Who in their right mind would think that taking a sunken German submarine and raising it to rob the luxury liner, The Queen Mary, would be a good idea for a caper? That's the whole idea of this extremely silly thriller that in the 1940's would have been a great Universal movie starring the likes of Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Sabu, Lon Chaney Jr. and Turhan Bey. It's all about as realistic as "Cobra Woman", yet the characters in this movie match each of the archetypes the actors I mention would play. In the case of this movie, it is Frank Sinatra, Virni Lisi, Anthony Franciosa and Richard Conte (to name a few), and I was more than surprised that none of them broke into gails of laughter when they had to recite lines in this silly screenplay. Poor Errol John as the only black man involved in the plot becomes the victim of some rather tasteless racial slurs, while Alf Kjellin displays obvious Nazi qualities as he strokes the quickly drying Nazi flag they find aboard the submarine. While the Queen Mary doesn't end up similar fates to the Titanic or the Luisitania, disaster of another kind results.

This 'start studded' seawater heist is a clapped together Paramount pantomime with terrible studio scenes apparently pretending to be inside a submarine and some deck bound extra shots on the real Queen Mary. the last 40 minutes of the film are just stupefying with the sort of Navy surplus store fittings not seen on screen since THE QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE tried to fool us with hardware store bunks and pipes. Frank Sinatra gives his usual one note acting performance, and the hilarious scenes where their toy submarine apparently gets stuck under the Queen Mary allows the sedated viewer to see the bottom of the swimming pool in which they are filmed. One scene at the end where the Coast Guard ship is supposed to ram the submarine is, incredulously, filmed in the studio using a screen of the ship bow, a bucket of water flung across the set and then the cardboard conning tower is pushed over. Virna Lisi is hilarious as she totters about the submarine, gasping and hold in on for dear life. If you had paid for a ticket to this in any year you'd want a refund or a good look at Ms Lisi's treasure chest at least.

This is a remarkable enjoyable adventure. I first saw this movie when I was a small boy of 8 years old. I have seen it several times since and I am still amazed by how much I like this movie. To an 8 year old this is a tale of adventure , risk , reward , and right over wrong. The musical soundtrack while limited is truly inspired by the plot. If you release yourself from the everyday roll of life and just let that little child in you come out with an awe of the impossible you will totally be absorbed by the picture. The acting is OK , the cloths dated , the bravado overacted but no matter how many things about this movie are just plain bad - the overall premise is inspiring . I am finding it hard to not give away any plot but I would not want to spoil this experience for anyone. Give it a try - you will not be disappointed.

This movie is the perfect entertainment for everyone who likes either ships, U-Boats and/or Frank Sinatra... Although the main story is nothing but a fantasy plot, the movie works out pretty well. Mainly because of Franky's outstanding performance and some interesting dialogue. Don't miss the 'crushing' climax...