#273: Run Silent, Run Deep
Robert Wise classic walked so Hunt for Red October could run
This review was originally posted to Twitter on June 13, 2020.
Initial release: March 27, 1958
Director: Robert Wise
Submarine films are a special breed. There’s no other film genre like them: set almost entirely in claustrophobic conditions, with a relatively small cast, full of high tension moments and even moments of abject terror. And while there are many classics, most of them owe much to Robert Wise’s Run Silent, Run Deep.
It’s summer 1943. Commander Richardson is sore for another chance at the infamous Bungo Pete, a legendary Japanese destroyer that’s sunk four Allied submarines. He doesn’t care who he has to step on to get that chance, which leads to Bledsoe, his new sub’s captain, getting demoted back to XO. At first there’s a lot of tension between him and bledsoe, and the men are resentful of an officer they respect getting screwed over like that. The resentment grows after days of constant drilling to cut down the time it takes to dive to 50 feet and fire two torpedoes.
Eventually all that drilling pays off, with the sinking of a Momo-class destroyer. However, it soon becomes clear that Richardson has bigger fish in mind: Bungo Pete, an Akikaze-class destroyer that lurks in the Bungo Straits, which was ordered off-limits to Richardson’s sub — not that he cares.
At a mere 90 minutes this is a brisk little film that manages to cram plenty of tension into its short runtime — tension between the officers, among the crew, and between enemy ships; a confrontation with a Japanese sub is nerve-wracking in that way only submarine films can be. It’s a very simply directed film; the submarine sets aren’t as robust as, say, the ones in Das Boot — you can see the metal walls flex during the depth charge scene. The cinematography is workmanlike for the most part, but makes good use of exterior shots of the subs. But some films don’t need to go overboard with fancy camera tricks when you have actors like Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster in the lead roles. they carry the film, especially Lancaster, who carries himself like a captain even when his character isn’t one.
This film arguably laid the groundwork for the modern submarine genre; despite its flimsiness the set was considered pretty realistic for its time, and the concept of inter-submarine warfare in film was groundbreaking, especially since until the 1970s it was (usually) impossible. Ultimately if you’re looking for a quick and tense little submarine thriller and you’ve watched all the Tom Clancy ones you can find, you can’t go wrong with going back to this late 50s classic.
