So, which are the best submarine movies?
It’s always helpful to ask people familiar with the subject–like a submariner and/or his wife.
We get asked this question periodically and always promptly answer The Hunt for Red October (me) and Das Boot (the guy who served).
While we have our personal favorites, a recent review of the “genre” reminded me of a number I’d forgotten.
I’ll list them under themes.
World War II Submarine Movies
Greyhound Technically, this 2019 movie doesn’t star a submarine–Tom Hanks serves in a transport convoy above the water.
But, well, you know who lurks beneath.
Run Silent Run Deep: I prefer movies where the Navy guys get along, but for many years, this was the most realistic boat movie made. (Subs are called boats, not ships). Great cast, too, with Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster.
Destination Tokyo: You can’t go wrong with Cary Grant as your skipper, but this one is full of tension and drama. I first saw it as a child and never forgot the torture of the boat settling on the bottom of Tokyo Bay. They had to perform an appendectomy on a sailor. Were those depth charges being dropped? Yikes!
Operation Pacific Another drama I saw as a kid, this one includes the line I’ve often joked about as a submarine wife: “I could never marry a submariner, honey. I like to sleep with the windows open.”
Operation Petticoat It’s silly, funny, and amusing. Stars Cary Grant, so it’s easy on the eyes.
You’ll notice a documentary about Admiral Hyman Rickover in the photo. Interesting, and for me, insight into the man who (unwittingly) made my life miserable . . .
Not really, but sort-of historical or fictional stories with submarines.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: The Disney film I saw as a child. I also watched the TV series and made a fool of myself when I enthused to my then-fiance, “Imagine the sealife you’ll be able to see out that big front window.”
Sharks don’t guard the nuclear reactor, either.
Mysterious Island: I loved this movie as a kid. Captain Nemo comes to the island in the Nautilus submarine and rescues the castaways just as a volcano blows.
The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming: I laugh whenever I catch this one. The submarine doesn’t show up until the end, so it’s not technically a submarine movie. But it does play a role.
On the Beach Based on the apocalyptic novel by Neville Shute, this grim film was directed by Stanley Kramer. I saw it as a teenager and often felt uneasy because of it during the years we lived at ground zero. (Which was 20 years).
The two submarine movies appreciated the most at our house
Any time a family member walks into a room and The Hunt for Red October is on the screen, they stop.
It’s my favorite, particularly the terrific scene when the Dallas saves the day.
My husband agrees, but his favorite is Das Boot–-because of its realism.
We attended the initial screen of Das Boot when he attended submarine school.
His entire class went together one night to a small movie theater in Niantic, CT.
But for me and the handful of other young wives who attended, the story broke our hearts.
You didn’t know who to root for–the German U-boat crew who fought so hard or the Americans they were trying to kill. (I’ve had that problem before).
But the guys agreed Das Boot was realistic. Some already knew about the infamous submarine “smell.”
The hours of “sheer boredom,” spiked by moments of “sheer terror,” became their life during their tours.
Watching it once was enough for me.
Life after submarines
We spent 20 years living with the drama of submarines.
Our hearts often soar with pride when we watch the movies, but I’ll never forget the pain and heartache.
I think of families, separation, and trying to solve household problems my husband didn’t learn about for months.
I remember the fear and the loneliness. We could not have survived without the help of Navy wives and our Connecticut church.
The movies never look at that side of the story. (But, I’ve written a novel . . . )
Meanwhile, a boat my husband built still plows (under) the seas 40 years after it was commissioned.
I’m glad it’s never shot a missile.
Let’s admire submarines in the movies instead.
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