Steineded How sad is this?

ShangLuda Admirable film.

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Panamint Well made and edited, this is a focused, no nonsense WWII spy movie that has a somewhat interesting technological foundation regarding radio transmission. Richard Arlen always had a wooden acting style but he is a bit less stiff than usual in this one and his capable action-star abilities are well used in the vigorous aspects of his role. Nils Asther, Marc Lawrence, Wendy Barrie and others provide solid performances and do excellent work.If you can ignore the final two minutes that are spliced on for propaganda purposes and concentrate on the film itself, you will be rewarded with a solid, surprisingly well made action/spy flick. Surprising especially since it was only a quickly conceived WWII studio effort that was a product of the Hollywood switch to war themes following the sudden outbreak of the war. While obviously quickly made, "Submarine Alert" lacks any sloppiness, unnecessary padding or other b- quality attributes in its acting or overall results.I consider my rating of "6" as being for the film itself, since it completely ends before the final add-on section.

Zoooma It's a shame someone would equate this film to a propaganda reel. Unnecessary jingoism was part of American culture at the time. Only three brief instances of possible propaganda exist here -- 1) when our protagonist says he wouldn't want to join the New World Order because he doesn't like their tactics. Saying that is a bad thing? I guess it was not fair since we didn't get a Nazi response to how their way of life really is. 2) the quote over the intercom "You know what to do, boys" when the air squadron heads out for a combat mission. Unnecessary cheerleading in a movie, yes, but part of American film culture at the time. 3) at the end, when our antagonist becomes an American citizen, he says "We know our way of life is best, and we're fighting to keep it that way." Again, should the movie have been fair to Nazis by giving their point of view on their way of life? Seriously?!? Sometimes we know wrong is wrong and there doesn't need to be a defense of it. Therefore, not propaganda.Lastly, this movie does NOT defend the right to be an illegal alien. Nothing is illegal about our antagonist. He's a legal alien but not a citizen. Illegal status never once enters the conversation.Overall, an okay, swift moving crime/war drama that isn't very memorable but definitely not a terrible 76 minutes.

Chase_Witherspoon Don't be too quick to judge this WWII espionage caper, while it appears to labour early on, it picks up the pace and delivers a coherent, economical jaunt through a Nazi plot to scuttle oil tankers en route to the allies, after acquiring a top secret transmitter that's capable of pinpointing the location of ships using pre-determined supply routes. Arlen is the recently unemployed radio engineer who inadvertently finds himself wanted by the FBI when he's duped into assisting the enemy.Arlen is stoic in his patriotism, even giving a little call to arms rally in the film's post script, while Asther, Biberman and the prolific Marc Lawrence play the principal bad guys within contemporary stereotypes. Wendy Barrie plays an FBI operative whose ends up fighting the good fight alongside our noble hero.It's a shame the film ends the way it does, as there needn't have been the unnecessary jingoism - this is a film after all, not a propaganda reel. Nevertheless, for your 66 minute investment you'll get a reasonably well paced espionage pot-boiler with a hint of intrigue, the usual raft of clichés and for bonus material, there's even a "MacGyver" moment to rally the allies into action. Solid plot and taut execution, just a shame that it morphs into trite propaganda.

dbborroughs Some one is using a new radio system to alert submarines of the course tankers and supply ships will be taking. When the radio signals go silent and a radio expert turns up dead the FBI thinks something has happened to the radio. Taking matters in to their own hands they have several other radio men fired hoping that the saboteurs will contact one of them to repair the radio. One man is contacted and he begins working for the enemy agents unaware what he is working on or that the FBI is keeping an eye on him. Very good war time spy thriller moves along at a good clip. While it doesn't have any big names it does have plenty of atmosphere including a spooky mill that plays a nice role in the closing portion of the film. This is a solid little film that seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Worth a look.