The Enemy Below

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The Enemy Below

1957,

1h 38m,

War/

Drama/

Action/

Adventure/

Mystery & Thriller

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86%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

87%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

During the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II, two equally able captains on opposing sides square off in a life-and-death game of tactical maneuvering. American Capt. Murrell (Robert Mitchum) helms the destroyer USS Haynes, while his Nazi counterpart, Von Stolberg (Curt Jurgens), commands a German U-boat. As both men follow their orders, they push their crews to greater lengths to achieve victory. Over the course of the intense battle, a respect develops among enemies.

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Jim Schembri

jimschembri.com

Jul 15, 2020

4/5

More than 60 years on it still stands as one of the most thoughtful and humane war films ever made.

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Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Dec 2, 2019

There's considerable tension in this war-at-sea drama...

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Jan 28, 2012

B+

This WWII drama, centering on the suspenseful warfare between rival sumarine officers, German (Curt Jurgens) and American (Robert Mitchum, deservedly won the Special Effects Oscar.

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Christopher Lloyd

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Mar 14, 2011

4/5

While recognizing that it's not any sort of great piece of acting by Robert Mitchum or a searing portrait of war, if one accepts The Enemy Below as an action-filled war movie, it's thoroughly entertaining stuff.

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Chuck O'Leary

Fantastica Daily

Oct 6, 2005

2/5

Linda Cook

Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

Jul 25, 2004

5/5

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Kylo S

Sep 19, 2018

An entertaining World War II drama showing some of the horrors of sea battle and U-boats. Jurgens and Mitchum are marvellous and this is weightier than many other war films of the era.

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Leia S

Mar 7, 2018

Post Ww 2 war movie with an attempt to rehab the germans as honorable warriors. Instead of Nazis..The acting by the Germans is better than Mitchum . He just wasnt much of an actor. He seems uninvolved and phones in his lines. The special effects look hokey compared to today. The naval component of this is the most interesting part. Commands,courses , procedures and etc. I have no idea if it is correct so.... In reality the sub would have administered the death blow from below. They would have machine gunned the US naval SURVIVORS. in the end. Rehabbing Germany was necessary given the political situation at the time vs. Russia.

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Draco P

Mar 3, 2018

This is an excellent World War II movie, and I enjoyed watching it. Mitchum and Jurgens are outstanding in their respective roles as the opposing captains (Mitchum on an American destroyer and Jurgens on a German U-Boat) who try to anticipate each other's moves and try to outwit each other. This movie is worth the time.

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Hagrid P

Feb 8, 2018

Excellent drama of two captains, two crews, and similar strategies resulting in mutual respect - two a point. Great cinematography, editing, & casting. It's worth pointing out that this mutual respect in this 1957 film would have been unthinkable ten years earlier: not all Germans were Nazis.

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Rey L

Oct 29, 2017

Good movie of an American destroyer and German sub. Suspenseful. Robert Mitchum.

George M

Sep 9, 2017

Taught WWII naval dogfight between US destroyer captain Robert Mitchum and German U-Boat commander Curt Jurgens. The Nazi's are certainly the bad guys, but they are treated with a surprising amount of respect, which was unexpected, though I suppose this picture was made 12 years after the war, so maybe that was enough time for Germans to be good again. Directed by song and dance man Dick Powell, he's crafted a tight muscular war film that I would rank as the best submarine picture up to this point.

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Dick Powell

Director

Robert Mitchum

Capt. Murrell

Curd Jürgens

Von Stolberg

Theodore Bikel

"Heinie" Schwaffer

David Hedison

Lt. Ware

Russell Collins

Doctor

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Synopsis

During the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II, two equally able captains on opposing sides square off in a life-and-death game of tactical maneuvering. American Capt. Murrell (Robert Mitchum) helms the destroyer USS Haynes, while his Nazi counterpart, Von Stolberg (Curt Jurgens), commands a German U-boat. As both men follow their orders, they push their crews to greater lengths to achieve victory. Over the course of the intense battle, a respect develops among enemies.

Director: Dick Powell
Producer: Dick Powell
Screenwriter: Wendell Mayes
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Genre: War, Drama, Action, Adventure, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Runtime: 1h 38m

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