Run Silent, Run Deep (1958 film)
| Run Silent, Run Deep | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Robert Wise |
| Produced by | Harold Hecht |
| Screenplay by | John Gay |
| Based on |
Run Silent, Run Deep 1955 novel by Edward L. Beach, Jr. |
| Starring |
Clark Gable Burt Lancaster Jack Warden Don Rickles |
| Music by | Franz Waxman |
| Cinematography | Russell Harlan |
| Edited by | George Boemler |
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Production
company |
Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions
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| Distributed by | United Artists |
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Release date
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Running time
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93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Run Silent, Run Deep is a 1958 American black-and-white war film from United Artists, produced by Harold Hecht, directed by Robert Wise, and starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Commander (later Captain) Edward L. Beach Jr.. The title refers to "silent running", a submarine stealth tactic. The story describes World War II submarine warfare in the Pacific Ocean, and deals with themes of vengeance, endurance, courage, loyalty, and honor and how these can be tested during wartime.
In addition to Gable and Lancaster playing the leads, the film also features Jack Warden, as well as the film debut of Don Rickles.
United Artists promoted Run Silent, Run Deep as a combination of the obsessiveness of Moby Dick's Captain Ahab and the shipboard rivalry found in Mutiny on the Bounty.
Capt. Beach, the author of the book, did not think highly of the film. He later said that the film company bought only the book title and was not interested in producing an accurate depiction of the theme and plot of his novel.
A World War II US Navy submarine officer, Commander P.J. Richardson (Clark Gable), is determined to get revenge on an ace Japanese destroyer captain, nicknamed "Bungo Pete", who has sunk three US submarines in the Bungo Straits, including his previous command. He persuades the Navy Board to give him a new submarine command with the provision that his executive officer be someone who has just returned from active sea patrol. He single-mindedly trains the crew of his new boat, the USS Nerka, to return to the Bungo Straits and sink Bungo Pete, in spite of the Navy's expressly forbidding him from approaching the Bungo Straits on this mission. Richardson's executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Jim Bledsoe (Burt Lancaster), is worried about the safety of his boat and his crew. He also resents Richardson and the Navy leadership for denying him command of the Nerka, which he believes should have been his.
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