ianlouisiana Review of Crash Dive

Crash Dive (1943)

"Two gobs and a girl"- A rather good exposition of a corny plot....

[7/10 · 25 January 2009]

A rather lumpen Miss Anne Baxter is the love interest for messrs Power and Andrews,one a Nob Hill type,the other a working slob who needs a pay rise before he can propose to her.Power is dashing,debonair and mega - rich,has a real good dentist,and has his uniforms tailored. He ends up with the girl - not perhaps the best message to send out to your boys fighting on all fronts,the vast majority of whom lacked these advantages,but,hey,it's only a movie. And,perhaps surprisingly,rather a good one at that.James Gleason is excellent as the veteran Chief with a concealed health problem that stops him going for promotion and a strong urge to redeem himself for faking sickness during WW1 to avoid going into action. When the crew go ashore to destroy a German base he redeems himself by making the ultimate sacrifice. His best mate is black - a daring move for 1943,and played absolutely straight,no eye - rolling Stepin Fetchit stuff here. The special effects are excellent,the raid ashore is particularly well - handled.It is a propaganda movie of course,but one with rather more merit than most. There is a deft mixture of comedy and tension,never an easy trick to pull off,and one doesn't get the impression that it was a quota picture the studio hacked out to help the War Effort,more that considerable time and care was put into "Crash Dive" by people who were proud of their craft. First - Class entertainment that more than fulfills its purpose.