Torpedo Run – 1958
As I was going into this movie, I was almost rolling my eyes. Another war film. Another submarine action/drama flick. What could this movie possibly have to show me that I haven’t seen before? Well, there was plenty! Some of the underwater sequences may have been slow, but they were actually surprising in the tension that they created. The effects were visually interesting and enhanced the story wonderfully. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie’s realistic effects!
There were some awesome shots of the underwater vessel being barraged with depth charges, one after another. There was even a really cool shot of one of them bouncing off the submarine’s hull before exploding! There were several really cool shots of the torpedoes being launched from the sub, and of course, there were the obligatory surface explosions when the deadly projectiles reached their targets. It was all done very well. There was also a really cool shot, later in the film, of the submarine taking some significant damage when its tower crashes into a boom.
For me, one of the coolest parts of the movie was the minefield. First of all, it was the first time I have ever seen a film use these particular kinds of mines, the ones attached to the ocean floor by strong cables. I’m guessing the exterior shots must have made use of scale models, but they were extremely detailed. As the submarine, the Grayfish, made its way through the cables holding the mines in place, they would sometimes scrape against them, or catch them while passing, forcing the vessel to reverse course to avoid destruction. There were some great close-ups of the sub’s hull and propellers, and the details were amazing. You could see the barnacles on the sub’s underbelly! Very cool!
And then there was the climactic sequence in which the submarine is sunk. They take on water and drop to the ocean floor. The sailors are forced to put on Momsen lungs to make it to the surface. You could tell, they actually put their actors, even their big name stars like Glen Ford and Ernest Borgnine, under water with the breathing devices. And the sinking of their nemesis, the Japanese aircraft carrier, the Shinaru, seen through a periscope, was pretty cool.
I only have one minor complaint about this film’s effects. Some of the shots of the Japanese ships on the surface of the water looked pretty fake. The trouble is that I can’t put my finger on exactly why they did, but something was off. Maybe they looked too much like detailed toys in the wide shots. Maybe the telltale water filmed at close range broke the illusion. Maybe it was the way they moved through the water. I’m not sure, because none of these things really stood out as badly done. But when a real boat was filmed, it was obvious, making the scale models obvious as well. But overall, the special effects for this film were masterfully done!