Richard Widmark stars in this tense cold war thriller as an abrasive naval commander playing a high stakes game of cat and mouse with a soviet submarine. This is obviously influenced (as most sea-bourne adventures are) by the classic tale of obsession, Moby Dick, as Widmark pursues his white whale with little thought
for the consequences. There is some great verbal sparring between his character and Sidney Poitier's tenacious reporter, which is almost as much fun to watch as his demolition of every man who tries to stand in his way; Widmark is always better in his more hard-nosed roles. Add some nice documentary style black & white photography and an excellent turn by Eric Portman as a pragmatic ex U-boat commander and you have an intelligent and cleverly written thriller cum arms race analogy with a great finale.
November 30, 2007
