I know this is cheap science fiction, but it's cheap science fiction at its best. Sure, this is a corny, technologically inept film about an atomic sub being sent to the Artic Ocean to investigate what has been happening to other subs and ships. Once there, the crew soon realizes that their enemy isn't human but of the alien kind. Then the chase begins as the sub chases the underwater alien flying saucer in a cat and mouse game across the frozen waters of the Artic. The movie has all those 50's sci-fi elements that make it so appealing to me: a serious narrator stressing the importance of their quest, mock-scientific data that sounds plausible yet you know is so ludicrous, good, solid character acting from the likes of Dick Foran, Tom Conway, etc..., Joi Lansing(need I say more), and another man against alien scenario where fighting for humanity and the American way of life is treasured above all. Before I get too gushy, I do need to mention that this film has lots of faults too...big ones. The special effects are anything but. The sub looks like a model the whole time. The saucer looks like one too, and just wait till you see the alien. Whew! The acting though solid is nothing more. Nobody gives a standout performance and the leads,particularly Arthur Franz and Brett Halsey, are a little on the weak side. The direction is competent yet not dazzling or spectacular in any way. This is just a good old-fashioned science fiction film from the 1950s. It isn't one of the best from the era, but it does stand up well nonetheless today.
Review of The Atomic Submarine
