This 1959 example of budget conscious filmmaking from producer Alex Gordon bears comparison with those of the far more prolific Roger Corman (issued by the same companies, AIP and Allied Artists), while his love for old Hollywood meant employment for many forgotten performers such as Luana Walters, El Brendel or Jack Mulhall. "The Atomic Submarine" starts out looking like a regular WW2 undersea adventure, tracking a deadly adversary responsible for the destruction of other subs beneath the icy waters of the North Pole, until we learn that the vessel is not of this earth but a living spacecraft that thrives in the ocean, piloted by a one eyed creature looking for another world to conquer. It betrays its meager budget over the final reels, a barren soundstage serving as the alien vessel's interior proving fatal in unexpected ways. The veteran cast literally keeps things afloat through the dull stretches, familiar faces like Dick Foran, Tom Conway, Bob Steele, and Corman veteran Paul Dubov. Top billed commander Arthur Franz was concluding a busy starring decade before confining himself to mostly television roles thereafter - "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man" (as the Invisible Man), "Flight to Mars," "Invaders from Mars," "Back from the Dead," "The Flame Barrier," and Universal's "Monster on the Campus" (typically cast in no nonsense military parts, he actually combines both in this case). Irwin Allen had a bigger budget. superb cast and robust box office (enough to launch a TV series) but 1961's "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" looks overblown next to this model of efficiency.
Review of The Atomic Submarine
