MartinHafer Towards the tail end of his career, the quality of Alan Ladd's films slipped significantly. Oddly, despite his success in "Shane" (1953), his successive films became increasingly formulaic and weak. I am not completely sure why. Because of this, I was happy with seeing "Deep Six" because although it wasn't a great film, it was a very good one and an improvement over his usual movie from this period in his career.In this film, Ladd plays a Quaker serving in the Navy during WWII. Unlike his usual pugnacious persona, this character is more thoughtful and quiet than you would expect. His religious faith and his duty become a significant problem, as he finds that he does have difficulty killing. How's he going to work all this out? With his good buddy Frenchie (William Bendix).Bendix is a common actor in Alan Ladd films and they were in about a half dozen films together. However, they were never better together than in this film--mostly because Bendix's character was really well written and fun to watch. Unfortunately, not all the other characters are as multidimensional and the film, oddly, leaves Frenchie's fate a bit in doubt--for this, the film loses a point. Otherwise, entertaining and with some unexpected depth.By the way, the history teacher in me was irritated that the clothing and hairstyles on the women were clearly mid-1950s--not at all the sorts you'd have seen during WWII. This was sloppy--as well as the poor use of stock footage where a Japanese plane switched from silver to green in mid-flight!!

pv71989-1 "The Deep Six" is a standard World War II actioner with credible performances almost torpedoed (pun intended) by Hollywood's need for sap, melodrama and comic relief.The film is based loosely on the bestselling novel of the same name by Martin Dibner. "Loose" is being kind. I recommend reading the book and only viewing the movie as a way to pass a few hours until the rain stops.Alan Ladd, who would die six years after this movie came out, plays Lt. Austen, a pacifist Quaker who, nonetheless, joins the Navy. He is sent aboard a destroyer as an assistant gunnery officer (a point made in the book, but left out of the movie). He spends the movie trying to overcome his pacifist ways, finally "being forced" to kill Japanese soldiers to save his shipmates. Alas, the whole moral quandary comes across as placid and lacks energy, much as Ladd's career was by the mid-50's.Ably supported by a veteran cast that includes James Whitmore, Keenan Wynn, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Perry Lopez ("Chinatown"), Nestor Paiva, William Bendix and Joey Bishop in his film debut. Look quick for Jerry Mathers (no, not as the Beaver), Ross Bagdasarian (better known as Dave Seville of "Alvin & the Chipmunks" fame), Robert ("Hideous Sun Demon") Clarke and Edd "Kookie" Byrnes without his comb.Though director Rudolph Mate does a good job with what he has, he is saddled with the book of Hollywood clichés. Bishop's character was added for comic relief as a womanizing sailor with a gal in every port. A hard-nosed officer acts the way he does because he is dying of cancer and wants to get a few of "them" before he dies, so he is forgiven for berating Austen and the crew. Austen leads a rescue mission so he can get the chance to overcome his pacifism under fire. Yada, yada, yada.The best way to describe this movie is "cowardly." It fails to explore any of the themes portrayed in the 1953 novel. Author Dibner based the book on his own exploits aboard the cruiser USS Richmond during the Aleutian Islands campaign.His book is almost just name only for the movie. A big reason is that Alan Ladd is one of the producers. By 1958, his career was on a downward slide because he refused to transition into older or supporting roles. He changed the movie to make his character virtually the only conflict in the movie.Case in point, in that book, Wynn's hard-nosed LCDR Mike Edge is Lt. Mike Edge, a sexual predator of sailors, as well as a virulent racist. Whitemore's commanding officer character is a coward forced back to sea because he makes too many enemies ashore. Austen has Quaker parents but does not espouse their beliefs. Zimbalist's Doc Blanchard is a drunkard.Slobodjian (Bagdasarian) actually lives to the end of the movie and is instrumental in stopping Edge. In the movie, he is rarely shown and gets killed before the halfway mark. Most egregious of all, the character of Henry Fowler, a black steward who is actually the best gunner on a ship (a cruiser in the book) desperate for gunners, is completely eliminated. Racism keeps him from getting that job until Austen convinces Meredith to let the man be a gunner during combat and a steward the rest of the time. But, Edge goads him into violence and tries to murder him twice. You can almost see an actor like James Edwards, Ossie Davis or Woody Strode in the role.The book explored racism, homosexual rape (present but always covered up in the Navy), archaic customs and practices that hampered the Navy during the early years of the war, the simmering resentment felt by Naval Academy graduates toward Navy ROTC and Officer Candidate School- commissioned officers and the continued decision of Naval brass to put unfit or undeserving officers in positions of authority. Also, the movie ends with a whimper of a mission, namely the one with Austen going on a secret rescue mission on a Japanese-held island in the Aleutians. In the book, the cruiser participates in the real-life Battle of the Komandorski Islands, which would have been a far greater climax for the movie.Overall, the film, as I've said, is okay. Joey Bishop's humor gets stale after a while (which is probably why he was always on the fringes of the Rat Pack). You also lose interest in Austen's pacifism, which becomes as interesting as his two-dimensional romance with Dianne Foster (in the book, it was central to Austen keeping his sanity).This is not a movie worth seeking out, but rather one to catch on TCM during an Alan Ladd marathon.Maybe one day, Hollywood will finally make a movie based on the book and not just the title.

wes-connors Raised by a peace-loving Quaker mother, artist Alan Ladd (as Alexander "Alec" Austen) is nevertheless enlisted for World War II service. This interrupts his romance with attractive younger Dianne Foster (as Susan Cahill). In the Navy, Mr. Ladd meets a typical group of movie sailors. These include frequent co-star William Bendix (as "Frenchy" Shapiro), secretive Keenan Wynn (as Mike Edge), commander James Whitmore (as Warren Meredith) and roommate Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (as Doctor Blanchard). Stand up comic Joey Bishop plays an oddly attractive young sailor, and future "Alvin and the Chipmunks" creator Ross Bagdasarian provides the crew with dozens of Armenian woman. Ladd is made gunnery officer, but his pacifist past causes him to freeze when it's time to shoot. Ladd must learn how to kill or put his crew in danger...***** The Deep Six (1/15/58) Rudolph Mate ~ Alan Ladd, William Bendix, Dianne Foster, Joey Bishop

Chris (Asgardian) The cast turned up just to collect a paycheck, which is a shame, because it is a fine collection of actors. However this movie is representative of tired scripting and even worse, tired and uninspired directing. Alan Ladd looks almost embarrassed on occasions to be associated with this turkey. This film is only worthwhile to make you appreciate when you see a quality movie of the genre.BEVARE (sorry Bela) watch this stinker at your own risk.