Submarine Seahawk

Submarine Seahawk
Submarine Seahawk
Directed by	Spencer Gordon Bennet
Screenplay by	Lou Rusoff
Produced by	Alex Gordon; Orville H. Hampton
Starring	John Bentley; Brett Halsey; Wayne Heffley
Cinematography	Gilbert Warrenton
Edited by	Homer Powell; Ronald Sinclair
Music by	Alexander Laszlo
Production; company	Golden State Productions
Distributed by	American International Pictures
Release date	December 1958;
Running time	83 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Submarine Seahawk is a 1958 World War II film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and starring John Bentley and Brett Halsey. The film was originally released as a double feature with Paratroop Command. The plot tells the story of a by-the-book officer (in his first command in the Pacific war) who is ordered to take his submarine on a reconnaissance mission to locate a fleet of Japanese fighting ships the Allies have lost track of. At first, the rest of the crew resent his distant manner and the way he keeps avoiding taking on the Japanese.

Plot

The plot tells the story of a by-the-book officer (in his first command in the Pacific war) who replaces a captain the crew likes but against his wishes is needed on shore. The new captain is ordered to take his submarine on a reconnaissance mission to locate a fleet of Japanese fighting ships the Allies have lost track of. At first the rest of the crew resent his distant manner and the way he keeps avoiding taking on the Japanese. In time they learn why and the captain begins to understand how to get along with his officers and crew. The fleet is found and the captain calls in bombers on his own position. Some of the crew are trapped in a flooding compartment and accept that they will be abandoned if it is needed to save the boat. Eventually they are rescued and the submarine escapes, sinking an aircraft carrier on the way back to Pearl Harbor.

Cast

John Bentley as Lt. Cmdr. Paul Turner
Brett Halsey as Lt. (j.g.) David Shore
Wayne Heffley as Cmdr. Dean Stoker
Steve Mitchell as CPO Andy Flowers
Henry McCann as Seaman Ellis Bellis
Paul Maxwell as Lt. Bill Hallohan, XO
Nicky Blair as Sam
Frank Gerstle as Capt. Boardman
Jan Brooks as Mrs. Ellen Turner
Mabel Rea as Maisie
Leon Tyler as Ed
Hal Bogart as Radio Operator
Frank Watkins as Bearded Sonar Man
Don Fenwick as Radio Operator
Marilyn Hanold as Nancy

Production

Submarine Seahawk was the last film produced by Alex Gordon for AIP. Gordon was unhappy that he was never given money owed for his films - a complaint echoed by others who worked for AIP including Jack Rabin, Edward Bernds, Herman Cohen, Sid Pink and Bert I. Gordon.^[1] Gordon also recalled his permission to use footage to from the 1943 Warner Bros. films Destination Tokyo and Air Force through his brother Richard Gordon.^[2]

References

^ Smith, Gary A. (2013). American International Pictures: The Golden Years. Bear Manor Media. p. 104.
^ Weaver, Tom (1 January 2003). "Alex Gordon Interview". Eye on Science Fiction: 20 Interviews with Classic SF and Horror Filmmakers. McFarland. p. 95.

External links

Submarine Seahawk at IMDb
Submarine Seahawk at AllMovie
Submarine Seahawk at the TCM Movie Database

This article about a film on World War II is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Smith, Gary A. (2013). American International Pictures: The Golden Years. Bear Manor Media. p. 104.

[2] Weaver, Tom (1 January 2003). "Alex Gordon Interview". Eye on Science Fiction: 20 Interviews with Classic SF and Horror Filmmakers. McFarland. p. 95.

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