Fantastic!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Taught WWII naval dogfight between US destroyer captain Robert Mitchum and German U-Boat commander Curt Jurgens. The Nazi's are certainly the bad guys, but they are treated with a surprising amount of respect, which was unexpected, though I suppose this picture was made 12 years after the war, so maybe that was enough time for Germans to be good again. Directed by song and dance man Dick Powell, he's crafted a tight muscular war film that I would rank as the best submarine picture up to this point.

"Das Boot," "Run Silent, Run Deep," "The Hunt for Red October," submarine movies are a favorite sub-genre of war movies, and, among these undersea films, "The Enemy Below" ranks with the best. Tautly directed by actor-director Dick Powell, the film depicts a strategic cat-and-mouse maneuver between the captain of a German U-boat and the captain of an American destroyer escort in the South Atlantic during World War II. The two captains engage in a war of strategy, which leads to growing mutual respect, although neither has ever laid eyes on the other. Torpedoes, depth charges, and zig-zag evasion are deployed in a deadly game of marine warfare, and the film's special effects won an Oscar, although they are unimpressive by contemporary standards. The fine screenplay by Wendell Mayes, adapted from a novel by D. A. Rayner, the crisp editing by Stuart Gilmore, and Curt Jurgens's sensitive performance as the German captain all merited Academy attention, but were overlooked.The two captains engaged in a battle of wits to the death are seasoned veterans and carry baggage from their pasts. The American captain, well played by Robert Mitchum, helmed a freighter that was torpedoed and sank with his new bride aboard; he spent days adrift on a raft and only recently returned to active duty aboard the escort ship, which has largely avoided action until now. Curt Jurgens displays considerable depth as the war weary German captain, who disillusioned by the new German order. Both captains have sounding boards nearby to verbally express their inner thoughts. Mitchum talks with the ship's doctor, played by Russell Collins, while Jurgens bares his soul to his shipboard friend, Theodore Bikel.The drama moves back and forth between the surface ship and the submarine below as each captain tracks the movements of his foe, attempts to anticipate his next move, and out maneuver him; they play a high risk game of chess with the loss of their ships and the lives of their crew if checkmated. "The Enemy Below" is engrossing throughout its relatively short running time; the tension builds both above and below the surface; suspense mounts, and viewers will be drawn into the drama until the end. For fans of submarine films and of Robert Mitchum, "The Enemy Below" is essential viewing, and all viewers will likely come away with a new appreciation of the talents of Curt Jurgens.

Somewhere in the South Atlantic during World War 2, an American Destroyer captained by experienced captain Murrell (Robert Mitchum) spots something close by on its radar screen and sets about trying to discover what is lurking in the vicinity. The crew on board the destroyer soon discover that they have in fact spotted a German U-Boat and set about trying to destroy it. However, the German U-Boat captain (played by Curt Jurgens) is an experienced captain and isn't prepared to give up without a fight. The two captains set about trying to destroy their opponents vessels by attempting to outwit each other, but who will end up prevailing?Whilst the likes of Mitchum, Jurgens and Hedison were all great here and worked well together I think what makes this film so great is Wendell Mayes wonderful screenplay. This is a classic example of a superb cat and mouse thriller/hunt or be hunted/battle of wits type affair. The film flits between the two vessels and shows the two men planning their attacks against the other and it's presented in a way that is both insightful and totally unpredictable. From about the 30 minute point, Mayes starts to crank the tension up and never really lets up. This is the same person that was one of those that were responsible for the wonderful screenplay for the original Poseidon Adventure (and this earlier effort is every bit as good as The Poseidon Adventure). Mayes is good at characterisation and here we don't hate the characters or pity them or necessarily like them, but we respect them and respect is clearly an important concept in this film.I was also impressed that Mayes seemed to keep bias out of the film and told the story pretty straight; it never felt like a flag-waver and felt more like an anti-war film but without all of the heavy politics or bias.The cinematography is fantastic and the direction is also superb. Mayes screenplay also gives the film a sense of urgency meaning that the film never lags or feels boring.The ending of the film may cause a problem to some people and I wasn't sure what to make of it myself; it didn't go in the direction I expected it to, but again due to the respect that the two captains showed for each other maybe this was the best direction for the film to take. Despite this though, I still enjoyed The Enemy Below and would definitely recommend this film. If you like cat and mouse type films then I guarantee you'll enjoy this.

Capt. Murrell (Robert Mitchum) is new to the American destroyer escort USS Haynes. The crew is spreading rumors that the man is weak and sea sick. He soon shows his experience when the ship encounters a German U-Boat captained by Von Stolberg (Curd Jürgens). It's a prolong battle of wits in the Altantic.The movie is a bit too static in between the explosive action. The tension and the editing style is still old fashion. The scenes run a bit too long. The U-boat is a bit too roomy. It doesn't have quite the claustrophobic feel that other great U-boat movies like Das Boot. The most intriguing aspect is the human portrayal of the German captain. He's not the usual cartoon villain for that era. The use of a real destroyer and explosives are compelling. This is a great strategic-battle movie that inspires many others.