MovieChat Forums > Up Periscope (1959) Discussion > It's night time, and he can see the sub ...

It's night time, and he can see the sub underwater

posted 13 years ago by silentmovie
3 replies | jump to latest

James Garner enters the water at night, with his SCUBA gear, and ocean is all lit up under the surface and he's able to find the submarine. I DON'T THINK SO. The water would be pitch black.

[–] gbeach 13 years ago

He didn't find the sub visually. The captain had one of the crew bang a wrench to give him a sound to follow. This was a major plot point because the by-the-book captain was breaking regulations and potentially giving away his position in order to give Braden a chance to get back to the sub.

Also, a pitch black view under water would make for a less than interesting scene for us to watch. It's a common but necessary error made in movies with deep/night time under water scenes.

[–] spookyrat1 8 years ago

The captain had one of the crew bang a wrench to give him a sound to follow.

Exactly, plus he was likely following a bearing.🐭

[–] WhoDo-YouDo 9 years ago

Well, one may supposedly suspend disbelief if he/she cares little about seafaring films, but as for the genre, this one contains a familiar cast, which, in and of itself, provides a great deal of value to this film.

James Garner, Edmond O'Brien, Alan Hale Jr., Frank Gifford, Edd Byrnes, Chuck Hicks, Warren Oats turn in effective and capable performances, along with some of the lesser-knowns in the splashy Up Periscope (1959).

So, I suppose one may approach the gaffs as visually-enhancing because it's bad enough to see all of that sea out the windows and the visors, but probably necessary to explain what is out there. Also, most landlovers wouldn't necessarily catch a goof as quickly as those who see the sea.