The James Garner Blogathon – Up Periscope (1959)

This is a submission for the The James Garner Blogathon being run by Gill of RealWeegieMidget

Tnx for letting me take part!

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“How come they call you Weary?” – Lt. j.g. Kenneth M. Braden:

“That’s my name.” – Weary

“Nickname?” Lt. j.g. Kenneth M. Braden:

“No, sir, my real name. I’m the youngest of 13 children. I guess when I was born, my mother couldn’t think of another name.” – Weary

Number of Times Seen – 1 (3 Feb 2020)

Brief Synopsis – A Naval officer is sent on a secret mission and must get to his destination with the help of a submarine crew.

My Take on it – This is another film that I chose for this blogathon knowing absolutely nothing about it.

James Garner does a wonderful job in the lead and really makes us care about what will happen to him as he must undergo a very dangerous mission.

The story does a fine job keeping things intriguing both from an action aspect and a poignant one as the characters constantly debate whether one needs to carry out a certain command or not.

Garner is helped along by Alan Hale Jr. (The Skipper from Gilligan’s Island) and Edmond O’Brien as the captain who must decide how to proceed based largely on his own past actions.

The film has some witty and meaningful dialogue yet it comes across as being quite uneven.

Parts of it are deep and poignant while other parts seem slightly off and don;t necessarily belong in this kind of story.

They do a really good job here sowing how even submarine crews could get fearful when they must undertake very dangerous missions in unknown enemy territory especially when it’s debatable as to whether they need t be there or not.

The film also allows the characters to form a bond over the course of the story which is done in a realistic way and helps make things feel slightly more plausible.

Bottom Line – Intriguing film that has both an enjoyable mission and a poignant look at the debate of whether to carry out missions or not. Garner does a nice job in the lead and is helped along by O’Brien and Hale who are also both quite good here. The dialogue is uneven tho because there are points where they have very deep and meaningful discussions while others which seem so off and don’t belong in such a story. The film does a wonderful job dealing wit the idea of how fearful submarine crews can get when taken into unknown and dangerous areas when they don’t need to. The characters are able to form a bond over the course of the film and it’s done in a genuine way that makes it seem more realistic. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – When Braden steps onto the submarine he salutes the rear of the boat, which is where the flag would be displayed, yet over his shoulder the flag can be seen rolled up and leaning against a cable. In the next shot, the flag is at the rear of the boat. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)