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Having first watched this movie in 2013, I must admit I was blown away by it once I decided to revisit it for the first time in over a decade. What’s not to love about it? To top off the fascinating plot, it was elegantly directed by the legendary Robert Wise, and stars Clark Gable alongside Burt Lancaster. All jammed into 93 minutes.
The movie is based in the year 1943. Commander Richardson, played by Clark Gable is stuck in a Pearl Harbor desk job ever since his submarine was destroyed a year back during combat.
To the dismay of Lt. Jim Bledsoe (Burt Lancaster), who was hoping the Nerka would be his first command, Richardson could convince the navy to allow him to take command of a submarine, the Nerka.
Richardson and Bledsoe are pitted against each other, not only because they both want to be in control, but for Richardson’s schemes to capture and obliterate the ship with the torpedo that destroyed his last submarine go away from Naval Command’s orders.
When the rest of the crew suggests mutiny against Richardson, Bledsoe does decide to support him. Eventually, he does threaten to relieve Richardson of duty but is the one who collapses due to a concussion during this argument.
Bledsoe is unclear at the start of his comprehension of Richardson and how he plans to approach the Japanese. The question is, does he pursue Richardson’s objectives or does he stagger back to Pearl Harbor for necessary maintenance?
This piece of work is truly commendable in telling the story of two excellent men with their different positions in life. I do not have anything against Lancaster. To be fair, he did some pretty good films. I will readily admit that I do find him somewhat dull. However, in this case, where I find him most surprising, is how his performance came off next to Gable, who may have been the most magnetic screen celebrity ever.
The difference in their personalities does work quite well in this case, making it not too far-fetched for Gable’s character to be depicted as taking full command over the ship and the situations even to the point of near unconsciousness.
Gable and Lancaster were both noticeable for quite a while in offscreen life. It struck me when I saw this film that Gable’s performance, in particular, was eyewitnessed by him having been to war. He will fully appreciate the weight behind the choices that his character makes.
One should note, however, that apart from the personal clashes of the characters, action staging is very impressive with Director Wise. (I was told that those who have experience with submarines were quite pleased.) While he moderates the action for best suspense, the submarine procedures are very clear to the audience.
The cast was also greatly supported by Jack Warden, who plays a crewman devoted to Richardson, and Brad Dexter, an Officer who’s a bit of a rogue. Other members of the submarine crew include Don Rickles, Nick Cravat, Eddie Foy III, and Rudy Bond.
John Gay wrote the film, based on a novel by Edward L. Beach. The score was done by Franz Waxman.
The wide-screen black and white images were filmed beautifully by Russell Harlan. In my 2013 review, I quoted Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach California which I know quite well passes off as Richardson’s Pearl Harbor address.
Some people will notice that the posters and the trailer have a title with a comma, and so does the Blu-ray case. But in the film, the title does not have a comma on the title card. As I recently remarked for MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGET (1942), I tend to follow the wording and/or punctuation of the opening credits.
The print on the Blu-ray is exceptional. As stated on Twitter, Kino Lorber said that this is the same print as their 2014 release, but it is now higher-bit rated on a layered disc, so it will look better than the old Blu-ray.
The cover art of this Special Edition can be reversed and has a cardboard slipcase. Extras on the disc include both a trailer and commentary from Steve Mitchell and Steven Jay Rubin.
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