''The Atomic Submarine'' is a 1959 independently made, American

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

science-fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

directed by

Spencer Gordon Bennet Spencer Gordon Bennet (January 5, 1893 – October 8, 1987) was an American film producer and director. Known as the "King of Serial Directors", he directed more film serials than any other director. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Benne ...

and starring

Arthur Franz Arthur Sofield Franz (February 29, 1920 – June 17, 2006) was an American actor whose most notable feature film role was as Lieutenant, Junior Grade, H. Paynter Jr. in ''The Caine Mutiny (film), The Caine Mutiny'' (1954). Early life Franz ...

Dick Foran John Nicholas "Dick" Foran (June 18, 1910 – August 10, 1979) was an American actor, known for his performances in Western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures. Early years Foran was born in Flemington, New Jer ...

Brett Halsey Brett Halsey (born Charles Oliver Hand, June 20, 1933) is an American film actor, sometimes credited as Montgomery Ford. He appeared in B pictures A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during ...

Joi Lansing Joi Lansing (born Joy Rae Brown, April 6, 1929 – August 7, 1972) was an American model, film and television actress, and nightclub singer. She was noted for her pin-up photos and roles in B-movies, as well as a prominent role in the famous ...

and Jean Moorhead, with John Hilliard as the voice of the alien. The film was produced by

Alex Gordon Alexander Jonathan Gordon (born February 10, 1984) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Prior to playing professio ...

and distributed by

Allied Artists Pictures Corporation An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. The storyline of ''The Atomic Submarine'' concerns an

alien invasion The alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade the Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under an intense state, harvest people ...

that begins when an underwater

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

(or USO – Unidentified Submerged Object) attacks the world's shipping for unknown reasons. The film showcases the then-new technology of

nuclear submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...

s, and follows the crew and scientists aboard the atomic-powered USS ''Tigershark'', which has been ordered to hunt down the mysterious underwater saucer and stop its disruption of sea commerce.

Plot

A submarine is destroyed near the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

by a mysterious undersea light. The loss of this and several other ships in the Arctic alarms the world. Governments temporarily close the polar route and convene an emergency meeting at

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

. Present is

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Dan Wendover (Dick Foran), the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the atomic submarine ''Tigershark'', and

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

-winning scientist Sir Ian Hunt (Tom Conway). The

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...

(

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

) leads the meeting; he explains all that is known about the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

disasters, and then describes the high-tech capabilities of ''Tigershark''. These include a special hull and a minisub (''Lungfish'') that can be stored inside the submarine. The secretary finishes by telling Wendover that he is to take Hunt, ''Tigershark'', and her crew to resolve the ship sinkings, and if possible, eliminate their cause.

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

Richard "Reef" Holloway (Arthur Franz), ''Tigershark''s

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

, learns that his bunkmate is to be Dr. Carl Neilson Jr. (Brett Halsey), a pacifistic scientist whom he dislikes. A

montage Montage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films * Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing * ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film Music * Montage (music), or sound collage * ''Montage'' (Block B EP), 201 ...

then follows, spotlighting the day-to-day life aboard ''Tigershark'', which eventually discovers the cause of the disasters, an underwater saucer-shaped craft with a sole light atop its upper dome. One of ''Tigershark''s scientists, Dr. Clifford Kent (Victor Varconi), briefly shows a photo of an

unidentified flying object An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

, pointing out its similarity to this underwater UFO. The submariners begin to realize that their quarry is extraterrestrial. The crew nicknames the saucer "

Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

" because of its single light. Commander Wendover orders the submarine's most powerful torpedoes fired. They reach the saucer, but do not explode, being stopped by a gel-like extrusion coming from within the UFO. The captain orders ''Tigershark'' to ram the alien saucer. The submarine's bow tip breaks through its lower side and becomes trapped. Dr. Neilson pilots ''Lungfish'', taking Lt. Commander Holloway and a small party to board the UFO. Holloway has the boarding party cut free the bow with

blow torch A blowtorch, also referred to as a blowlamp, is an ambient air fuel-burning gas lamp used for applying flame and heat to various applications, usually metalworking. Early blowtorches used liquid fuel, carried in a refillable reservoir attach ...

es. Meanwhile, he explores the saucer's dark hallways after receiving telepathic messages from its sole occupant, an octopus-like creature with a single, very large eye. The alien kills all the boarding party except Holloway. The creature explains that, unlike humanity, what they create is made of living tissue. The saucer is a living creature and (as Holloway understands) is healing. The creature announces that it plans on bringing Holloway and several other specimens back to its home

planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

for further study. The aliens plan to modify themselves, based on what they learn about the human specimens. Once finished, they will return to colonize Earth. Holloway attacks by firing a Very pistol into the alien's single eye, temporarily blinding it. While the eye rapidly heals, Holloway races back to ''Lungfish'' and returns to the ''Tigershark''. When Dr. Neilson asks about the remainder of their boarding party, Holloway says, "Fortunes of war". The now-healed saucer sails to the North Pole to recharge its energy in preparation for leaving. Holloway tells Wendover, "Captain, if that thing ever gets back to where it came from, the Earth and everyone on it is doomed". The submariners hold an emergency meeting of ''Tigershark''s on-board scientists, and they develop a plan to adapt a torpedo's guidance system to convert it into a guided water-to-air missile. When the saucer rises from the ocean, ''Tigershark'' fires the missile, destroying the UFO. Holloway and the young Neilson are reconciled, with the latter realizing that his pacifism was no match for a hostile alien.

Cast

as Lieutenant Commander Richard 'Reef' Holloway *

as Commander Dan Wendover *

as Dr. Carl Neilson *

Paul Dubov Paul Dubov (October 10, 1918 – September 20, 1979) was an American radio, film and television actor as well as screenwriter. He frequently appeared in the works of Sam Fuller. Among Dubov's radio credits include the 05/02/1953 episode of Gunsm ...

as Lieutenant David Milburn * Bob Steele as CPO 'Grif' Griffin *

Victor Varconi Victor Varconi (born Mihály Várkonyi; March 31, 1891 – June 6, 1976) was a Hungarian actor who initially found success in his native country, as well as in Germany and Austria, in silent films, before relocating to the United States, where ...

as Dr. Clifford Kent *

as Julie * Selmer Jackson as Admiral Terhune *

as Secretary of Defense Justin Murdock * Jean Moorhead as Helen Milburn * Richard Tyler as Seaman Don Carney *

Sid Melton Sidney Meltzer (May 22, 1917 – November 2, 2011), known professionally as Sid Melton, was an American actor. He played the roles of incompetent carpenter Alf Monroe in the CBS sitcom '' Green Acres'' and Uncle Charlie Halper, proprietor ...

as Yeoman Chester Tuttle * Kenneth Becker as Seaman Al Powell * Frank Watkins as Watkins *

Tom Conway Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders, 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor remembered for playing private detectives (including The Falcon, Sherlock Holmes, Bulldog Drummond, and The Saint) ...

as Sir Ian Hunt * John Hilliard as Voice of Spaceman * Pat Michaels as Narrator

Production

Principal photography for ''The Atomic Submarine'' took place from mid-June to early July 1959. Stock footage of submarines and ship explosions were interspersed with other shots.Blakeslee, David
" 'The Atomic Submarine' (1959) - #366."
''Criterion Reflections'', June 30, 2011.

Reception

Film historian Paul Meehan considered ''The Atomic Submarine'' as "something of a departure from the usual saucer movie formula". Reviewer David Blakeslee, in a later assessment, commented that "once you get past the wooden acting, creaky scripts, stilted narration, corny humor, low-budget props, and sheer implausibility of ''The Atomic Submarine''s story line, you'll find themes and ideas worth pondering a bit longer than it takes to laugh away at the non-stop unraveling of sci-fi B-movie conventions". Chief among the unusual elements is "a headier-than-expected socio-political debate between a young principled pacifist and the career military man and WWII veteran sub captain over the merits of war and peace".

Related films

Two later science fiction films also "starred" nuclear submarines: the USOS ''Seaview'' in

Irwin Allen Irwin Allen (born Irwin O. Cohen, June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991) was an American film and television producer and director, known for his work in science fiction, then later as the "Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film gen ...

's ''

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' is a 1961 American science fiction disaster film, produced and directed by Irwin Allen, and starring Walter Pidgeon and Robert Sterling. The supporting cast includes Peter Lorre, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden, M ...

'' (1961) and the submarine ''Atragon'' in the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese film ''

Atragon is a 1963 Japanese tokusatsu science fiction film produced and distributed by Toho. It is based on ''The Undersea Warship: A Fantastic Tale of Island Adventure'' by Shunrō Oshikawa and ''The Undersea Kingdom'' by Shigeru Komatsuzaki. The film ...

'' (1963). In all three, a high-tech nuclear submarine of the near-future travels to the deepest part of the ocean to save the Earth from destruction. Actor Arthur Franz, who played Holloway in ''The Atomic Submarine'', guest-starred five years later on an episode of Irwin Allen's 1964 submarine TV series ''

''.

Availability

The film was released by the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

as part of their "Monsters and Madmen" DVD set on January 23, 2007.Monsters and Madmen - Criterion Collection : DVD Talk
/ref>

References

External links

* * *
''The Atomic Submarine: Saving the World on a Shoestring Budget''
an essay by Bruce Eder at the

''The Atomic Submarine''
screenplay * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atomic Submarine 1959 films 1950s science fiction films American black-and-white films American independent films 1950s English-language films Films set in the Arctic Science fiction submarine films American science fiction films 1959 independent films Films directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet 1950s American films