From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Run Silent, Run Deep
Directed by	Robert Wise
Produced by	Harold Hecht William Schorr (assoc)
Written by	Edward L. Beach (story) John Gay (screenplay)
Starring	Clark Gable Burt Lancaster
Music by	Franz Waxman
Cinematography	Russell Harlan
Editing by	George Boemler
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	March 27, 1958 (USA)
Running time	93 min.
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Run Silent, Run Deep is a war film released in 1958 based on the 1955 novel by then-Commander Edward L. Beach. It was directed by Robert Wise and starred Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster; and featured the film debut of Don Rickles.

Contents 1 Movie plot 2 Novel plot 3 Differences 4 Production 5 External links 6 References

World War II United States Navy submarine Commander P.J. Richardson, (Clark Gable) has an obsession with the Japanese destroyer that sank his previous boat and three others. He is single-mindedly training the crew of his new boat, the USS Nerka, to return to the Bungo Straits (Bungo Suido in the book) and sink that destroyer, captained by the crafty ex-submariner, now destroyer captain, nicknamed Bungo Pete. The executive officer, Lieutenant Jim Bledsoe (Burt Lancaster), is worried about the safety of his boat and his crew. They are mystified as to how Tokyo Rose can identify the crew of the boat; they later realize the Japanese are collecting their garbage.

Run Silent, Run Deep has a plot similar to Moby-Dick, with Richardson as Ahab and the Japanese destroyer as the whale.

Beach's bestselling novel of submarine warfare begins after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It is a true description of the author's war-time experience. The story is about Richardson, an American submarine captain with orders to destroy Japanese shipping in the Pacific. After some successful missions, he encounters an infamous Japanese Akikaze-class destroyer nicknamed "Bungo Pete". A suspenseful submarine warfare drama ensues. Despite increasing tension between executive officer Bledsoe and him, Richardson persists in preparing the crew with drills and then attacks a convoy and torpedoes a destroyer head-on followed by a fast dive. The success wins Richardson the support of most of the crew. He then sets course for the Bungo Straits and confrontation with Bungo Pete. Their first encounter is disastrous, resulting extensive damage to the sub. The second encounter with the destroyer is successful, but a lethal game of cat and mouse with a lurking Japanese submarine ensues.

Beach commanded submarines in the Pacific during the war, and this adds to the realism of the story. He penned two sequels to Run Silent, Run Deep: Dust on the Sea (1972) and Cold is the Sea (1978).

There are a number of differences in the plot of the book, as compared to the movie. The period covered in the book is much longer — from just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 until the end of the war. Like the movie, Richardson has two wartime commands in the book. Many plot elements are shared, such as Japanese gathering intelligence from the sub's garbage.

However, in the book, Richardson is ashore recovering from a broken leg and working on the torpedo exploder problem when his old submarine, Walrus, with Bledsoe in command, is sunk.

In the novel, the conflict between Richardson and Bledsoe starts much earlier when both men are serving onboard in the old S-16 in New London. Richardson withdraws his recommendation that Bledsoe get his own command after Bledsoe fails a qualification test and nearly sinks the boat.

Both men are in love with the same woman, Laura, and this intensifies their conflict. Another major difference is that Richardson dies in the movie, but returns home to reunite with Laura at the end of the book.

In the book, Richardson gets to command another boat to go after Bungo Pete, who sank USS Walrus. After he sinks the destroyer, he also rams the lifeboats to make sure that Bungo Pete is put out of business for good. Richardson later rescues several downed naval aviators off the Marianas while under enemy fire, and is awarded the Medal of Honor.

The film version of his novel was not particularly an object of affection for its author, Edward L. Beach. He would later say that Hollywood only bought the title (it was on The New York Times Book Review list for several months) and was not interested in producing an accurate depiction of the theme and plot of his novel.

The USS Redfish was used for many of the exterior shots.

Don Rickles made his film debut in a small role. In his 2007 memoirs, he recalled with some amusement that during filming, Gable would sometimes frustrate the filmmakers (including Lancaster, who was an investor in the film) by adhering to a strict 9-to-5 approach to the workday.

• Run Silent, Run Deep at the Internet Movie Database
• Run Silent, Run Deep at the TCM Movie Database
• George Chabot's Movie Review