Main Cast: George O'Brien, Marion Lessing, Mona Maris, Walter "Judge" Kelly, Walter McGrail
Release Year: 1931
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
The first of director John Ford's three films for 1931 was the now-forgotten The Seas Beneath. Essentially a reworking of Ford's 1930 effort Men Without Women, the story concentrates on the WWI submarine crew captained by rough-and-tumble Bob Kingsley (George O'Brien). While trying to coerce a German sub into a winner-take-all battle, Kingsley learns that his sweetheart Anna-Maria Von Stuben (Marion Lessing) is an enemy spy, and that her brother and fiancee are officers on the German vessel. Adding to the intrigue is Mona Maris, a sexy Cabaret singer who likewise moonlights as a spy. The Seas Beneath was largely filmed on location in and around Catalina Island. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Seas Beneath is a rousing sea adventure from John Ford that takes place in the closing months of World War I. Largely unavailable for decades, Seas Beneath remains a solid and gritty war picture that is also guilty -- like much of Ford's work -- of idealizing history. About half of the film takes place in a Spanish port town, where German spies abound. These scenes suffer from a stasis probably dictated by the technical restrictions of the early sound era, but Ford injects them with a seediness and mysteriousness that makes them compelling nonetheless. When Seas Beneath really comes alive, however, is when Captain Kingsley and company leave port and embark on their cat-and-mouse game with the German U-boat. With the invaluable aid of some remarkable location camerawork (as well as the assistance of the U.S. Navy), Ford places the viewer into the center of the action, creating a sense of authenticity that makes these scenes all the more dramatic, and leading up to a stunning climactic sea battle. The battle scenes are the highlight of the picture, and some credit must go to the sound crew for capturing the intensity of the action as the U-boat bombards the schooner over and again while Kingsley waits for his chance to strike. Another valuable element to the film is Ford's wise decision to actually have the Germans speak German, with only a minimal use of intertitles to translate the more important dialogue. The cast is solid, especially Mona Maris as the seductive spy Lolita. Seas Beneath is not a classic, but it deserves to be far better known and more widely seen. ~ Bob Mastrangelo, All Movie Guide
