'Run Silent, Run Deep' - Movie Review

This is a 1958 black-and-white film about an American submarine taking on the Japanese during the Second World War. Clark Gable plays Commander P.J. Richardson, whose sub was taken out of action by "Bungo Pete," a Japanese boat commander in the Bungo Straits. He's put on a desk job in Pearl Harbour, but when he hears about Bungo Pete's fourth successful submarine sinking, he asks to be put back on active duty. The sub he's put in charge of is the U.S.S. Nerka where he's not entirely welcome, as he's displaced the very popular executive officer (Burt Lancaster) who was supposed to get the job. He further increases the crew's animosity by drilling them relentlessly.

Reading up on this on Wikipedia, I find the author of the book of the same name that this was based on (Captain Edward L. Beach Jr.), didn't like the movie - later claiming they had effectively bought only the title and not used his content at all. This seems to be an accurate enough assessment, but it doesn't mean the movie is bad: in fact, it's quite good. On a personal note, I was surprised to find that Lancaster did a good job: he hadn't yet developed that self-satisfied, smirking, strutting incompetence that was his trademark in later years. Gable was good and the supporting cast was serviceable. The script is good, with better than average dialogue and a lot of tension, making for a very enjoyable movie.