Submarine Command (1951)

Credits

Captain Ken White - William Holden
Carol - Nancy Olson
C.P.O. Boyer - Willliam Bendis
Captain Peter Morris - Don Taylor
Lt. Carlson - Arthur Frame
Second Lt Wheelwright - Darryl Hickones
Alice Rice - Peggy Webber
Captain Joshua Hine - Faroni Olaca
Admiral Rice - Zach Gregson
Lt. Barton - Jack Kelly
Kvartermester Perkins - Don Dunning
Sergent Gentry - Jerry Paris
Admiral Tobias - Charles Meredith
Gavin - Philipcan Zandt
Director: John Farrow
Screenplay: Jonathan Latimer
Produced by: Joseph Sistrom
Cinematography: Lionel Lindon, Gordon Jennings (ASC), Harry Barndollar
Music: David Buttolph
Technical Advisor: admiral Thomas M. Dykers, US Navy (retired)
Production: Paramount Pictures

Plot

Lieutenant Commander Ken White is on his way to the fleet's berth for the submarine "Tiger Shark," which lies moored among the other mothballed ships – called the "Mothball Fleet." He stands and looks with a bitter expression at the mothballed ship and then goes aboard down the submarine's hatch, where a ladder leads down into the ship's interior. Today, there isn't a soul on board, and White walks along the submarine's narrow corridor until he reaches his old cabin. Yes, this is where it happened – that time!

And White thinks back to that fateful day when he had to make his lightning-fast decision, which had since rested like a burden on his mind. It was in August 1945, just before the end of the war against Japan, that the submarine "Tiger Shark" was suddenly attacked by a Japanese aircraft. To save the valuable submarine and its crew, White, as second-in-command, had to give his orders for a quick dive and the closing of the hatch, despite Captain Joshua Rice and the quartermaster both laying wounded on the command bridge and perhaps could have been saved if White had been willing to expose his crew to mortal danger and risk the submarine's destruction by a nearby Japanese warship.

After this incident, Torpedoman Boyer could no longer get along with White, whom he accused of having given the hasty diving order out of fear. Yes, it came to the point where he called White a coward, just as White seemed to sense a certain disapproval of his action from the rest of the crew. It was a bloody irony that the war against Japan ended just one hour after submarine captain Rice and the quartermaster had to lose their lives in this way.

After his return to the U.S.A., White meets Captain Rice's father, Admiral Rice, who tells him that his son surely would have acted in exactly the same way as White and thought first of the ship's rescue and the crew's salvation before anything else. Despite this White cannot escape a feeling of guilt regarding his actions. He marries his fiancée Carol, who resigns from her position as an advertising consultant to follow him.

For several years, White lives a happy life with his wife, working as a warehouse manager, eventually at the naval station in Mare Island, where he is buried in paperwork, but various events cause White to be weighed down by his complicity in the deaths of the two men.

Again and again, Carol tries to prevent their marriage from being completely destroyed, as White's attitude towards everything and everyone gradually turns him into an unbearable husband, and they find it difficult to retain their friends, who will not tolerate his moods.

One of their friends is the pilot, Lieutenant Commander Peter Morris, who seeks to comfort Carol for her husband's hurtful behavior. Morris advises Carol that she should try to get her husband out of the navy and into a private career. She almost succeeds, but at the last moment, White backs out. Carol then tells her husband that a change must happen, because she can no longer bear that he is at war with himself, with his job, and with her.

White also considers leaving his position in the navy and taking another job, but realizes that he cannot solve his problem by fleeing from it, and that perhaps the solution might precisely be found within the navy.

The Korean War breaks out, and "Tiger Shark" is prepared for patrol duty in the Korean waters. Without having reached an understanding with Carol, White takes command of "Tiger Shark," and it turns out that torpedo man Boyer, somewhat against his will, is assigned to the same submarine. He has not forgotten his old hatred for his guardian, and the fact that White has now become boss of the submarine does not improve the relationship between the two.

White is ordered to participate with the Tiger Sharks in a liberation operation of two hundred F.N. prisoners who have been imprisoned by the North Koreans, White is to land crew from the Tiger Shark so that a radar and telephone switchboard can be put out of action, as his share in the overall plan to free the F.N. prisoners.

He boldly steers his U-boat through mine-filled waters to the coast, and the Tiger Shark is fired upon by the coastal batteries and attacked by dive bombers. White is given the opportunity to show his crew and Boyer that he is willing to put his life on the line when it is necessary and when the risk is worth the effort.

The Tiger Shark is destroyed by the shelling, and its crew must save themselves by swimming ashore. With the help of frogmen and paratroopers, this combined land, sea and air operation succeeds, and Boyer's enmity towards his boss gradually turns to a deep admiration, and the two form a warm friendship.

White feels that he has done the right thing by sacrificing his ship in order to save the many human lives. Thereby, he is freed from his sense of guilt, also because he again feels that Boyer can respect him.

White meets his friend, Lieutenant Captain Morris, who has taken part in the liberation operation from an aircraft carrier. He tells White that Carol is waiting at home in the States with a happy event for her husband, which she has not failed. White can now go home to her and the expected child and face life with new courage after finding peace with himself.

It's an ocean all right...

Take me home Sikorsky H-5!

You want the good news or the bad news?

We'll if you don't like it, come up with your own plan!

Lobby cards

Posters

Blu-ray

2020 HD Master by Paramount Pictures - From a 4K Scan!
John Farrow (Wake Island, China) directs a story and screenplay by Jonathan Latimer (Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Alias Nick Beal) which takes a very early look at what would later be called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Screen icon William Holden (Stalag 17, The Bridges at Toko-Ri) stars as WWII Lieutenant Commander Ken White, who orders the submarine USS Tiger Shark to crash dive in order to evade a Japanese aerial attack. While the maneuver saves the submarine, it consequently kills the captain and another crewman. White is promoted, but the events on the Tiger Shark continue to haunt him and also disrupt his relationship with his wife Carol (Nancy Olson, Union Station). Eventually, he takes a desk job. But when the Korean War flares up, White is called back to active duty and asked to command the Tiger Shark once more.
One of the very first dramas to tackle the psychological consequences of WWII, Submarine Command also features first-class work from William Bendix (Lifeboat) and Don Taylor (The Naked City)
Extras include an audio commentary by Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell and Combat Films: American Realism Author Steven Jay Rubin

A commendation from the American Chief of Naval Operations.

THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY WASHINGTON
Mr. Barney Balaban, President, Paramount Pictures, Hollywood, California

Last night I had the pleasure of watching the film "Submarine Command" with some senior officers from the navy and their wives. The film was greatly enjoyed by all of us, and we were especially pleased with the authentic portrayal of life in the navy, which Mr. Farrow has captured and reproduced.
I wish to thank you and Mr. Farrow for having produced such a splendid film and to express my gratitude to the actors for their excellent and natural acting.
The result of your joint effort is a fine tribute to the navy, and I hope that the film will achieve the success it so clearly deserves.
Sincerely,
signed. T. A. Kimball.

Navigation

On Topic