''Men on the Sea Floor'' (Italian:''Uomini sul fondo'') is a 1941 Italian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Francesco De Robertis Francesco De Robertis (1902–1959) was an Italian screenwriter, film editor and director. His semi-documentary film-making style of the early 1940s has been credited as an influence on the development of Italian neorealism.Bondanella, p. 32 Sele ...

. De Robertis specialised in semi-documentary films, in this case portraying the crew of an Italian

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

trapped after an accident. De Robertis's technique of using non-actors in roles has been credited as an influence on the development of

Italian neorealism Italian neorealism ( it, Neorealismo), also known as the Golden Age, is a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They pri ...

. It was known as SOS Submarine.

Partial cast

* Felga Lauri *

Diego Pozzetto Diego Pozzetto was an Italian stage and film actor.Chiti & Poppi p.237 Selected filmography * ''Bertoldo, Bertoldino e Cacasenno'' (1937) * ''Nina non far la stupida'' (1937) * ''Il conte di Brechard'' (1938) * ''The Black Corsair'' (1938) * ''L ...

* Marichetta Stoppa

Release

The film was released in the US in 1948 with dubbed English.

Notable Curiosity

The 1981 German submarine film ''

Das Boot ''Das Boot'' (, English: "The Boat") is a 1981 West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann. It has been exhibited both as ...

'' set in World War II also shares a suspenseful part with ''Men on the Sea Floor'' in which the German crew tries to free their disabled

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

from the sea floor.

References

Bibliography

* Moliterno, Gino. ''The A to Z of Italian Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1941 films 1941 drama films Italian drama films 1940s Italian-language films Films directed by Francesco De Robertis Films set in the Mediterranean Sea World War II submarine films Italian black-and-white films 1940s Italian films {{1940s-Italy-film-stub