Spikeopath 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

Claudio Carvalho In 1942, in California, the diver Lieutenant Kenneth M. Braden (James Garner) from the navy demolition team falls in love with Sally Johnson (Andra Martin) and proposes her. The reluctant woman asks for more time to decide, but Braden is summoned to travel to a base in the Pacific. Sooner he discovers that Sally is actually a military from navy assigned to check his qualifications for a classified mission. He must travel on board of the submarine Barracuda commanded by Commander Paul Stevenson (Edmond O'Brien) to a Japanese island and photograph their secret radio codes in a very dangerous mission."Up Periscope" is a good war thriller with an unbelievable plot that entertains. I would never dare to compare this film with the stunning masterpiece "Das Boot", but there are good action scenes. I decided to see this movie with very few expectations but in the end I had a pleasant surprise. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): Not Available

NewEnglandPat This film is a good thriller of a top secret naval operation in the South Pacific during World War II. James Garner's assignment calls for him to swim to a Japanese-controlled island and decipher a code that the Navy needs to anticipate enemy intentions. The film has a claustrophobic feel to it as most of the scenes are filmed below topside as the submarine makes its way to the destination island. There are Japanese destroyers about, dropping depth charges and making matters uncomfortable for the crew. Edmond O'Brien is the sub's by-the-book commander, still shaken by the loss of a crew member during a recent assignment, and he and Garner share a mutual dislike that sets in motion Garner's mission-impossible task. Garner's whirlwind courtship with Andra Martin is the only false note of the movie which adds nothing to the plot. The cast and tech credits are good.

Robert D. Ruplenas I was expecting a fairly mediocre and routine "sub flick" and was pleasantly surprised to find an above average and pretty engrossing movie. The story has some grit and conflict, especially in the hostility of the crew for its "by the book" captain, played with convincing war-weariness by the always-reliable Edmond O'Brien, whose efforts are matched by a very young James Garner. Production values are high, and it's worth catching it in letterbox format. Some of the mistakes in commando procedures have been noted, to which I would add the lack of facial camouflage, as Garner's strikingly white face floats conspicuously above the water in his nighttime swim, an easy target for lookouts. None the less, a pretty good war flick.