Crash Dive is a World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 film in Technicolor

Technicolor

Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...

 released in 1943. It was directed by Archie Mayo

Archie Mayo

Archie Mayo was a movie director and stage actor who moved to Hollywood in 1915 and began working as a director in 1917....

, written by Jo Swerling

Jo Swerling

Jo Swerling was an American theatre writer and lyricist and a screenwriter.Born in Berdichev, Russian Empire, Swerling was a refugee of the Czarist regime who grew up on New York City's lower East Side, where he sold newspapers to help support his family...

 and W.R. Burnett, and starred Tyrone Power

Tyrone Power

Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...

, Dana Andrews

Dana Andrews

Dana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...

 and Anne Baxter

Anne Baxter

Anne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as The Magnificent Ambersons , The Razor's Edge , All About Eve and The Ten Commandments .-Early life:...

. The film was the last for Power, already enlisted in the United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

, before assignment to recruit training

Recruit training

Recruit training, more commonly known as Basic Training and colloquially called Boot Camp, is the initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel, enlisted and officer...

 also known as boot camp.

Plot

A US Navy submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

, the USS Corsair, is operating in the North Atlantic, hunting German merchant raider

Merchant raider

Merchant raiders are ships which disguise themselves as non-combatant merchant vessels, whilst actually being armed and intending to attack enemy commerce. Germany used several merchant raiders early in World War I, and again early in World War II...

s that are preying on Allied shipping. Its new executive officer

Executive officer

An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...

, Lt.

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 Ward Stewart (Power), has been transferred back into submarines after commanding his own PT boat

PT boat

PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...

. At the submarine base

Naval Submarine Base New London

Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...

 in New London, Connecticut

New London, Connecticut

New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

, he asks his new captain, Lt. Cmdr.

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

 Dewey Connors (Andrews), for a weekend leave to settle his affairs before taking up his new assignment. On a train bound for Washington D.C., Stewart accidentally encounters New London school teacher Jean Hewlett (Baxter) and her students. Despite her initial resistance to his efforts, he charms her and they fall in love.

His infatuation with PT boats irritates Connors but the two become friends after a combat action with a Q ship in which Connors is injured and Stewart sinks it. Connors, unbeknownst to Stewart, is already in love with Jean but delays marrying her until he gains a promotion to commander

Commander

Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

. Tension between the men ensues when Connors discovers that the woman Stewart is wooing is Jean. The film culminates in a commando raid by the Corsair on an island supply base for the German raiders.

Cultural Significance

Several factors make Crash Dive a movie worth watching.

First, the film was one of relatively few filmed in color during the Second World War. The color adds a vibrancy which sets it apart from similar films of its era.

Second, it features color footage shot at the submarine base in Groton, Connecticut. Naval historians will find this to be very interesting and useful in documenting the bases appearance during the war. Other historic facets, such as the admiral's office and the officer's club, are preserved and documented in the film. Close observation in a few shots also shows the Gold Star Memorial Bridge over the Thames River under construction.

Third, and of most significance, is the portrayal of Cook Oliver Cromwell Jones by Ben Carter. Although the character is in many ways stereotypical, it breaks through stereotypes and becomes a vital part of the film. Jones has a close relationship with the the submarine's chief petty officer "Mac" (James Gleason) and confronts him about his secret use of heart medication. Jones also breaks stereotypes when he is selected to go on a dangerous commando mission and performs bravely in combat. There is even a scene where Jones breaks out of his "station" in society and laughs when the white sailors are putting on black grease to hide their faces at night for the commando mission. Jones then says loudly, "I'm the only born commando here!" While by modern standards this would be seen as a cheap race joke it was undoubtedly on the edge for the 1940's when blacks were confined to being cooks in the Navy and it would unthinkable to have a black as a member of an elite commando unit.

While not a complex movie Crash Dive does provide excellent documentation of the Navy during the Second World War and places a dent in the entrenched racial barriers of that time.

Cast

As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):

Actor	Role
Tyrone Power Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...	Lt. Ward Stewart
Anne Baxter Anne Baxter Anne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as The Magnificent Ambersons , The Razor's Edge , All About Eve and The Ten Commandments .-Early life:...	Jean Hewlett
Dana Andrews Dana Andrews Dana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...	Lt. Cdr. Dewey Connors
James Gleason James Gleason James Austin Gleason was an American actor born in New York City. He was also a playwright and screenwriter.-Career:...	Chief Mike "Mac" McDonnell
Dame May Whitty	Grandmother
Harry Morgan Harry Morgan Harry Morgan is an American actor. Morgan is well-known for his roles as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , Pete Porter on both Pete and Gladys and December Bride , Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet , and Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey...	Lt. J.G. "Brownie" Brown
Ben Carter Ben Carter Ben Ammi Ben-Israel is the American founder and spiritual leader of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem, a group that developed in Chicago, Illinois among the African-American community. Claiming to be a lost tribe of Israel, most of its members have lived in Dimona, Israel since the late...	Oliver Cromwell Jones