Uriah43 "Lieutenant Ward Stewart" (Tyrone Power) is a navy officer who has just been transferred from a PT boat to a submarine. He meets an attractive young lady by the name of "Jean Hewlett" (Anne Baxter) and sets out to win her heart. What he doesn't know is that she is dating another navy officer by the name of "Lt. Cmdr. Dewey Connors" (Dana Andrews) who also happens to be Lt. Ward's commander. Anyway for a movie produced during World War II, I found it to be surprisingly good. I say this for a couple of reasons. First, I expected the usual grade-B movie filmed in black and white. Instead, what I saw was a pretty good movie filmed in color—which was very rare during this particular period. Additionally, while I also expected a heavy amount of propaganda, I was delighted to see that it wasn't too bad--except for the very end, that is. Likewise, the acting was decent and the special effects were adequate for the most part. All things considered then, while this isn't the best submarine movie ever made, I thought it was worth a look all the same.

rickdumesnil I nearly put the switch on off in the first five minutes then giving it an honest chance i found myself interested in CRASH DIVE. Special effects were awesome just as the ones in SO PROUDLY WE HAIL...that same year.The acting cant get any better Tyronne Power and DANA ANDREWS two top notch Fox actors. James Gleason true to himself a genuine pro. Unfortunately i don't feel anything for Anne Baxter...there is something about her wooden acting that bothers me..although she was great in ALL ABOUT EVE. I would have given the role of Jean to either Paulette Goddard....Gene Tierney or Gail Russell. The movie kept me captivated till the very end and i found myself wondering who would come back to Anne Baxter alive. And i don't care what people think.....Tyrone Powers looks has never been surpassed...not even todays Pitt..CRUISE....etc.

mikeolliffe The quality of the print I saw was superb. It could have been made yesterday - instead of DURING the war - in Technicolor!In the initial romance scenes, I think Miss Baxter would have had the smitten man locked up - if he hadn't been played by Tyrone Power. His charm somewhat overcomes the creepy aspects of the portrayal.The romantic episodes in any event didn't merge all that well with the rest of the movie. Despite what others have written, the black character did undergo verbal abuse, yet still followed the white guy around like a lap-dog. (Although the white guy's abusive attitude is explained later in the film).But you do get to see Washington DC in the early 40s and some spectacular action set-pieces.

MartinHafer This was a very enjoyable WWII film, though before I discuss why I liked the movie, I should point out that the film does have one BIG cliché. When Tyrone Power meets a woman (Anne Baxter--here with dark brown hair) and they immediately hate each other, lovers of classic Hollywood films know that this can only mean one thing---they are destined to fall in love by the end of the film!! Aside from this predictable aspect of the film, I really did like the movie.The first thing I noticed about the film was the gorgeous color film. For 1943, it was terrific--with the most vibrant blues I've ever seen--much like the look of the great film, THE CAINE MUTINY. Twentieth-Century Fox really pulled out the stops to make this film look nice.As far as the plot goes, it's a pretty exciting and standard submarine film. Now that I write this, I realize that they sure made a lot of great sub films over the years--with hardly a stinker among them. This film maintains the excellent tradition of such lovely films as RUN SILENT RUN DEEP, THE ENEMY BELOW and DESINTATION TOKYO--all lovely films that are both gripping and entertaining.The film has more plot than just subs and Anne Baxter. It seems that Tyrone Power was very happy and successful aboard PT boats. When he was transferred to sub duty, he wasn't particularly excited, as he thought that patrol boats were the greatest thing since sliced bread. However, over time, he makes good and grows to love the submarine.CRASH DIVE has some excellent action scenes--particularly the attack on a secret base near the end. The acting good, script very good for a wartime propaganda flick and I particularly liked the sympathetic portrayal of the Black sailor--something pretty rare in a film of the era. Overall, a good and enjoyable film.