Hell Below

Last updated

Hell Below
Hell Below FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed by Jack Conway
Screenplay byLaird Doyle
Raymond L. Schrock
John Lee Mahin
John Meehan
Based onPigboats
1931 novel
by Edward Ellsberg
Produced byJack Conway
Starring Robert Montgomery
Walter Huston
Madge Evans
Cinematography Harold Rosson
Edited byHal C. Kern
Music by William Axt
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • June 9, 1933 (1933-06-09)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$895,000 [1]
Box office$1,389,000 [1]

Hell Below (aka Pigboats) is a 1933 American MGM pre-Code film set in the Adriatic Sea during World War I about submarine warfare based on Commander Edward Ellsberg's novel Pigboats. The film stars Robert Montgomery, Walter Huston, Robert Young, Madge Evans and Jimmy Durante. [2]

Contents

Plot

In 1918 during World War I, the United States Navy submarine AL-14 is sent with the rest of Submarine Flotilla 1 to Taranto to fight in the Adriatic Sea. The submarine's commander was wounded on its last cruise, and Lieutenant Thomas Knowlton (Robert Montgomery), his second in command, expects to be promoted and take his place. However, Lieutenant Commander T. J. Toler (Walter Huston) shows up and takes over.

Toler orders his officers to attend a ball. The young men dread having to dance with the wives of admirals, but Knowlton and his close friend and shipmate, Lieutenant Ed "Brick" Walters (Robert Young), are pleasantly surprised to discover the beautiful Joan Standish (Madge Evans) among the attendees. When an enemy air raid forces everyone to take shelter, Knowlton takes Joan to his apartment. Though she insists on leaving, he can tell she is attracted to him. However, before anything can happen, Toler shows up to collect his daughter.

On its next patrol, the AL-14 torpedoes an Austro-Hungarian minelayer. After the Austrians abandon ship, Toler sends Brick and three sailors to search the sinking vessel for code books. When enemy biplane fighters attack, Toler fights them off, but the arrival of a bomber forces him to order the AL-14 to submerge and leave his boarding party behind. Knowlton disobeys his order and remains on deck, manning a machine gun. "Mac" MacDougal (Eugene Pallette) has to knock him unconscious and carry him below. Brick and his men are killed by the fighters.

Upon returning to port, Knowlton goes to see Joan at the hospital. There he encounters patient Flight Commander Herbert Standish (Edwin Styles), who turns out to be Joan's paraplegic husband. Knowlton departs, but Joan follows him and confesses she loves him.

Back at sea, Toler tries to get Knowlton to break off the relationship, to no avail. Toler is ordered to map where new minelayers, now escorted by destroyers, are planting their mines. However, when Knowlton spots Brick's boat through the periscope, he imagines he sees his friend still alive. He countermands Toler's orders and attacks. Two enemy ships are sunk, but one destroyer evades the torpedoes and forces the AL-14 to dive to the sea bottom, 65 feet (20 m) below its maximum safe depth. The hull survives intact but the batteries begin leaking chlorine. After a while, Toler decides to surface, preferring to die fighting rather than suffocate. However, a crucial pump will not work. When it appears that they are doomed, one crewman commits suicide. Repairs enable the submarine to surface, to find the enemy gone. Eight crewmen are "down" as a result of Knowlton's actions.

He is court-martialed and discharged from the Navy in disgrace. He and Joan plan to run away together, much to Toler's disgust. When Knowlton goes to the hospital to inform Joan's husband, he learns that a successful operation makes it likely that the man will recover fully. Knowlton puts on an act for Joan and her father, pretending to be so callous that she is repulsed.

Toler is given an extremely hazardous mission. To block Durazzo, the only port in the Adriatic from which Austro-Hungarian submarines can operate, the AL-14 is loaded with explosives and sent to ram a fortification beside the narrowest point in the channel out of the port. The rubble would block the exit. When Knowlton sneaks aboard, Toler lets him stay. Under cover of a battleship bombardment, the AL-14 surfaces and heads in. The rest of the crew abandon ship as planned, leaving only Toler and Knowlton. Toler orders Knowlton over the side, but he pushes Toler overboard instead and steers the ship to its target, sacrificing his life.

Cast

Production

On January 5, 1933, just after production on the film began, the entertainment trade paper The Hollywood Reporter announced that Madge Evans had "started work on it yesterday" and that MGM had changed the picture's intended release name, Pigboats, to the more sensational title Hell Below. [3]

The USS S-31 played the fictional U.S. submarine AL-14. MGM purchased the USS Moody (DD-277), a World War I-era destroyer destined for scrapping due to the London Naval Treaty limits on navy strength, for US$35,000. The firm of Merritt-Chapman & Scott was hired to sink the ship to simulate the torpedoing of an Austro-Hungarian minelayer. Principal location photography took place in Honolulu and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. [4] [N 1]

Reception

Box office

Hell Below grossed a total (domestic and foreign) of $1,389,000: $634,000 from the US and Canada and $755,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $52,000. [1]

Critical response

Mordaunt Hall in his review of Hell Below for The New York Times , said: "... the way in which it slips from farcical doings ashore to grim sights aboard a damaged United States submersible are decidedly jarring. Yet, in spite of its obvious shortcomings, there are scenes in the undersea craft that are extremely well pictured and so are others depicting what happens on the surface of the water. But the rowdy mirth scarcely belongs to a narrative which includes sights of dying men in a submarine." [5]

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Argonaut</i> (SM-1) Submarine of the United States

USS Argonaut (V-4/SF-7/SM-1/A-1/APS-1/SS-166) was a submarine of the United States Navy, the first boat to carry the name. Argonaut was laid down as V-4 on 1 May 1925 at Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was launched on 10 November 1927, sponsored by Mrs. Philip Mason Sears, the daughter of Rear Admiral William D. MacDougall, and commissioned on 2 April 1928. Although never officially designated as "SS-166", at some point she displayed this number on her conning tower.

They Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne, and featuring Donna Reed. The film is based on the 1942 novel of the same name by William Lindsay White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a United States PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese invasion during the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42) in World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otranto Barrage</span> Naval Blockade during WW1

The Otranto Barrage was an Allied naval blockade of the Strait of Otranto between Brindisi in Italy and Corfu on the Greek side of the Adriatic Sea in the First World War. The blockade was intended to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy from escaping into the Mediterranean and threatening Allied operations there. The blockade was effective in preventing surface ships from escaping the Adriatic, but it had little or no effect on the submarines based at Cattaro.

<i>Operation Pacific</i> 1951 war drama film by George Waggner

Operation Pacific is a 1951 black-and-white World War II submarine war drama from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by Louis Edelman, and written as well as directed by George Waggner. John Wayne and Patricia Neal star and Ward Bond and Philip Carey play supporting roles.

USS <i>Cobia</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Cobia (SS/AGSS-245) is a Gato-class submarine, formerly of the United States Navy, named for the cobia.

USS <i>Moody</i> Clemson-class destroyer

USS Moody (DD-277) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy in commission from 1919 to 1922 and from 1923 to 1930. She was named for Justice William Henry Moody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Ellsberg</span> United States Navy officer and writer (1891–1983)

Edward Ellsberg, OBE was an officer in the United States Navy and a popular author. He was widely known as "Commander Ellsberg".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madge Evans</span> American actress

Madge Evans was an American stage and film actress. She began her career as a child performer and model.

USS <i>Harry F. Bauer</i> Robert H. Smith-class destroyer minelayer

USS Harry F. Bauer (DD-738/DM-26/MMD-26) was a Robert H. Smith-class destroyer minelayer in the United States Navy. She was named for Lieutenant Commander Harry F. Bauer (1904–1942).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navy of the Independent State of Croatia</span> Military unit

The Navy of the Independent State of Croatia, was the navy of the Independent State of Croatia, an Axis puppet state controlled by the fascist Ustaše party. The NDH was created from parts of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, four days after the World War II invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers commenced. The RMNDH consisted of two commands, the Coast and Maritime Traffic Command, and the River and River Traffic Command, and had its headquarters in the NDH capital, Zagreb. The Coast and Maritime Traffic Command consisted of three naval commands along the Adriatic coast, which were each divided into a number of naval districts. The naval districts consisted mainly of naval and weather stations, and were only responsible for coast guard and customs duties. The River and River Traffic Command consisted of seven river stations, a naval infantry battalion, and a River Command Flotilla built around two former Yugoslav river monitors, which had been scuttled during the invasion but subsequently refloated.

The Black Sea Campaigns were the operations of the Axis and Soviet naval forces in the Black Sea and its coastal regions during World War II between 1941 and 1944, including in support of the land forces.

French cruiser <i>Léon Gambetta</i> French Navys Léon Gambetta-class cruiser

Léon Gambetta was the lead ship of her class of three armored cruisers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Armed with four 194-millimeter (7.6 in) guns, the ships were much larger and more powerfully armed than their predecessors. Completed in 1905, she was initially assigned to the Northern Squadron where she served as a flagship. The ship was transferred to the Mediterranean Squadron in 1910 and remained there for the rest of her career.

Italian submarine <i>Nereide</i> (1913) World War I submarine of the Italian Royal Navy

Nereide was a Nautilus-class submarine in the Italian Royal Navy during World War I. She was built 1911–1913 at the navy yard at Venice and was sunk in 1915 by the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-5 under the command of Georg Ritter von Trapp. Nereide's captain, Carlo del Greco posthumously received the Medaglia d'Oro al Valore Militare for his actions when Nereide was sunk.

SM UC-12 was a German Type UC I minelayer submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I.

Italian battleship <i>Roma</i> (1907) Pre-dreadnought battleship of the Italian Royal Navy

Roma was an Italian pre-dreadnought battleship, laid down in 1903, launched in 1907 and completed in 1908. She was the third member of the Regina Elena class, which included three other vessels: Regina Elena, Napoli, and Vittorio Emanuele. Roma was armed with a main battery of two 305 mm (12 in) guns and twelve 203 mm (8 in) guns. She was quite fast for the period, with a top speed of nearly 21 knots.

<i>Piccadilly Jim</i> (1936 film) 1936 film by Robert Zigler Leonard

Piccadilly Jim is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Robert Montgomery, Frank Morgan, Madge Evans and Billie Burke. The film is based on the 1917 novel Piccadilly Jim written by P. G. Wodehouse.

French destroyer <i>Renaudin</i> Destroyer of the French Navy

Renaudin was one of six Bisson-class destroyers built for the French Navy during the early 1910s. Completed in 1913, the ship was assigned to the 1st Naval Army in the Mediterranean Sea. During the First World War, she escorted the battle fleet during the Battle of Antivari in August 1914 and escorted multiple convoys to Montenegro for the rest of the year. Renaudin helped to sink a crippled Austro-Hungarian destroyer during the 1st Battle of Durazzo in late 1915 and protected the evacuation of the Royal Serbian Army from Durazzo, Albania, in February 1916. The ship was sunk by an Austro-Hungarian submarine the following month with the loss of 50 crewmen.

<i>Albona</i>-class minelayer Class of Italian and Yugoslav mine warfare ships

The Albona class were mine warfare ships used by the Italian Regia Marina and Royal Yugoslav Navy. Fourteen ships were originally laid down between 1917 and 1918 for the Austro-Hungarian Navy as the MT.130 class. However, the end of World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary left them incomplete until 1920, when three ships were finished for the Regia Marina. These ships were armed with two 76 mm (3 in) guns. An additional five ships were completed for the KM in 1931 as the Malinska or Marjan class, and were armed with a single 66 mm (2.6 in). All of the completed ships could carry 24 to 39 naval mines. The remaining ships were never completed.

Yugoslav torpedo boat <i>T5</i> Sea-going torpedo boat

T5 was a sea-going torpedo boat operated by the Royal Yugoslav Navy between 1921 and 1941. Originally 87 F, a 250t-class torpedo boat of the Austro-Hungarian Navy built in 1914–1915, she was armed with two 66 mm (2.6 in) guns and four 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, and could carry 10–12 naval mines. She saw active service during World War I, performing convoy, patrol, escort and minesweeping tasks, anti-submarine operations and shore bombardment missions. In 1917 the suffixes of all Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats were removed, and thereafter she was referred to as 87. She was part of the escort force for the Austro-Hungarian dreadnought Szent István during the action that resulted in the sinking of that ship by Italian torpedo boats in June 1918, and rescued many of her crew.

NMS <i>Aurora</i> Minelayer, sunk in 1941

NMS Aurora was a small minelayer of the Romanian Navy. After initially serving in the Austro-Hungarian Navy during World War I and later in the French Navy, she was transferred to Romania and fought during World War II, being sunk in July 1941.

References

Notes

  1. Runtime for Hell Below has been reported to vary widely from 78 to 155 minutes, but the accepted time is 101 minutes. [4]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "The Eddie Mannix Ledger." Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study, Los Angeles.
  2. Evans 2000, p. 92.
  3. "New Name For 'Pigboats'." The Hollywood Reporter (Los Angeles, California), January 5, 1933, page 2, column 3. Internet Archive, San Francisco, California. Retrieved: August 20, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "History: 'Hell Below'." AFI, 2019. Retrieved: August 8, 2019.
  5. Hall, Mordaunt. "Walter Huston, Robert Montgomery and Jimmy Durante in a mixture of farce and melodrama." The New York Times, April 26, 1933.

Bibliography

  • Evans, Alun. Brassey's Guide to War Films. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. ISBN   978-1-57488-263-6.