''Torpedo Run'' is a 1958 American

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

Joseph Pevney Joseph Pevney (September 15, 1911 – May 18, 2008) was an American film and television director. Biography Born in New York City, Pevney made his debut in vaudeville as a boy soprano in 1924. Although he hated vaudeville, he loved the thea ...

and starring

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006), known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-born American actor. He was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of th ...

as a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

commander in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

who is obsessed with sinking a particular Japanese aircraft carrier. The film's working title was ''Hell Below''. It was filmed in

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its cr ...

and

Metrocolor Metrocolor is the trade name used by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for films processed at their laboratory. Virtually all of these films were shot on Kodak's Eastmancolor film. Although MGM used Kodak film products, MGM did not use all of Kodak's pro ...

. A. Arnold Gillespie and Harold Humbrock were nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Visual Effects The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the best achievement in visual effects. It has been handed to four members of the team directly responsible for creatin ...

Plot

In October 1942, ComSubPac directs the American submarine ''Greyfish'', under

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Barney Doyle, to a Japanese convoy that includes the ''Shinaru'', one of the Japanese

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

s that led the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

. Doyle also learns the target's escort includes a transport ship carrying American prisoners from an internment camp in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

where his wife and child were being held. Doyle's second-in-command,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Archer Sloan, tries to talk his friend into letting him handle the torpedo run, sparing Doyle direct responsibility for his family's possible death. In the end, the transport is so close to the carrier that Sloan begs Doyle to abort the attack. Doyle fires his torpedoes, hoping to miss the ''Yoshida Maru'' and hit the target. Carefully counting the seconds, they realize one of their

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

es has hit the transport. Hoping to lure the sub to the surface, the Japanese make no attempt to rescue the survivors. Through the periscope, Doyle can see women and children grasping for pieces of floating wreckage. So as not to endanger his crew, he is forced to leave the prisoners to die. Doyle follows the ''Shinaru'' into

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

, but fails to sink it. After surviving a relentless bombardment of depth charges, the ''Greyfish'' returns to base at Pearl Harbor. While there, Sloan meets alone with

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Setton, accepts Sloan's assessment that, despite experiencing intense guilt for the civilian transport's destruction. Setton offers Sloan a promotion and his own command, but he refuses on the grounds he believes Doyle is still fit for command and wishes to still serve as his second-in-command. Setton then agrees to give the Greyfish "one more trip" to try to sink the ''Shinaru'' - but on the condition that Sloan must take the promotion if Doyle fails. But when the ''Greyfish'' is assigned a quiet, out-of-the-way patrol area off the

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

n coast, Doyle thinks he has been betrayed by both Setton and Sloan, and reveals that he knew about the latter's offer of his own command all along. Then word comes that the ''Shinaru'' is heading for Japanese-occupied Kiska Harbor. The ''Greyfish'' proceeds to the harbor. An initial encounter with the ''Shinaru'' results in the submarine's periscope being disabled and the radio antenna destroyed. Nonetheless, Doyle plans a second attack, a "blind" one with little chance of success. After firing torpedoes, the ''Greyfish'' is forced to the ocean floor by a depth-charge attack. The crewmen use Momsen lungs to escape their doomed submarine. When they reach the surface, they are taken aboard another American submarine, the ''Bluefin''. Doyle asks the ''Bluefin''s captain for confirmation that they hit the ''Shinaru''. The ''Bluefin''s captain looks through the periscope, shares the view briefly with Doyle and Sloan, and then, over the intercom, describes the carrier's sinking for Doyle's crew.

Cast

as Lieutenant Commander / Commander Barney Doyle * Diane Brewster as Jane Doyle *

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine ( ; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perf ...

as Lieutenant / Lieutenant Commander Archer "Archie" Sloan *

Philip Ober Philip Nott Ober (March 23, 1902 – September 13, 1982) was an American screen and stage actor who later retired from performing to be a foreign service diplomat. Ober is best remembered for his roles in the films '' From Here to Eternity'' ( ...

as Vice Admiral Samuel Setton * Richard Carlyle as Commander Don Adams * Dean Jones as Lieutenant Jake "Fuzz" Foley *

Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017) was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Siegf ...

as Lieutenant Redley (R.N.) *

Don Keefer Donald Hood Keefer (August 18, 1916 – September 7, 2014) was an American actor known for his versatility in performing comedic, as well as highly dramatic, roles. In an acting career that spanned more than 50 years, he appeared in hundreds of ...

as Ensign Ron Milligan * L. Q. Jones as "Hash" Benson * Fredd Wayne as Orville "Goldy" Goldstein

Release

The film had its premiere on October 23, 1958, for Navy and government officials at the Loew's Capitol theatre in Washington D.C.

Reception

Critical

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' was unimpressed, writing, "Stereotypes of pig-boat ubmarinefighting that were stale in '' Destination Tokyo'' are played and replayed in this picture as if they were freshly inspired. ... it is also played in a highly hackneyed fashion and often faked with preposterous miniatures."

Box office

According to MGM records, the film made $1,145,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1,435,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $195,000.

Home media

The film has been released on VHS and DVD, the latter in Warner's Archive Collection.

References

External links

* * * * {{Joseph Pevney 1950s American films 1950s English-language films 1958 films 1958 war films American war films Films about the United States Navy in World War II Films directed by Joseph Pevney Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films CinemaScope films Pacific War films World War II submarine films English-language war films