Sean Murphy Life for these submariners isn't easy above or below the ocean waves. Above the ocean waves it begins by showing some of the crew on leave with their family and the problems and decisions that they face in their personal life such as whether to stay in the navy or not. Below the waves what begins as a routine training mission quickly gets out of hand due to a disturbed mine going off.It turns into a race against time to free the crew before their air runs out. It is complicated by faulty escape equipment where only some of the crew can quickly escape through the hatch when they are initially discovered by rescuers. The turn of a card can literally determine the fate of the men. A low card leaves an unlucky few to wait in the submarine to see if they can be raised to safety. The weather now combines with time to become their enemy and the race is on.The action takes place in a confined space and the way people come together in a crisis is deftly handled. A solid although not a totally original performance from John Mills who as the commander tries to get his crew to safety and maintain discipline under difficult circumstances. A much underrated Nigel Patrick does well as his second-in-command; he acts alongside Richard Attenborough with whom he is reunited in the excellent League of Gentleman many years later. Overall it is an enjoyable and watchable film.

MartinHafer This is a creepy story about a doomed sub. I say creepy because of the plot AND because shortly after they filmed this movie, the sub actually did sink--killing many of its crew."Operation Disaster" is about a submarine that is out on routine maneuvers during peacetime--so, you wouldn't expect problems. However, the ship accidentally collides with an old unexploded mine. Most of the crew are killed except for a dozen men trapped in the control room. Eventually, their whereabouts are determined and most of the crew are able to make emergency ascents to the surface. However, there isn't emergency equipment for all--and four are forced to remain behind. Hopefully, the ship can be raised in time to save these brave men.All in all, this is a very claustrophobic film--the sort that certainly won't appeal to everyone. Despite this, however, the acting is quite nice and the film never gets dull. Well worth seeing.

Robert J. Maxwell A British submarine, Trojan, accidentally runs into a drifting mine that blows off her bow and floods her stern. The central section sinks to the bottom with twelve men left alive. Submarine rescue ships come to her aid but it's a long hard slog, introducing air into the hull and trying to lift the wreck with wires. There is a means of escape from the submarine but it will accommodate only eight of the survivors, leaving four men (chosen by lot) to a problematic future.Frightened men trapped aboard a disabled submarine at the bottom of the ocean. You'd expect a lot of drama, speech making, and philosophizing on what it's all about. Well -- there is a little of that, but not too much.The drama centers around the stoker, one of the four losers, played by a baby-faced Richard Attenborough. When the boat is disabled, he reveals himself as a sniveling coward. (Note: No cowardice is complete without its "sniveling" qualifier.) But in the course of their isolation, the four remaining men are drawn together and Attenborough learns to overcome his fear and to care for a shipmate who is sick.John Mills is the captain who remains behind. And aside from Attenborough, there are also Wylie Watson as the comical but sensitive cook who doesn't know how to pronounce the word "Pisces" in the Astrology column, and Nigel Patrick as Number One.Happily, although these four are stuck in a disabled undersea wreck, the film makers are not. Scenes in the submarine alternate with the efforts of those ashore and those in the rescue craft to haul the mauled hull to the surface. These men are led by the reassuring Bernard Lee. Lee is a fine actor but, as it turns out, can't solve every problem that comes along.Because we are able to keep abreast of the rescue efforts and the difficulties involved, we're spared the isolation and claustrophobia of that sunken wardroom. This turns what could have been an ordinary, stiff-upper-lip talkfest into a rather dramatic and well-done story of men facing death while others try to help them.It's based on a play. I can't imagine a play about a situation like this being anything but deadly, but it's a nicely executed film. Good and craftsmanlike.

johnfadrian I saw this in first run when I was about 7 years old. It was on a double bill with a Francis the Talking Mule film. My older sister made a deal with me: She'd sit through Francis if I'd sit through OPERATION DISASTER.I remember nothing of the Francis film, but scenes from this film are still vivid in my memory. In the late 1950s John Mills was a guest on the JACK PAAR SHOW and spoke of how life imitated art in that a British submarine was lost in the North Sea under very similar circumstances to those portrayed in the film between the completion of shooting and release in the UK. He said there was criticism in the British press at the time for it's release.I wish it was available on VHS or DVD in the Unites States, but I haven't been able to find it. I would love to see it again.