JohnHowardReid Copyright 1958 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. New York opening at the Capitol: 24 October 1958. U.S. release: October 1958. U.K. release: 11 January 1959. Australian release: 15 January 1959. 98 minutes. Censored in the U.K. to 95 minutes in order to gain a "U" certificate. SYNOPSIS: Barney Doyle, sub commander of the U.S.S. Grayfish, has two major concerns: one, he worries over the fate of his wife and child, taken prisoner by the Japanese when Manila fell; and two, he wonders if he'll ever get a crack at the Japanese carrier, Shinaru, flagship of the Pearl Harbor attack. Both questions are answered at the same time. On the day he gets the Shinaru in his periscope sights, he learns from COMSUBPAC that his family are aboard a transport shielding the carrier. Despite the objections of his executive officer, Archer Sloan, Barney feels duty-bound to fire. The Japanese scheme works — the Shinaru escapes into Tokyo Bay. VIEWERS' GUIDE: Adults.COMMENT: Few people set out to make a bad movie. A cheap movie, yes, but one that purposely fails to entertain its intended audience, that's rare. Yet sometimes you wonder what audience producers could have been thinking of when they made a particular picture. "Torpedo Run" is a case in point. An audience composed entirely of rabid Glenn Ford and/or Ernest Borgnine fans is the only one I can nominate that would enjoy "Torpedo Run". Lots and lots of close-ups of Glenn and Ernie, acting out their preposterous lines in a perfectly serious manner, not the slightest traces of mockery or deprecation in their voices. (The other players are a solidly stolid bunch too, but their roles are strictly support, so they don't count for much).Maybe the movie is popular with fans of director Joe Pevney? I'm kidding. Joe doesn't have any fans. Doesn't deserve any either. A strictly pedestrian, totally unimaginative hack. An interesting actor, but a totally lousy director. Action fans, then? What action? Well, yes, if you like lots of blown-up, ill-matching stock footage and obvious models. CinemaScope fans? Well 'Scope is hardly the medium for claustrophobic submarine interiors — and that's where maybe 90 of the movie's 98 minutes is set. Movie fans? "Torpedo Run" is not a movie. It's radio soap opera, with one-dimensional characters, phony conflicts, and absolutely zilch in visual appeal.

declandoyle lame brained slow stupid movie. torpedo run, or sorry honey, i torpedoed the kid. does anyone out there seriously believe that a man might make a choice like that & then live with it so easily? it would have been far more interesting to see him mistakenly sink the captives, learn about it afterwards, & THEN start his revenge path. & i don't know about reviewers who claim submarine experience but so blithely heading into a mine field & so easily escaping from it? nah? pathetic American 50s propaganda, & bad propaganda at that. if you want to see a proper submarine movie, burt lancaster & clark gable in run silent run deep or curt jurgens & robert mitchum in the enemy below are far superior fare.

edwagreen Glenn Ford and Ernest Borgnine do well in this 1958 drama, but the writing is limited.Ford has an ultimate personal decision to make. We have seen in the tradition of 1982's "Sophie's Choice." I'm talking about the power of life and death here.The crew is limited here with their usual talk about the opposite sex.Borgnine, as Ford's best friend and assistant, is most supportive here which is heart rendering.Philip Ober is appealing as an understanding general. The brief use of flashbacks here is effective as Ford knew what was coming and wanted his wife to flee with their baby daughter.

Mars-19 More a drama than an action film, this movie may have a fairly simplistic plot line and a few implausible events but it's primarily about the sort of awful decisions men sometimes have to make in war and the actors all do an admirable job of conveying different reactions to the consequences of a bad call. Particularly good is Glenn Ford as a commander who finds himself risking the lives of his own wife and child for the greater good. Ernest Borgnine is as always superb as his first officer and best friend and the very personal events unfolding in front of the entire crew give an excellent example of how an extremely insular environment like a submarine can be, while still stripping everyone on board of the luxury of privacy. The setting--World War II, and a hunt for an infamous Japanese aircraft carrier--are handled well and if details aren't 100%, it is no less accurate than most Hollywood submarine films, with an interesting personal tone amidst the technical and Navy confines.