Run Silent, Run Deep (1958)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Features:

• 8-Page Booklet of Behind-the-Scenes material
  
• Trailer
  

Commander Richardson (Gable) was the captain of a submarine that was sunk off the Bungo Straits. He was put behind a desk for awhile, but when a sub comes home with her captain wounded, he takes command and leads it back toward the Bungo Straits hell-bent on finding the ship that sunk him. And once he finds it, he's going to destroy it. There's only one problem: Lt. Jim Bledsoe (Lancaster) was the Executive Officer of the incoming sub and it was assumed that he will be promoted to captain. When he finds out that his promotion was passed over so that Richardson could take the sub back out, he is a little miffed...but not nearly as miffed as he is when he finds out the secret agenda that Richardson has in store for his crew.

Submarine movies are all about claustrophobia and running around submerged in a tin can. And they all involve one major sequence: the Shut Down The Engines And Be Quiet So The Enemy Can't Hear Us sequence. This movie does not disappoint, but that's also not the only thing that this movie is about. It is a story about the struggle going on inside the sub as well as all the stuff that's going on externally. At the same time that the captain is leading his men into battle, he and Bledsoe are struggling with leadership of the vessel; all the while keeping their struggle a secret from the men (so as not to destroy the morale of the crew). This movie works on so many levels. Gable and Lancaster are perfect and the rest of the crew is as well. Make no mistake, though...it's a guy movie. There is nothing feminine about this one.

The DVD is just a little disappointing. The only thing its got going for it is that the feature is available in both wide and full screen formats. I don't know why the 8-page booklet (which is not bad for what it is) couldn't have been made into a short documentary about the making of this film. Also, since Don Rickles is still with us, it would have been great to get him into a studio and let him talk about working on the film. God knows it would have been funny with Rickles' relentless and sarcastic humor.

Anyway, it's the lack of bonus material that keeps this one on the rental list. If you are fan of vintage WWII movies, you won't want to miss this one.