The Enemy Below

This 1957 World War II submarine drama, based on the titular 1956 novel by Commander D. A. Rayner, stars Robert Mitchum as Captain Murrell, the newly-appointed commander of an American destroyer in the South Atlantic. German star Curt Jürgens, making his American film debut, costars as Commander Von Stolberg, a German submarine commander whose mission is imperiled when the American warship gives chase. Murrell is not a career Navy man—he was a merchant seaman before the war—and his unconventional tactics have the crew questioning his experience, but they rally under his command and rise to the challenge of their first major enemy action. Directed by Dick Powell in a deliberate (at times plodding) manner, the film features its fair share of war movie action but the focus is on the battle of wits, a kind of chess game played with torpedoes and depth charges, as the two leaders attempt to outwit the other by anticipating moves. David Hedison and Theodore Bikel costar as the respective second officers in this film that won an Academy Award for its special effects and inspired the 1966 Star Trek episode "Balance of Terror," with the Starship Enterprise recreating the role of the American destroyer and a Romulan warship playing the submarine. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)