Run Silent, Run Deep 1958

Gable and Lancaster make the seas boil in the battle adventure that hits like a torpedo!

6.904 / 10   140 vote(s)
Drama War

The captain of a submarine sunk by the Japanese during WWII is finally given a chance to skipper another sub after a year of working a desk job. His singleminded determination for revenge against the destroyer that sunk his previous vessel puts his new crew in unneccessary danger.

Release Date 1958-03-27
Runtime 1h 33m
Directors Robert Wise, Russell Harlan, Emmett Emerson, Irving J. Moore
Producers Harold Hecht, James Hill, William Schorr
Writers John Gay, Edward L. Beach Jr.

This superior wartime submarine story is about an American captain (Gable) who seeks to avenge the loss of an earlier ship to a Japanese destroyer by perfecting a very difficult "bow shot" technique that would enable him to torpedo this fast moving enemy head on. Burt Lancaster portrays his popular XO who ought, originally, to have had that command but has been passed over; and the film depicts the evolution of their taut and mistrusting relationship. Gable is on good form as his character treads a very thin line between reason and obsession and Lancaster works hard to keep himself and the crew under control. The direction is tense and the chemistry between these two men works really well. This is more than a post-war grandstanding picture; it does touch on the psychology of command and of grief, and is well worth an hour and a half of your time.

CinemaSerf