SUBMARINE X-1 is a very old fashioned WW2 thriller that was somewhat surprisingly made in 1968. Remember this was the era of free love and all-star cast adventures in the DIRTY DOZEN and WHERE EAGLES DARE mould, films that haven't really dated when watched even today. Not so SUBMARINE X-1, which looks and feels like a B-movie from the early 1950s, a comparison not helped by the dodgy use of black and white stock footage.
The real problem with this one, though, is the story, which is exceptionally dull. A young James Caan plays the Canadian commander of a British submarine crew tasked with raiding the Nazis in Norway. The film has no real understanding of the distances between Britain and Norway and sees the characters zipping back and forth as if it's just across the Channel.
It's one of those movies, like THUNDERBALL, let down by endless murky underwater footage, which simply isn't very interesting, and a general clichéd air which robs it of vitality. The supporting cast seem disinterested as does the director, who couldn't make this would-be thriller any less exciting if he tried.
The real problem with this one, though, is the story, which is exceptionally dull. A young James Caan plays the Canadian commander of a British submarine crew tasked with raiding the Nazis in Norway. The film has no real understanding of the distances between Britain and Norway and sees the characters zipping back and forth as if it's just across the Channel.
It's one of those movies, like THUNDERBALL, let down by endless murky underwater footage, which simply isn't very interesting, and a general clichéd air which robs it of vitality. The supporting cast seem disinterested as does the director, who couldn't make this would-be thriller any less exciting if he tried.