Double Feature Friday: Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) & Destination Tokyo (1943)

by Jim Kopetz

   

    Two WWII Submarine Propaganda films. That should be all the information you need.

    

    RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP (1958)

    One part Moby Dick, one part propaganda film, RUN SILENT,RUN DEEP is a decent watch that will definitely please an American audience. Clark Gable stars as Commander P.J. Richardson, the Ahab to the Japanese sub of a white whale. In the opening scene Richardson's submarine and crew are sunk by a notorious Japanese sub in the Bungo Straits.

    We pick up with him commandeering an American ship that was to be the virgin voyage of Lt. Jim Bledsoe (Burt Lancaster). He forces rank and begins training the crew to take on another submarine head on, a move considered suicidal by most. They practice, and practice, and practice and this is where the movie begins to drag. We never get a deeper view into any of the crew besides Gable and Lancaster. While there are some great underwater shots and solid action set pieces, it can't make up for the drag and lack of character development that consumes Act II.

    It's a film that I can recommend solely as a good WWII submarine film with a notable performance by Burt Lancaster. Gable's simply collecting a paycheck. Besides that, keep an eye out for a young Don Rickles and Jack Warden; the only other characters that jump off the screen, and that is solely due to the talent of the actors themselves. Not Bad.

DESTINATION TOKYO (1943)*

    The superior film of the two, led with a strong performance by Cary Grant, and a fantastic supporting cast of character actors. The problem with RSRD is that you didn't get to know the crew; whereas in DT you get a hangout film set in a WWII submarine. You spend time with them and get to know them, befriend them. John Garfield shines as Wolf, the constant dame hunter with women on the mind at all times. Alan Hale as Cookie the Cook reminds one of Walter Huston in The Treasure of Sierra Madre. Truly a great role. And the film takes it's time, getting to know each character through their subtleties, their insecurities and fears.

    And then the depth charges start. You see, this crew has been sent on a blind mission, and only when they arrive outside Tokyo Harbor do they realize what they are in for. Minefields, Japanese destroyers and submarines, spies, dogs, the whole she-bang. 

    It's a tense thriller that keeps the audience involved. You're one of the crew and as the walls shake and water begins to drip...well, the fear gets into you too.

* It's important to note that this film was made while World War II was still raging on both fronts.  Pearl Harbor was still the talk of the town and there is a heavy anti-Japanese through-line that may upset the politically correct. One must remember the time and context in which the film was made.