Underwater Warrior

1958
1h 31m

IMDb RATING

5.3/10

YOUR RATING

Based upon the life of Commander Francis D. Fane (USNR), Underwater Warrior follows the evolution of the US Navy's Underwater Demolition Unit from its inception near the end of World War II through its acceptance and finally successful utilization in Korea. Landmark underwater camera work makes Underwater Warrior a milestone in cinematic history.

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Based upon the life of Commander Francis D. Fane (USNR), "Underwater Warrior" follows the evolution of the US Navy's Underwater Demolition Unit from its inception near the end of World War I... Read allBased upon the life of Commander Francis D. Fane (USNR), "Underwater Warrior" follows the evolution of the US Navy's Underwater Demolition Unit from its inception near the end of World War II through its acceptance and finally successful utilization in Korea. Landmark underwater ... Read allBased upon the life of Commander Francis D. Fane (USNR), "Underwater Warrior" follows the evolution of the US Navy's Underwater Demolition Unit from its inception near the end of World War II through its acceptance and finally successful utilization in Korea. Landmark underwater camera work makes this film a milestone in cinematic history.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.3/10

YOUR RATING

3User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

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Trivia
In 1958, MGM released this film on a double bill with The Safecracker (1958) and the tag line "UNDERSEA PERILS and UNDERCOVER THRILLS!"

Quotes
Lt. William Arnold, MD: Oh, you can't go a mile? Half a mile?
Cmdr. David Forest: No, Sir.
Lt. William Arnold, MD: 100 yards?
Lt. William Arnold, MD: [Forest shakes his head] Lieutenant, how far can you swim?
Cmdr. David Forest: I can't, Sir.
Lt. William Arnold, MD: Lieutenant, a basic requirement of this school is that a man be a good swimmer.
Cmdr. David Forest: I will be. I still have 30 days leave coming before I have to report in.
Lt. William Arnold, MD: You expect to learn to swim like an expert in those 30 days? I doubt if you'll make it. But if you do, we'll have a man who knew underwater demolition and the Navy. Most of the officers who report here are as green as grass. Alright, I'll pace you - if you learn to swim in the next 30 days.

Connections
Edited into Dusk to Dawn Drive-in Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 10 (2007)

User reviews3

Review

Featured review

9/10

A most unusual Dan Dailey movie.

"Underwater Warrior" is a very unusual film for Dan Dailey. While he was known as a song and dance man for Twentieth Century-Fox, here following the end of his Fox contract, he's starring in a film for MGM about a famous Naval diver, Commander Francis Fane. Fane was responsible for modernizing the Navy's diving program through dangerous experiments during the 1940s-50s.

This is definitely a film fans of his musicals might strongly dislike. After all, it's a biopic...and no trace of singing or dancing! As for me, I really enjoyed it because I am a reasonably experienced diver with a couple hundred dives to my credit. I found it fascinating to see how primitive the equipment was as well as some of their assumptions. I thought it was funny when Fane was doing an underwater dive from a submarine and the Captain of the sub didn't want to let him and his dive partner go because the water was infested with barracuda. At the time, they didn't know that these fish are among the most curious and will follow divers but never harm them unless they do something stupid like try to pet them or if the divers are wearing flashy jewelry. I love diving with the fish...and sometimes they follow you during dives out of what seems like genuine curiosity.

I liked this film for many reasons...not just because I love diving. For the most part, the film really is pretty accurate. Also, I was thrilled the movie was NOT packed with crappy stock footage and the underwater scenes were well made. Overall, a very good departure for Dailey and a fine picture.