Tyrone Power is Lt. Stewart, transferred from his beloved PT boats to the silent service, Dana Andrews is sub captain Lt. Cmdr. Connors, and Jean Hewlett (Ann Baxter) is the girl that they are both after. The contrived and trite 'triangle' subplot slows the film to a crawl at times and everything about Stewart's shore life, from the 'meet cute romance' to his gruff but lovable grandmother ("Butch" to his "Stinky") is hackneyed beyond belief (even for the era). The action scenes are good and there is some great navel footage but it is scant reward for having to sit through Stinky's pursuit of Jean. The acting is generally OK considering the weak material although Tyrone Power's constant references to PT boats is tiresome. Unusual for the times, the cast includes a black American actor (Ben Carter as Oliver Cromwell Jones) who has a substantial part, including participating in the climatic commando raid. The epilogue/ending is pure Navy recruitment jingoism (and is seen just before the audience is encouraged to buy war bonds). Overall, OK submarine movie but not as good as some of its contemporaries, such as 'Destination Tokyo' (1943) or 'We Dive at Dawn' (1943).
Review of Crash Dive
