WILLIAM HOLDEN AND NANCY OLSON IN 'SUBMARINE COMMAND'

Title: SUBMARINE COMMAND Year: 1951 Rating: ***

Imagine THE CAINE MUTINY, without a mutiny, and you might have the William Holden vehicle SUBMARINE COMMAND (actually more like THE FROGMEN) co-starring SUNSET BOULEVARD girl-next-door Nancy Olson as the wife of Holden's Lt. Commander Ken White, who, initially second-in-charge within the titular vessel, makes a quick decision to submerge when the stalwart/popular captain's still outside...

The audience can see he's been hit by a Japanese zero but the drama relies on Holden's character not knowing if the death was by gunfire or drowning, the latter to save the crew... yet what really matters is stocky CPO Boyer's opinion, and, played by always reliable William Bendix, he doesn't like Holden's guilt-ridden second-guessing lieutenant one bit...

William Holden and Jack Gregson in SUBMARINE COMMAND

Unfortunately there's no real tension between both otherwise intense actors, and either way, most of the picture takes place post-war as Holden goes from grouchy to grouchier... especially towards wife Olson... until a second chance to make up for past deeds when Korea rears up...

But by this time we're almost through, which is both good and bad: the first since things don't drag too long as the initial 20-minutes held most of the semi-suspenseful, claustrophobic action... and bad since we never experience Holden, Bendix, Arthur Franz or happy-go-lucky scene-stealer Don Taylor in any real threat or danger throughout. 

William Holden in SUBMARINE COMMAND

Nancy Olson in SUBMARINE COMMAND

Don Taylor in SUBMARINE COMMAND

Arthur Franz, William Bendix and Don Taylor n SUBMARINE COMMAND

Nancy Olson in SUBMARINE COMMAND

William Holden, Don Taylor and William Bendix in SUBMARINE COMMAND

Nancy Olson in SUBMARINE COMMAND

Nancy Olson in SUBMARINE COMMAND