Nicely executed film with a commonly presented maritime theme of submariners trapped in their sunken vessel.
First-of-all, after Attenborough's fine performance two years prior to this movie as Pinky Brown in 'Brighton Rock' (1948), I'm extremely surprised he's listed so far down ('Stoker Snipes') in the end credits. Can't quite work that one out.
Excellent acting performances all round, although I think the statutory 'lovable clown' role (here, James Hayter as 'Able Seaman Higgins') often seen in this type of film can be sometimes a bit wearing and clichéd.
The paranoid claustrophobic role (here, Richard Attenborough as 'Stoker Snipes'), also somewhat clichéd, didn't quite work for me. After his heroic decision to stay down below, his claustrophobia seemed to disappear and was never again mentioned. Although Attenborough is deservedly appreciated as one of the great British actors, this disparity came over as somewhat confusing. Additionally, although his marital relationship was presented as similarly problematic to Lieutenant Commander Armstrong's (John Mills), not a lot was made of the connection.
Another frustration for me was Lieutenant Manson's (Nigel Patrick) illness. All-of-a-sudden he became ill, with no indication whatsoever as to what the problem may have been nor as to how/why he died with it.
The final frustration was the unsatisfactory ending. The impression was that the film perhaps ran out of funding, or it was deemed too long, or simply that a more suitable ending just couldn't be concocted. Either way, although the point was made (i.e. they weren't coming out alive), it did seem a bit of a 'cop-out'.
Nevertheless, overall, due to the acting and production values, I think the film deserves (for me) a 6.7 rating... which I'll round upwards to 7/10.
First-of-all, after Attenborough's fine performance two years prior to this movie as Pinky Brown in 'Brighton Rock' (1948), I'm extremely surprised he's listed so far down ('Stoker Snipes') in the end credits. Can't quite work that one out.
Excellent acting performances all round, although I think the statutory 'lovable clown' role (here, James Hayter as 'Able Seaman Higgins') often seen in this type of film can be sometimes a bit wearing and clichéd.
The paranoid claustrophobic role (here, Richard Attenborough as 'Stoker Snipes'), also somewhat clichéd, didn't quite work for me. After his heroic decision to stay down below, his claustrophobia seemed to disappear and was never again mentioned. Although Attenborough is deservedly appreciated as one of the great British actors, this disparity came over as somewhat confusing. Additionally, although his marital relationship was presented as similarly problematic to Lieutenant Commander Armstrong's (John Mills), not a lot was made of the connection.
Another frustration for me was Lieutenant Manson's (Nigel Patrick) illness. All-of-a-sudden he became ill, with no indication whatsoever as to what the problem may have been nor as to how/why he died with it.
The final frustration was the unsatisfactory ending. The impression was that the film perhaps ran out of funding, or it was deemed too long, or simply that a more suitable ending just couldn't be concocted. Either way, although the point was made (i.e. they weren't coming out alive), it did seem a bit of a 'cop-out'.
Nevertheless, overall, due to the acting and production values, I think the film deserves (for me) a 6.7 rating... which I'll round upwards to 7/10.