokyo Harbor in order to gather intelligence for the upcoming Doolittle raid. Historians will argue that its success was vital to the mission. Great drama, lots of tension, good character development, and it's fun seeing Cary Grant at the helm. Also, we note that this was actually filmed while the war was still ongoing, so there's a certain realism that makes it particularly gritty.
Here's how the brave men of the Silent Service managed to pull off such a daring feat:
Run Silent Run Deep
Featuring a great combo of Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster, this movie is tops. Through some wile unbeknown to the Americans, four subs have been sunk in the Bungo Straits off the coast of Japan. A fresh sub is sent to the area with specific instructions not to enter the Straits. But that's not going to stop Gable, who survived the first sinking, and now has vengeance is his eyes.
The Americans believe the four sinkings were due to one particular Jap destroyer, so Gable has devised a plan to counter it. He drills the men unmercifully to whittle their dive time down to a record low. Here's the first implementation of the plan.
Call it a practice run if you will:
In this particular case, I actually have the movie online.
Operation Petticoat
We'll end this review on an upbeat note, featuring a lighthearted romp through the WW II seas. If you've seen this movie and remember the ending, a better title might be Operation Busty Bra, but, granted, Petticoat has a nicer ring to it.
Much to the horror of a now-older Cary Grant, their sub has been forced to take five of those 'women' things aboard. Chaos ensues, of course. A young Tony Curtis turns in a wonderful performance as a scavenger extraordinaire as he steals, begs, pilfers, deals, and wheedles his way into procuring the necessary parts to keep the sub afloat.
Suddenly, the sub is on an American-occupied island and desperately needs parts, but everything's been taken into the hills and there's not a scrap to be found. What to do? Simple. Let the servicemen bring the parts to you.
In the scene where the army guy has scrounged up eight cans of red undercoat paint and twelve cans of white, the deal is made. Unfortunately, just after they've mixed the twenty cans together and applied it, the Jap planes arrive and the sub has to vamoose. So, what happens when you mix red and white paint together?
Decorum prohibits me from saying anything further.
