Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

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.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

pv71989-1 "The Deep Six" is a standard World War II actioner with credible performances almost torpedoed (pun intended) by Hollywood's need for sap, melodrama and comic relief.The film is based loosely on the bestselling novel of the same name by Martin Dibner. "Loose" is being kind. I recommend reading the book and only viewing the movie as a way to pass a few hours until the rain stops.Alan Ladd, who would die six years after this movie came out, plays Lt. Austen, a pacifist Quaker who, nonetheless, joins the Navy. He is sent aboard a destroyer as an assistant gunnery officer (a point made in the book, but left out of the movie). He spends the movie trying to overcome his pacifist ways, finally "being forced" to kill Japanese soldiers to save his shipmates. Alas, the whole moral quandary comes across as placid and lacks energy, much as Ladd's career was by the mid-50's.Ably supported by a veteran cast that includes James Whitmore, Keenan Wynn, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Perry Lopez ("Chinatown"), Nestor Paiva, William Bendix and Joey Bishop in his film debut. Look quick for Jerry Mathers (no, not as the Beaver), Ross Bagdasarian (better known as Dave Seville of "Alvin & the Chipmunks" fame), Robert ("Hideous Sun Demon") Clarke and Edd "Kookie" Byrnes without his comb.Though director Rudolph Mate does a good job with what he has, he is saddled with the book of Hollywood clichés. Bishop's character was added for comic relief as a womanizing sailor with a gal in every port. A hard-nosed officer acts the way he does because he is dying of cancer and wants to get a few of "them" before he dies, so he is forgiven for berating Austen and the crew. Austen leads a rescue mission so he can get the chance to overcome his pacifism under fire. Yada, yada, yada.The best way to describe this movie is "cowardly." It fails to explore any of the themes portrayed in the 1953 novel. Author Dibner based the book on his own exploits aboard the cruiser USS Richmond during the Aleutian Islands campaign.His book is almost just name only for the movie. A big reason is that Alan Ladd is one of the producers. By 1958, his career was on a downward slide because he refused to transition into older or supporting roles. He changed the movie to make his character virtually the only conflict in the movie.Case in point, in that book, Wynn's hard-nosed LCDR Mike Edge is Lt. Mike Edge, a sexual predator of sailors, as well as a virulent racist. Whitemore's commanding officer character is a coward forced back to sea because he makes too many enemies ashore. Austen has Quaker parents but does not espouse their beliefs. Zimbalist's Doc Blanchard is a drunkard.Slobodjian (Bagdasarian) actually lives to the end of the movie and is instrumental in stopping Edge. In the movie, he is rarely shown and gets killed before the halfway mark. Most egregious of all, the character of Henry Fowler, a black steward who is actually the best gunner on a ship (a cruiser in the book) desperate for gunners, is completely eliminated. Racism keeps him from getting that job until Austen convinces Meredith to let the man be a gunner during combat and a steward the rest of the time. But, Edge goads him into violence and tries to murder him twice. You can almost see an actor like James Edwards, Ossie Davis or Woody Strode in the role.The book explored racism, homosexual rape (present but always covered up in the Navy), archaic customs and practices that hampered the Navy during the early years of the war, the simmering resentment felt by Naval Academy graduates toward Navy ROTC and Officer Candidate School- commissioned officers and the continued decision of Naval brass to put unfit or undeserving officers in positions of authority. Also, the movie ends with a whimper of a mission, namely the one with Austen going on a secret rescue mission on a Japanese-held island in the Aleutians. In the book, the cruiser participates in the real-life Battle of the Komandorski Islands, which would have been a far greater climax for the movie.Overall, the film, as I've said, is okay. Joey Bishop's humor gets stale after a while (which is probably why he was always on the fringes of the Rat Pack). You also lose interest in Austen's pacifism, which becomes as interesting as his two-dimensional romance with Dianne Foster (in the book, it was central to Austen keeping his sanity).This is not a movie worth seeking out, but rather one to catch on TCM during an Alan Ladd marathon.Maybe one day, Hollywood will finally make a movie based on the book and not just the title.

edwagreen This film is quite good. The romance element quickly gives way to an interesting story of World War 11 where Alan Ladd's Quaker faith is put to test in battle.As Frenchy Shapiro, William Bendix etched an unforgettable character. He uses Yiddish expressions interchangeably and gives a robust comic and dramatic performances. His facial expressions and comic timing were very similar to what he gave us in the memorable television series Life of Riley.Keenan Wynn plays a bigoted naval officer who harbors a major secret. James Whitmore, always excellent in war pictures, is rather subdued here as a naval commander.This is a story of the human spirit, bravery and a spirit that got us through the war years.

Homer900 I remember this as the second of a two part feature on a Saturday afternoon in the early 60s. That was when movie tickets were .35 cents and the loges were 50 cents. Of course, after the lights went out, we'd sneak into the loges.Since we boys were raised on the stories of our fathers and uncles war experiences, it was natural for us to watch these movies. One uncle in particular was a career Navy man and so we knew nautical terminology and such.It was a routine story with good action sequences. One thing in particular that has always stuck with me after viewing this was when SPOILER: Alan Ladd's character finally starts to shoot the Japanese soldiers. END SPOILER.A cheer went up throughout the theater and everyone, mostly young boys, were cheering and clapping. Having seen it since, I realize that it is nothing but a routine war picture with little in the way of exploring truly the cost of war to individuals, but it will always have a fond place in my heart from my original viewing oh so many years ago.An interesting side note. This movie, along with others is listed on an old handbill from the old Parks AFB near Dublin California. The bill is dated 1952. The day and dates are listed of the showings. In checking IMDb, this movie shows as a 1958 release. All of the other titles also show a 1958 release, but in checking the calendar, both 1952 and 1958 the dates all fall on the same days. Weird.

Leigh Pomeroy THE DEEP SIX made a big impression on me as a kid. (I don't recall seeing more than bits and pieces since then.) At that time, World War II movies were big, as were afternoon matinees. After watching this we turned a friend's backyard tree into a submarine conning tower, which gave us hours and hours of play.Two scenes I particularly remember:One is when the Japanese, on the pretext of surrendering on a beach, have a machine gun hidden on the back of one of their soldiers. Suddenly he bends over and the guy behind him opens fire with the machine gun, mowing down the helpless and gullible Yanks.And of course the key scene is when the conscientious objector, played by Alan Ladd, finally fires his gun in defense of his fellow soldiers.8 out of 10 for the fond memories of youth....