verbusen Bad comic book war film. James Caan is supposed to be in the British (?) Navy and is a high ranking Officer at that (LOL!). The movie opens up with 4 or 5 sailors coming out of nowhere in the water all washing to shore at the same time(?). There is no lifeboat of life preservers to be seen and they all pop up out of the waves together (!). So the story is that Caan got his submarine sunk and 50 of the crew is killed, and the rest hate Caan for the mess he got them in. Then Caan is promoted (?!) and he gets the old survivors back to train them to be in midget subs. They take on the Nazi's and win the war no doubt single handed. I sped it up to a random point where I thought they'd be ready for their attack and jumped into a scene where they are piloting 3 midget subs into a minefield. The genius of Caan decides to go through the mines at the same depth of the war heads not thinking to dive deeper, also he assumes they are all contact mines and not magnetic mines, then the subs all bounce against the mines and none go off, then Caan has to get out of the sub underwater and untangle a mine stuck to his sub. I mean it's bad folks, really bad. No really I stopped watching the movie it's terrible and why James Caan was picked in a British navy war movie is anyone's guess. Maybe in 1968 it flew as plausible but I cannot comprehend the British giving a Canadian his own sub like that, I mean Canada had a Navy too (I thought). I just can't see British sailors taking orders from a guy who talks like he's from the Jersey Shore (New Jersey that is). After we have seen Caan as nothing else but an Italian American tough guy for over 40 years the only thing that may interest you is to watch this as a spoof, ala MST3K. Hey I love comic book war films and this was made by the same company that did Mosquito Squadron 633, but this is pitiful, no wonder Hulu had it to show, no one else would dare, only a free web site could. 4 of 10, it is in color so it has that going for it.

Kobalt44 This film is supposed to be a fictionalised account of the ultimately unsuccessful British underwater raid on that mighty German battleship, the Tirpitz. All I can say on it is the acting is absurdly staged, the script is about as hackneyed and unbelievable as they get, and the characterisation is terribly shallow and stereotypical; as well it is wildly historically inaccurate even allowing for the inevitable artistic licence taken in making films on historical subjects.All in all, it is hard to believe that this flick was made in the late 60s (1968) and I agree with another contributor here that it seems to be the sort of film that they made twenty-five years earlier, i.e. actually during the war. Some twenty-three years after the end of the Second World War, Submarine X-1 is still ludicrously and woodenly propagandist. Even the action is unbelievable with German paratrooper raids on the naval base etc.I realise that it is only a war movie, doubtlessly made for a young male viewing audience, and it is silly to take such films seriously, and I don't; however, Submarine X-1 even as a time-killer for boys on rainy weekend afternoons is 'orrible.Fortunately for the viewing public, James Caan, who is a really excellent actor, went on to much bigger and better things straight after Submarine X-1. Who could ever forget his stellar, though uncredited, performances in 1969 as Rupert of Rathskeller in the "To Sire With Love" episodes of Get Smart? Brilliant! And from there on his career really forged ahead.

ma-logan I just saw this movie, which was interesting as I saw a documentary on the same thing earlier this year. Just to correct the previous viewer the shoulder flashes on the Commander (James Caan) show "Canada", so I assume he was an Canadian not an American. I did not hear any explanation why a Canadian was in charge during the movie, as often happens. The British did not let colonials command that much, so it would have been interesting to see why, but it most likely they used a Canadian because James Caan is an American actor and the accent is similar, and it is more likely an Canadian would be involved rather than an actual American Navel person. So they just put Canada flashes on his should and all it good.The movie itself was kind of methodical, and the special effects so-so, but overall, I found it interesting anyway being interested in this kind of fiction based on fact WWII movies.

gary89436 Yes, I agree with the average 4/10 rating. This is another marginally watchable, below average mid-60s fare, worth your time only if you have absolutely nothing else to do with your time. Not horrible, but nothing remarkable either. Little in the way of character development, no memorable dialogue, and a plodding, straightforward plot (if you can call it that). If you make it all the way through, follow the crew's example, and break out the brandy; after that, you deserve one.