Up Periscope main backdrop
Up Periscope main poster

Up Periscope

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6.2/10 • 30

1959-03-041h 52m

WarAdventureAction

The man they called the 'human torpedo' - the secret underwater marauder who hit like no man hit before!

Lieutenant Braden discovers that Sally, the woman he's been falling in love with, has actually been checking out his qualifications to be a U.S. Navy frogman. He must put his personal life behind him after being assigned to be smuggled into a Japanese-held island via submarine to photograph radio codes.

Directors
Gordon Douglas
Editors
John F. Schreyer

Top Billed Cast

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  1. James Garner

    James Garner

    Lt. J. G. Kenneth M. Braden

  2. Edmond O'Brien

    Edmond O'Brien

    Commander Paul Stevenson

  3. Andra Martin

    Andra Martin

    Sally Johnson

  4. Alan Hale Jr.

    Alan Hale Jr.

    Lt. Pat Malone

  5. Carleton Carpenter

    Carleton Carpenter

    Lt. Phil Carney

  6. Frank Gifford

    Frank Gifford

    Ensign Cy Mount

  7. William Leslie

    William Leslie

    Lt. Doherty

  8. Richard Bakalyan

    Richard Bakalyan

    Seaman Peck

  9. Edd Byrnes

    Edd Byrnes

    Pharmacist Mate Ash

Reviews2

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John Chard Avatar

John Chard

Mar 2, 2015

6/10

Up Periscope and Down Tools. Tricky. It's a decent film, lovely to look at with its scope photography and technicolor palettes, James Garner and Edmond O'Brien are holding court in the acting stakes, and of course this being a submarine war film it has the requisite claustrophobic feel. Yet it never really gels as a whole, submerging too far into the mundane to play out a whole bunch of sequences that test the patience of the viewer. There's also the not too small problem of being able to suspend disbelief with the final mission. Now this is Hollywood and a Warner Brothers film, in 1959, so we don't naturally expect realism in our story telling, in fact we often want incredulity to stir the blood, but this kinda takes the rise too far. Alan Hale Junior is on hand for comic relief, and this proves good foil for Garner's lovable charm, but Gordon Douglas directs at such a snails pace you get the feeling that the comedy is just a merciful release for all involved. In short there's both the good and bad of 1950s war film making on show here; production value is high - narrative thrust is tepid. 6/10

Media

  • Up Periscope backdrop
  • Up Periscope backdrop

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
world war iiu.s. navypacific theaterfrogmen