Starring: George O'Brien, Marion Lessing, Mona Maris, Walter C. Kelly, Warren Hymer, Steve Pendleton, Walter McGrail, Larry Kent, Henry Victor, John Loder
Writer: Dudley Nichols (based on a story by Cmdr. James Parker, Jr., U.S.N. Ret'd)
Cinematography: Joseph H. August
Editor: Frank E. Hull
Music: Peter Brunelli
B&W, 1h 30m. 1.20:1 presentation.
Released on: January 30, 1931 by Fox Film Corporation.
My experience: Ford at Fox DVD box set.
In addition to having a very lengthy and acclaimed film career, John Ford was also a longtime Naval reservist in the United States who saw action in the Battle of Midway during World War II (directing a fantastic documentary about it, which we will get to in the future) and later on, to a lesser extent, in the Korean War.
At this point in his career, he was not officially affiliated with the United States Navy (he entered the Reserve in October 1934, and entered active duty three months before Pearl Harbor). Even at this time, his patriotism and interest in the men who sail the seas was well-documented, especially through some of his past films, three of which -- The Blue Eagle (1926), Salute (1929), and Men Without Women (1930) -- were focused on the trials and tribulations of Navy men.
Two of those films featured George O'Brien, who Ford had discovered back in 1924 and cast in his epic Western The Iron Horse. O'Brien returns to Ford and the ocean waves in this one, portraying Commander Bob Kingsley, who is in charge of a mystery ship, what we would now call a Q-ship. These were ships sailing under the flag of a specific country (in this case the United States), who were dressed up to look like harmless merchant trading ships, while carrying hidden ammunition, with the intent of luring U-boats close enough to be blown to smithereens.
Sailing under Commander Kingsley are "Guns" Costello (Walter C. Kelly, the uncle of Grace Kelly), a big lug named Kaufman (Warren Hymer) -- both in comic relief roles -- Chief Joe Cobb (Walter McGrail), Lieutenant "Mac" McGregor (Larry Kent), and Ensign Dick Cabot (Steve Pendleton, credited as Gaylord Pendleton here), a fresh-faced newcomer to the ship.
While pulling into port in the Canary Islands to load up on fuel and provisions, the men are given shore leave with the express order not to fraternise with women or indulge in alcoholic beverages. So naturally, they head to the nearest bar to check out the local "wildlife." Ensign Cabot develops a special fixation on the bar's entertainer, Lolita (Mona Maris), who unbeknownst to him happens to be an agent in the employ of the Germans who his ship is tracking. Meanwhile, Commander Kingsley, while attempting to discreetly photograph a German ship in the port, comes across Anna Marie (Marion Lessing), who unbeknownst to him happens to be the sister of Baron Ernst von Steuben (Henry Victor), the commander of the U-boat he hopes to destroy. She also happens to be dating her brother's first mate, Franz Schiller (John Loder), adding another layer of intrigue into the situation. What will happen when shore leave is cancelled and the men have to return to the ship?
Seas Beneath does not have a great reputation among John Ford films, a rep the master had no inclination to change, as by all accounts he had issues with the leading lady, a starlet from Wisconsin who was apparently forced upon him by a suit at the studio who assumed because she had a German last name she would be able to speak the language. Let's get this out of the way quickly: Ford was right about Lessing's acting talents. She's a horrible actress, and easily the worst thing about this movie.
That being said, I enjoyed the rest of the film. The opening ten minutes excel in acclimatising the audience to the cadences and rhythms of life at sea, especially the communications between the ship and the torpedo submarine it has in tow. There is some great stuntwork, with men crawling all over the topsails, and one man even taking a plunge from atop the ship's full height. Impressive stuff. Later on in the film, we see some actors on top of a submarine stay in position as the submarine submerges, and the camera (roughly at chest level to the men) descends underwater.
In fact, the photography in this film is top-notch. There are no specifically showy shots that scream out "artistic genius". Rather, the production was filmed out on the open seas, with the use of full scale ships and submarines. We get a POV shot of a submarine rising slowly up out of the water, and another lengthy, uninterrupted shot from about a ship, in which the camera is behind a character who watches another ship sink into the ocean. It brings a quite documentary-like feel to the story.
Also adding to the realism is the abundant use of German (with very few intertitles). It's not something I've seen in many Hollywood movies of the era; I'm almost inclined to state that Seas Beneath was 75 years ahead of its time in that regard. Ford's years of being a silent film director work in his favour here, as he's able to tell a story without dialogue (or in this case, in a foreign tongue without subtitles). In fact, it's when dialogue appears (specifically from the mouth of Lessing) that the film loses some of its magneticism.
The ending of the film left me a little perplexed; the film would have been better served stopping after the final logbook report. Instead, we are treated to an unwanted, trite and forced romantic dialogue that could have been struck from the film without incident. Still, I must say I was pleasantly surprised with Seas Beneath. It's got comedy, action, suspense, doesn't try to overshoot its mark, and I found it an unexpected joy to watch.
Seven submersible sailors out of ten.
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