Product Description

A navy lieutenant (James Garner "Maverick") during World War II is ordered aboard a submarine to get special photographs of a Japanese-controlled island.

DVD Features:
Featurette
Theatrical Trailer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9774 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-12-19
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 111 minutes

Amazon.com
Anyone with a fondness for the conventions of the submarine picture will be content with the modest pleasures of Up Periscope, a World War II melodrama starring James Garner in one of his early Maverick-era roles. Pulled away from a week-long romance, Garner tags along with the sub to a Japanese-held island, where he will SCUBA ashore and copy a secret radio code. On top of the reliable suspense of a man alone behind enemy lines, the film also offers captain Edmond O'Brien, whose previous mission has his crew suspecting him of cowardice. Will he cut and run before Garner returns to the submarine? Director Gordon Douglas made a batch of entertaining pictures over the years (a bunch of Sinatra titles, the giant-bug classic Them!, In Like Flint) and he coolly finds some effective ways to photograph men in the close quarters of a sub. The main draw is James Garner in his youthful prime; even if the movie doesn't exploit his comic talent, it shows how effortlessly he connects with an audience. The supporting cast consists of the kind of actors who inevitably seem to people a WWII ship's crew: solid character actors (Alan Hale Jr., who performed similar undersea duties in Destination Tokyo), oddballs and one-offs (Frank Gifford, Edd "Kooky" Byrnes), and future names (Warren Oates). --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

An Underrated Submarine Film
Up Periscope is a a World War II film with James Garner. Garner's mission is to infiltrate a Japanese held island to get a secret code book. He's under a lot of pressure and the submarine commander, a tough Edmond O'Brien, is a no nonsense commander. Garner is going in - alone - and unsure whether or not O'Brien is going to wait for him past his deadline. You can see why Garner became a movie star. His dashing good lucks and onscreen presence is strong. In addition, there are a few film stalwarts among the crew such as Alan Hale Jr. and a young Warren Oates.

OK
As an old diesel submarine officer collecting old diesel submarine movies, I enjoyed this one I had missed.

ALAN HALE WHO?
Robert Horton is mistaken. Alan Hale Jr. was not in Destination Tokyo, That was his father Alan Hale Senior.