U 23 - Deadly Depths
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | U 23 - Deadly Depths |
| Original title | Run Silent, Run Deep |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1958 |
| length | 94 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Robert Wise |
| script | John Gay |
| production | Harold Hecht |
| music | Franz Waxman |
| camera | Russell Harlan |
| cut | George Boemler |
| occupation | |
| |
U 23 - Tödliche Tiefen (alternative title U 23 - Haie im Pazifik , original title Run Silent, Run Deep ) is an American war film by the director Robert Wise from 1958 , which was directed by Edward L. Beach based on the novel of the same name . The premiere in Germany took place on August 22, 1958.
action
Commander Richardson of the US Navy is a submarine captain who lost his last boat to the Japanese destroyer Akikaze . He is able to convince the Navy to give him a new command and becomes captain of the USS Nerka . Richardson is obsessed with sinking the enemy captain named Bungo Pete . The crew of the new submarine also includes the first officer, Lieutenant Bledsoe. Bledsoe is very concerned about the safety of the boat and the crew, and is upset that he was not given his own command.
Richardson begins to familiarize his crew with a maneuver in which the submarine shoots a volley at a head-on attacking destroyer immediately after diving. After Richardson passed an enemy cargo ship, only to sink a Japanese destroyer, the crew became restless. It is obvious to them that Richardson is not sticking to the mission objectives but is trying to reach Bungo Street undetected.
Richardson spots Bungo Pete , but is attacked by alerted Japanese planes. The Nerka has to go on alarm, three sailors are dead, Richardson has sustained a skull injury and is unable to move. A torpedo, to the team for a pivot player of Nerka holds, they narrowly missed. The submarine was severely damaged in the subsequent massive depth charge attack by the Japanese destroyer. To avoid sinking in, Richardson uses a feint .
The captain has equipment, tarpaulins and the corpses of the three comrades ejected through a bow torpedo tube to fool the Japanese into sinking. The trick succeeds, the Japanese sift through the ascended wreckage and corpses. They triumphantly believe that the Nerka has really sunk.
Bledsoe takes command of the boat and justifies this with the injury of the captain. The boat sets course for Pearl Harbor. But then the injured Captain Richardson explains the daring plan to return to Bungo Street because one is believed to have been sunk.
Bledsoe accepts this proposal and continues the boat for the injured commander. The destroyer of Bungo Pete is finally destroyed by Bledsoe and the maneuver practiced by Captain Richardson, but the boat is again the target of a mysterious torpedo.
Richardson concludes that Bungo Pete was not alone at work in destroying his previous submarine. A Japanese submarine must have helped him. He gets up from his sickbed, staggers to the command tower and shouts: "Bledsoe! Quick ... down! The torpedo comes from the one who sank them all! A Japanese submarine!"
The boat goes to depth immediately and another torpedo rushes over the Nerka . Both boats shut down the engines and watch each other underwater, avoiding any noise on board. Since the trim alone does not keep the boat stable at depth, Richardson lets the Nerka reappear, which the Japanese submarine captain also notices. His boat also hits the surface.
The officers Richardson and Bledsoe, who are already on the bridge of the Nerka , notice the Japanese submarine as it tries to hide behind a ballasted merchant ship, and now Bledsoe gives his injured Captain Richardson the honor of attacking the Japanese.
A torpedo set at a shallow depth undermines the merchant ship, the Japanese submarine can no longer evade, and one follows the path of the American torpedo from the Japanese submarine bridge in horror. In the subsequent detonation, the Japanese submarine is torn apart.
Richardson took revenge, but now collapses on the bridge of the Nerka and dies as a result of the head injury. With the participation of the crew and a dignified eulogy by Captain Bledsoe, he is given an honorable burial at sea .
Reviews
"Tolerably exciting war film, questionable because of its heroic tendency and the idealization of a hero image."
"Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster play the leading roles in this gripping submarine film, which has lost none of its fascination due to its brilliant cast and masterful tension dramaturgy."
"Gripping drama about obedience and moral courage."
“A war adventure film that misuses World War II as a hook, is made according to the laws of the series, and extols questionable soldiery virtues. Superfluous."
background
- In Germany the film was also sold under the title U 23 - Haie im Pazifik .
- The novel's author, Edward L. Beach, was a highly decorated submarine commander during World War II. In 1960 he completed the first circumnavigation of the world with a submarine with the nuclear submarine USS Triton .
- The film is Don Rickles' feature film debut.
- Oscar-winning producer Hecht worked a lot with Burt Lancaster, who was co-owner of the production company.
- Well-known actors were honored in this film: Clark Gable (Oscar 1935), Burt Lancaster (Oscar and Golden Globe 1961) and Jack Warden (Emmy 1972).
- Robert Wise won two Oscars in 1962 and 1966, both as a director and as a producer. He also received an honorary Oscar in 1967.
- Other well-known collaborators in the film: composer Waxman (Oscars 1951, 1952; Golden Globe 1951), art director Edward Carrere (Oscar 1968) and special effects specialist A. Arnold Gillespie (Oscars 1948, 1960, 1964).
- The film's technical and military advisor was Rear Admiral Rob Roy McGregor.
Awards
1959: 3rd place at the Laurel Awards in the category Top Cinematography - Black and White
Web links
- U 23 - Silent, Run Deep in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ U 23 - Deadly Depths. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ cf. rp-online.de ( Memento from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ cf. cinema.de
- ↑ Evangelischer Presseverband Munich, Review No. 254/1967