clmrshll-203-370035 For some reason i.e. a patronizing view that US cinema audiences would never watch a film unless it had an American star in it, several British film studios in the 50's and 60's billed American actors in the leading role of what were essentially British War Movies. These include such as 'Bridge on the River Kwai' -William Holden ', 'Sailor of the King' -Jeff Hunter '633 Squadron' – Cliff Robertson, 'Cockle shell heroes'- Jose Ferrer, The Great Escape' -McQueen, Bronson, Coburn etc. all top Billed. Most Played Canadians. Submarine X-1 does the same.It is essentially a navalised version of '633 Squadron'. The parallel is startling. A Canadian Officer leads a diverse group of heroes on a suicide mission, to Norway in both cases, to destroy a strategic target. This entails hazardous and relentless training in Northern Scotland with the new weapons, against a increasingly tighter deadline and unsympathetic top brass.The Germans do their best to stop the mission by sending respectively air raids and a commando raid to the bases concerned. The missions go ahead nevertheless with the unit adjutant getting to go on the mission at the last moment when a trained member drops out. After many tense (?)setbacks the mission is competed but only with the destruction of majority of the attacking force.Both films suffered from very poor special effects but at least 633 had footage of real Mosquito's possibly its only redeeming feature. Submarine X-1 does not have this. There is no humour or even a romantic interlude and very little tension. As stated elsewhere what tension there is, was contrived i.e. the mutinous attitude of some of the men which not developed and in the minefield sequence. It is ironic that production values were good enough to provide a realistic sub interior and authentic German Paratrooper uniforms and weaponry. Stock footage was of the correct type of aircraft, even if they would have never been able to reach their supposed targets. So I think the potential was there to make a half decent film but no one bothered.The commando raid scene was confused and filmed too dark The final mission with frogmen hopping in and out of subs like they were buses was incoherent.The Previous film depicting this true mission ' Above us the waves' with John Mills is far better.

verbusen Bad comic book war film. James Caan is supposed to be in the British (?) Navy and is a high ranking Officer at that (LOL!). The movie opens up with 4 or 5 sailors coming out of nowhere in the water all washing to shore at the same time(?). There is no lifeboat of life preservers to be seen and they all pop up out of the waves together (!). So the story is that Caan got his submarine sunk and 50 of the crew is killed, and the rest hate Caan for the mess he got them in. Then Caan is promoted (?!) and he gets the old survivors back to train them to be in midget subs. They take on the Nazi's and win the war no doubt single handed. I sped it up to a random point where I thought they'd be ready for their attack and jumped into a scene where they are piloting 3 midget subs into a minefield. The genius of Caan decides to go through the mines at the same depth of the war heads not thinking to dive deeper, also he assumes they are all contact mines and not magnetic mines, then the subs all bounce against the mines and none go off, then Caan has to get out of the sub underwater and untangle a mine stuck to his sub. I mean it's bad folks, really bad. No really I stopped watching the movie it's terrible and why James Caan was picked in a British navy war movie is anyone's guess. Maybe in 1968 it flew as plausible but I cannot comprehend the British giving a Canadian his own sub like that, I mean Canada had a Navy too (I thought). I just can't see British sailors taking orders from a guy who talks like he's from the Jersey Shore (New Jersey that is). After we have seen Caan as nothing else but an Italian American tough guy for over 40 years the only thing that may interest you is to watch this as a spoof, ala MST3K. Hey I love comic book war films and this was made by the same company that did Mosquito Squadron 633, but this is pitiful, no wonder Hulu had it to show, no one else would dare, only a free web site could. 4 of 10, it is in color so it has that going for it.

bpfrocket Loose 60's adaptation of the X-craft raid on the German pocket battleship Tirpitz. The true story is quite a bit more thrilling than the movie. A New Yorker, playing a Canadian, leading Britons on a secret raid against the Germans. Take it for what it's worth and watch it late at night with a beer and some Orville Reddenbacher.

David Vanholsbeeck James Caan plays a marine captain, who just lost his submarine and crew of fifty men during WW2. He is assigned to supervise a training mission in Scotland for a new type of submarine, to be used against the Germans.I can't say that SUBMARINE X-1 is entirely un-watchable: it has a good pace and isn't too long either. But who wrote this "story" and why is James Caan in it? I just can't believe why they make such films, without a point and without a story. There isn't a person in this film with a decent line. It's not only enough that there isn't much of a story(training, training and a brief encounter with the Germans), the film is also filled with silly dialogue and stupidity all along. A total waste of time! 4/10