Fer-De-Lance

• Director: Russ Mayberry
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Thriller
• Movie Type: Natural Horror
• Themes: When Animals Attack
• Release Year: 1974
• Country: US
• Run Time: 120 minutes

Plot

In this s-s-suspenseful drama, a submarine carrying a load of poisonous snakes accidentally wedges itself amidst the rocks near the bottom of the sea. Now the crew must somehow avoid the unwanted slitherers and manage to extricate themselves. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Review

Yep, "Snakes on a Submarine" indeed! This made-for-TV dramatic thriller beat Samuel L. Jackson to the punch somewhere around 22 years before his slithering in the skies opus, even if no one really remembers it. The buried flick might have a wild premise, but it's also a reminder of just how horrible most made-for-TV outings were in 1974. The pacing is slow to a crawl, as is the tension. A few extra weird optical effects highlight the beginning of the film, but it's all downhill from there. If only a more exploitive production company was behind the film, then maybe the flick might have lived up to its taut B-movie potential. Funny enough, director Russ Mayberry was also responsible for 1971's The Jesus Trip, an unsuccessful biker flick that buckled under it's director's self-imposed style -- no doubt, something that Fer-De-Lance could've used a bit of in its own right. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Cast

Frank Bonner - Compton; Sherry Boucher - Liz McCord; Robert Burr - Cmdr. Scott; Jason Evers - Cmdr. Kirk; Robert Ito - Masai Ikeda; David Janssen - Russ Bogan; Hope Lange - Elaine Wedell; Richard Le Pore - Chief Hughes; William Mims - Mayne Bradley; Ben Piazza - Lt. Whitehead; Charles Robinson - Lt. Nicholson; Felipe Turich - Shaman; Bill Catching - Chief Warren; Ivan Dixon - Joe Voit; Alain Patrick - Sorrell; Sandra Ego - Terezita; George Pan - Torquale; Shizuro Hoshi - Suan Kuroda; Phillip Montgomery - Graves; Richard Guthrie - Morgan; Elvenn Harvard - Holland

Credit

Russ Mayberry - Director, Dominic Frontiere - Composer (Music Score), Leslie Stevens - Screenwriter

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