gordonl56 SUBMARINE PATROL 1938This 20th Century Fox production is a lesser known film from director, John Ford. The film is set during World War One and stars, Richard Greene, Preston Foster, George Bancroft, Nancy Kelly, Slim Summerville, Ward Bond and John Carradine. Wealthy playboy type, Richard Greene, decides to join the Navy on a lark. His father has lots of pull in Washington and gets Greene in without doing boot camp. Greene hits the Brooklyn Navy Yard and is assigned to a boat of the "splinter fleet". These are wooden hulled sub chasers and considered by most to be a bottom of the barrel assignment.The ship he is sent to is in a mess with no officer in charge. The men just spend their time sitting on their duff or working jobs off base. Greene does not take the assignment seriously at all, and soon takes the crew out for a night of beer on him. He meets pretty Nancy Kelly and falls for the girl. Kelly works on a freighter owned by her father, George Bancroft. They make regular trips to Allied ports in Europe delivering ammunition.Now enters long time Navy man, Preston Foster. Foster has just been busted down in rank because of grounding the destroyer he was commanding. Foster intends to use this command to get back in the good books. He comes down hard on the crew and their lay about ways. Greene has been put in charge of the sub chaser's engine room. He does not like being ridden hard, and complains to the Yard commandant. The man gives Greene a dressing down and sends him back to the ship. Foster, with the help of several old Navy types, J Farrell MacDonald and Jack Pennick, soon has the ship in top shape. The ship is loaded with fuel and ammo and sent to escort a convoy. In this convoy of course is Miss Kelly and her father, George Bancroft. The sub chaser has a run in with a less than friendly German submarine. The Germans try to pop Miss Kelly's ship, but are given a trip to Davy Jones' locker by Foster's sub chaser. The convoy makes it safely to a port in Italy where the cargo ships are unloaded. Greene of course uses his shore leave pursuing Miss Kelly, Her father, Bancroft, does not like Navy types and the two have several dust ups. These end with Greene getting the worst of the knuckle exchanges. Kelly has likewise fallen for Greene and is peeved at her father for interfering. Foster now gets secret orders to take his ship on a dangerous mission. Navy intelligence has discovered a base where a particularly successful German submarine operates from. Foster is to work his way through the mine infested sea to destroy the submarine. Foster asks for volunteers and the entire crew steps up. The sub chaser heads out into the nighttime fog to make their raid. Also on board, through a mistake, is George Bancroft. Bancroft joins with helping out in the engine room beside Greene. Once at the enemy base, the sub chaser slowly makes its way through the minefield. Dawn arrives just as the ship emerges from the fog. They take the Germans by surprise and are soon slamming rounds into the U-boat. The Germans though, quickly respond, hitting the sub chaser repeatedly. The U-Boat takes too much damage and is finally destroyed. The sub chaser, though battered and badly damaged, manages to return to their base. Needless to say Bancroft's opinion of Greene and the Navy has changed. He gives Greene and Kelly his blessing. For a John Ford film, it is somewhat of a strange bird. It is entertaining enough, with the first third being played mostly for laughs before becoming deadly serious. Ford's next film would be the impressive western, STAGECOACH.Several of Ford's stock company are present here with Ward Bond, John Carradine and Jack Pennick. Pennick would appear in over 30 Ford films. Also in the cast are Elisha Cook Jr, Robert Lowery, Lon Chaney Jr, Maxie Rosenbloom, Douglas Fowley and George E Stone. The 7 time nominated, and 3 time Oscar winner, Arthur C. Miller was the cinematographer. One of his Oscar wins was for shooting director Ford's, HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY.

bkoganbing One of the lesser known feature films of John Ford has Richard Greene and Preston Foster co-starring in Submarine Patrol. Foster has been court martialed, reduced in rank and now in command of a submarine chaser which looks to be the equivalent of a PT boat World War I style. He's also been given a really green and rank crew.Greene is a fresh young squirt with connections and looks like he got a part that possibly Tyrone Power rejected at 20th Century Fox. It's just like the kind of hero/heel role that Power was beginning to make a specialty of. He's not happy being assigned to a submarine chaser, but orders are orders as he's firmly told.The ship's first job is to escort a convoy and on one of them is Nancy Kelly, daughter of Captain George Bancroft. Bancroft ain't liking Greene no way, no how with his preppy rich boy attitude. But Greene is persistent here and persistent in showing Foster that he can be counted on in a pinch.A lot of the rest of the crew is made up of Ford regulars like Jack Pennick, J. Farrell MacDonald, and Ward Bond. The usual monkeyshines associated with a Ford military picture are all present here. Take particular note of the harassed cook Slim Summerville who seems only to be able to make and serve lamb stew and the bookish Elisha Cook who actually earns his BA while on board the ship. Submarine Patrol is not likely to be rated as one of his best, but Ford does not make bad ones for the most part.

kevin olzak 1938's "Submarine Patrol" was reportedly a personal favorite of director John Ford, rather surprising considering the classic status of his next few pictures, "Stagecoach," "Young Mr. Lincoln," "Drums Along the Mohawk," and "The Grapes of Wrath." It's a watchable but eminently forgettable entry, featuring such dependable 'stock company' members as George Bancroft, John Carradine, Jack Pennick, and Ward Bond. Top billed is newcomer Richard Greene, a holdover from "Four Men and a Prayer," as wealthy yachtsman and playboy Perry Townsend III, who joins the Navy during WW1 in the hope that his father's influence will earn him instant acclaim. Instead, he winds up assigned as Chief Engineer to the smallest craft in the 'Splinter Fleet' (the film's original shooting title), a mere 110 feet, under the supervision of Lt. Drake (Preston Foster), and a crew without any experience on the water, played by dependables like Douglas Fowley, Warren Hymer, Elisha Cook, George E. Stone, and Dick Hogan. Most of the running time is given to Perry's romancing of Susan Leeds (Nancy Kelly), whose disapproving father (George Bancroft) captains a munitions freighter. Her usual companion is first mate McAllison (John Carradine), whose sourpuss demeanor just can't compete with his charming new rival. This was Nancy Kelly's very first adult screen role, quickly followed by similar turns opposite Carradine in "Jesse James" and "Frontier Marshal." His future companion in horror, Lon Chaney, was employed at Fox for three years, rarely in featured roles. At least here his bit was more notable than most, six minutes in, just after Carradine's introduction; as a marine sentry, Lon watches Joan Valerie leave in a fancy car, commenting to Maxie Rosenbloom about the departing vehicle, "some chassy, huh sarge?" to which Maxie responds about the attractive Valerie, "I dunno, she was sittin' down all the time!" (Lon's double take is priceless). Chaney contributed to other Carradine titles at Fox- "This Is My Affair," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "Jesse James," and "Frontier Marshal." Carradine quickly reunited with Richard Greene in "The Hound of the Baskervilles," while Chaney did the same in 1952's "The Black Castle." John Ford moved on to the classic Western "Stagecoach."