The Frogmen (1951)

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

For better or worse, THE FROGMEN is a straightforward wartime thriller from our American cousins. As with most WW2 movies, it's based on true stories. The heroes are a bunch of underwater explosives experts whose job is to sail close to Japanese fortifications, jump into the water, set bombs and timers, and then escape before everything blows up.It's not a subject matter I had much knowledge of despite being a war buff, so this film interested me. It's a well made little picture with some good actors butting heads and a series of action sequences which are well shot and resolutely suspenseful. The film seems to gather momentum as it progresses and the situations become more life and death, the stakes raising every second.Richard Widmark and Dana Andrews, both looking youthful, are well cast as the officer and his second in command who spend most of the screen time. Robert Wagner is listed in support but don't bother trying to spot him. While I imagine THE FROGMEN will be become a fairly forgettable film as time passes since I saw it, it's hard to say that it puts a foot wrong regardless.

Here we go again; virtually all the comments posted here are favorable if not mild raves for a movie I found pedestrian at best. It was Widmark's eleventh movie and he had a lot of good stuff behind him and a lot of good stuff to come; this was the middle of three ho-hum entries he was saddled with, preceded by Halls Of Montezuma and succeeded by Red Skies Of Montana, potboilers all. In 1951 it was unorthodox to say the least to make a film without even a female presence let alone a love interest but for reasons best known to themselves, Fox decided it was viable. The main thrust - a martinet disliked by his men until finally earning their grudging respect, was stale even when Sophocles was writing out of Athens and this entry offers no new insights or twists. There's a fairly competent supporting cast led by Dana Andrews, Gary Merrill, Jeffrey Hunter and Harvey Lembeck but don't cancel a whist drive to catch this one.

The Frogmen is a film based on the exploits of the U.S. Navy's Underwater Demolition Teams during World War II. The primary task of these guys was to go in ahead of any island landing and clear away any obstacles put up by the enemy in the water. That meant going in ahead of the Marines as the Frogmen point out. Today that function is now that of the Navy Seals.The plot is similar to Flying Leathernecks. Richard Widmark is the new commanding officer of the team assigned to Gary Merrill's ship and he's taking the place of a popular commander who was recently killed. He meets with a lot of resentment from the men, some of that resentment fueled by Dana Andrews who is the CPO of the team and very popular also with the crew. How Widmark and Andrews deal with their personal issues as well as get the job done is the basis of the film.Nice underwater photography highlights the dangerous mission of these men. Both Widmark and Andrews despite their differences do get their assignments accomplished, not always in the most expeditious manner. These guys and their team are professionals in the real and the cinematic sense.War films usually aren't chick flicks, but I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of female fans saw this one for a glimpse of some 20th Century Fox's top young talent topless like Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter. Good an excuse as any to see a well made war film.

The first time I saw this I was 10 years old, very impressionable and wanted very much to be like these men of war. This film has a lot to say about dedication and hard work learning the art of war. As John Wayne once said in "Sands of Iwo Jima" about the learning of the proper procedures of how to fight a war, because if we don't do it right a whole lot of men don't walk away from it, "forevermore they don't". As has been said this is the precursor to the modern day Seals. Sure I know they are tougher men today, but in my estimation not any more honorable and dedicated than the men portrayed in this "great" film.The acting is outstanding and very real, especially to be so good that an old man like myself, remembers how I felt all the times I saw the film. If a film and the men involved in telling the tale of "The Frogmen" left that much impression and remembered to this day, then it had to be great acting, direction and favorably produced. There was no outlandish computer graphic techniques of today nor scenes of blowing up the world that come so common place in todays action genra films, but a reason and purpose for the gritty life and death struggle each man faced to become a frogman in the U. S. Navy or UDT (Underwater Demolition Teams) as they were and are called.This black and white picture was dominated by the snarling Richard Widmark in perhaps his best performance in his career. I know many remember him for other films, but to me, he made this film and was the quintessential commander training his men to do a very difficult job with nothing more than shear strength of character and leadership. They did not have the high tech apparatus of todays Seals, but for what they lacked in equipment they more than made up for in "guts and glory" beneath the waters.The rest of the cast, Dana Andrews, Gary Merrill, Jeffrey Hunter and Robert Wagner, just to name a few seemed to be portraying what is best in the Navy and men of war. Several more gave memorable performances in telling the tale of "The Frogmen" and the U. S. Navy's dedication to the finest in warfare.The standard war movie is one thing, but this is a classic not seen much today and one in which many that followed learned by this tale of the U. S. Navy.