“Hell
and High Water” is a Samuel Fuller (“The Steel Helmet”) film. He did not really want to make the film, but
he owed Darryl Zanuck because he had stood up to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
when he wanted to squash the release of Fuller’s film noir “Pickup on South
Street”. Hoover did not like Fuller’s
movies and felt the movie was not patriotic enough. Zanuck told him tough luck. Fuller insisted on rewriting the script and
agreed to use cinemascope to prove that it could work in a submarine
setting. The movie was nominated for an
Oscar for Best Special Effects. The
movie was a big hit and is one of Steven Spielberg’s favorite films.
The
movie begins with a narrator telling us that there has been a mysterious
nuclear explosion in the North Pacific.
The year is 1953 and the world is stuck in the Cold War. This ominous development has brought a team
of international scientists together and they hire an ex-sub skipper named
Jones (Richard Widmark) to go on a special mission to save the world from
nuclear destruction. Jones is provided
with an old WWII Japanese sub that he accurately describes as a “sewer
pipe”. But he at least gets to pick his
motley crew. However, he will also have
to bring aboard the lead scientist Professor Montel (Victor Francen) and his
comely assistant scientist Denise Gerard (Bella Darvi). Once they get their wolfish comments out of
the way, the crew realizes that they are supposed to be upset about having a
woman on board. Jones quells the mutiny
by pointing out that it is impossible to have a romance without a female. As with all submarine special missions, the
sub has to sail prematurely. It follows
a Chinese freighter that is delivering supplies to a mysterious island. And it is being followed by a Chinese
sub. Queue the sub duel. When they reach their destination they have
to make two shore party
landings. Double the fun!
I
have to admit that I was not familiar with “Hell and High Water” until I did my
Submarine Movie Tournament. This is surprising
because it is a Sam Fuller film and it was a box office success. The movie has possibly been forgotten because
it is something of a curio from the Cold War era. It is the only sub movie that I can recall
that features a Red Chinese sub. The plot
is unique (although not immune from sub movie clichés), but not
outlandish. The idea of the Communist
Chinese possessing a nuclear bomb would have been a scary specter in 1954, but
the how the movie posits they might use it is James Bondsian. Jones is no secret agent, but he does have
Bond’s snarky nature and gets to bed the sexy scientist. Widmark is perfect for the role and could
play it in his sleep. The rest of the
cast is fine. Even Darvi, who did not
have to win the role by out-auditioning others.
She was Zanuck’s mistress. The
rogue invented her stage name from a hybrid of Darryl and his wife’s name,
Virginia. (War movie fans might recall
that Zanuck also put his current mistress, Irina Demick, into “The Longest Day”
eight years later.) She does not
embarrass her mentor/lover. She is the rare strong female character in a war
movie. She is a hot egg head who can fight.
Her character gets to kill a commie –
surely the only female kill in a sub movie.
The big three get some character development (Jones lost his boat in
WWII to a mine), but other than drooling and bitching about the dame, the crew
is just along for the ride.
“Hell
and High Water” is one of the better sub movies. This is mainly because it is a Sam Fuller
film. It has his gritty, no nonsense
style. This is crucial because there are
plot developments that are nonsensical.
He avoids most sub clichés. The
most common cliché, the sub is depth charged, does not occur. It can’t avoid the special mission and
commando raid tropes. The first landing
has a lot of “Crash Dive” in it. The
effects are fine and deserved an Oscar nod.
The underwater effects are fine, but hardly revolutionary. It is certainly a must-see for war movie
lovers and Sam Fuller fans.
GRADE = B
