For REAL isolation, watch a submarine flick

Bill Knight column for 5-21, 22 or 23, 2020

This Memorial Day (May 25), we shouldn’t forget U.S. Navy submarines that sacrificed comfort and sometimes lives. (In World War II more than 3,500 men perished on 52 sunken American subs.) We can remember them as we shelter at home without being confined to such claustrophobic spaces.

We can watch Hollywood’s nods to submarines, films that break through the surface like the dolphins on the insignia of the Navy's “silent service”: they crash through, unexpected and lively. In filmmakers’ subs, people are isolated and endangered, with characters and conflicts trapped together in smelly, hot, metal eggshells: refuges and prisons. Subs are ruthless and helpless, the ultimate in maneuverability and vulnerability.

Recent decades’ sub flicks have ranged from “Phantom” with Ed Harris to “Crimson Tide,” featuring a struggle between Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington (plus a sub confrontation). Other ambitious efforts include “K-19: The Widowmaker” (starring Harrison Ford, based on a true story) and this year’s “Underwater” (a sci-fi/horror pic with Kristen Stewart).

Whether action films or thrillers, movies that use subs as settings or plot devices number in the dozens, from exploration and rescue to combat and comedy. They include “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “Voyage to The Bottom of The Sea,” “Operation Petticoat” and “Torpedo Alley.” The offbeat “Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” with Bill Murray and “U-571,” the actioner starring Matthew McConaughey, are OK. Other decent, if more obscure, sub films are “The Deep Six” with Alan Ladd, “Corvette K-225” with Randolph Scott, and “Submarine Command” with William Holden. Directors who “got their feet wet” in sub films include Frank Capra (“Submarine” was his first A picture), John Ford (“Submarine Patrol”) and Samuel Fuller (“Hell and High Water”).

Some are barely adequate, such as “Gray Lady Down” with Stacy Keach and Christopher Reeve, and “Hellcats of the Navy” with Ronald Reagan. Others simply sink, like the comedy “Down Periscope,” and the dull “Sub Down.”

So, if you like the sea, you’re dealing with close quarters and are entertained by ocean-going cat-and-mouse games, check out this “Diving Dozen”:

“Das Boot” (“The Boat,” 1981). Jurgen Prochnow stars as the stoic, heroic captain in director Wolfgang Petersen's Oscar-winner. A World War II German U-Boat and its crew of cynical vets and scared recruits, loyal Nazi's and “good Germans” all endure a mission of predictable danger.

“Crash Dive” (1943). Tyrone Power and Dana Andrews star as an ambitious officer and a selfless commander, respectively. Together on board, ashore they compete for the affections of Anne Baxter.

“Destination Tokyo” (1943). Cary Grant commands a typical melting-pot crew, who idolize him. “I'd follow him to the Mikado's bathtub,” one says. They almost do, invading Tokyo harbor. John Garfield co-stars.

“The Enemy Below” (1957). Actor-turned-director Dick Powell made this superior outing starring Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens as commanders of opposing ships facing off – and developing a relationship.

“The Hunt for Red October” (1990). Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin star in an adaptation of Tom Clancy's best-selling thriller about a Soviet captain who defects to the United States in his sub. Praised for accuracy, it didn't sacrifice drama for authenticity. James Earl Jones and Courtney B. Vance are featured.

“On the Beach” (1959). Filmmaker Stanley Kramer directed Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire in this excellent adaptation of Nevil Shute's novel about the universality of doomsday – even one caused by nuclear war.

“Operation Pacific” (1951). John Wayne is Duke Gifford, a zealous submariner in this war yarn. Ward Bond is superb as “Pops,” and Patricia Neal is sweet as Duke's ex-wife.

“Run Silent, Run Deep” (1958). Robert Wise’s drama focuses on growing resentment between two leaders (Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster) over management style on their sub.

“The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming” (1966). The premier submarine comedy, this Norman Jewison picture stars Alan Arkin, Carl Reiner and Jonathan Winters. The romp follows a hapless crew from a disabled Soviet sub off U.S. shores, appealing to equally hapless Americans for help.

“Torpedo Run” (1958). Glenn Ford is a commander chasing the ship that led the Pearl Harbor attack. After missing (and sinking a ship carrying his imprisoned family), he's obsessed. Ernest Borgnine co-stars.

“Up Periscope” (1959). This exciting war movie has demolition man James Garner joining Edmund O'Brien's sub for a reconnaissance mission to a remote enemy island. Alan Hale Jr. co-stars.

“Yellow Submarine” (1968). Thematically different, this animated hit follows the Beatles' battle with the Blue Meanies – using their remarkable smiling sub!