ShangLuda Admirable film.

Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Panamint Well made and edited, this is a focused, no nonsense WWII spy movie that has a somewhat interesting technological foundation regarding radio transmission. Richard Arlen always had a wooden acting style but he is a bit less stiff than usual in this one and his capable action-star abilities are well used in the vigorous aspects of his role. Nils Asther, Marc Lawrence, Wendy Barrie and others provide solid performances and do excellent work.If you can ignore the final two minutes that are spliced on for propaganda purposes and concentrate on the film itself, you will be rewarded with a solid, surprisingly well made action/spy flick. Surprising especially since it was only a quickly conceived WWII studio effort that was a product of the Hollywood switch to war themes following the sudden outbreak of the war. While obviously quickly made, "Submarine Alert" lacks any sloppiness, unnecessary padding or other b- quality attributes in its acting or overall results.I consider my rating of "6" as being for the film itself, since it completely ends before the final add-on section.

sol **SPOILERS** With the Nazis having stolen this advanced radio transmitter from American electronic expert Johann Bergstrom they now have the upper hand in transmitting information to theirs allies the Japs in when and where US oil tankers will be in the South Pacific. With that important information the Japs can get their subs to track the oil tankers down and sink them before they reach and resupply, with their precious cargo, the US Navy on the battlefront. This has a lone Japanese submarine being able to pick off the oil tankers almost as soon as they leave port with the US Military, during all the confusion, not being able to come to their rescue while the sub is able make its escape.Looking ahead the FBI realizes that the transmitter sooner or later would need repairing and, with the cooperation of the electronic industry, has all the top electronic engineers on the West Coast fired from their jobs. In the FBI knowing that one of them will end up being hired by the Nazis, without his knowing it, to do the repair job for them. This has Lee Deerhold without a job and desperate for cash in paying his bills as well as for a brain operation on his step-daughter Tina, whom he rescued from Nazi Germany after the Nazis murdered her parents, end up working for them. Unknown to Lee he's being secretly tracked by the FBI in the person of Agent Ann Patterson who used the occasion, that was planned in advance, of her purse being snatched to get introduced to him. It isn't long when Lee realizes that he'd been set up by Ann and that makes things worse not just for him but the FBI who now are in danger of their scheme, in planting Lee inside the Nazi spy network, coming apart at the seams!The usual Hollywood made war film during WWII with a slight twist to it. In that it shows that even non-American citizens who Lee Deerfield is one of them are just as patriotic and willing to fight and die for their country as any red blooded American. This, being a non American citizen, is in fact the reason that Lee felt that he was canned from his electronic job as the company's top radio repairman. And it was that very reason that Lee's Nazi employers who were running, as a cover, the phony Old Mill Hot Spring Spa tried to recruit the disillusioned Lee into their spy-ring.***SPOILERS*** With him knowing that the security of the United States is on the line Lee does his best to alert the FBI in what the Nazis, and their Japanese cohorts, are up to! This has Lee get stymied by the head Nazi Dr. Honeker by him doing his impersonation act in him impersonating someone that's, whom Honeker had murdered, already dead! Locked inside a steam room at the Old Mill Spa together with FBI Agent Patterson Lee's only chance of surviving in being, together with Ann, steamed to death is both his own electronic expertise and teenage radio ham operator Johnny. It's that combination of good old Amerian ingenuity and inventiveness that brought the Nazi spy-ring to a sudden end before it could do any more damage. It also has Lee not only become, by and act of Congress, an instant American citizen and, lucky for him, get drafted into the US Army but get Tina that brain operation, free of charge, that ended up saving her life.

ksf-2 Bergstrom, a radio engineer expert goes missing during WW II. Deerhold, a resident- alien radio engineer (Richard Arlen, Santa Fe Trail) helps Ann Patterson (Wendy Barrie, Love on a Bet, the "Falcon" movies) when her purse gets snatched. The viewer sees the FBI trying to track down where the enemy radio transmissions are originating, but so far, no luck. Arlen and Barrie get caught up in the search for the people behind the radio transmissions before more US ships get sunk. Maxwell Shane had written many of these military action films in the 1940s. It's all wrapped up neatly in the last minute of the film, and then the usual affirmation of US loyalty by Arlen to the viewing public. Some interesting scenery of downtown LA. Also some choppy edits, and long blackout pauses between scenes. This is one of the films in the "50 Action Classics" from Treeline/TCM. Some big Hollywood names might have added some zing.

classicsoncall You've got the makings of a neat little espionage thriller buried here in a 1940's 'B' programmer, not too dis-similar from the Charlie Chan flicks of the era. A stolen radio transmitter at the center of the story allows Nazi operatives to track the movements and destroy seafaring tankers loaded with oil by means of an enemy submarine. Recently fired from his job, radio technician Lewis Deerhold (Richard Arlen) is surreptitiously recruited to the Nazi cause under a false pretext, and winds up in a boat load of trouble of his own, dodging FBI agents and Nazi bullets as he tries to figure out who the good and bad guys are. Even his romantic interest, Ann Patterson (Wendy Barrie) winds up looking like she framed him in a set up, so you can't help feeling old Deerhold will get the short end of the stick either way it turns out.I have to say, I thought it was pretty harsh at the start of the picture for the FBI to call for mass firings in the broadcast industry just to see who might turn up sympathetic to the Axis cause. Not that I doubt it could have happened for real, but seeing it portrayed that way sent a nasty shiver up my spine. What's even more incredible, Deerhold's boss tells him straight up that the FBI made him do it - "I'm sorry old man, but we're at war..." But you know, the Nazis themselves were a pretty chilling lot too; how about that menacing 'Heil Hitler' salute among the bad guys.I'm actually quite addicted to these 1930/'40's era mysteries, but this is the first time I've ever seen a police chase featuring a cop on a running board shooting at a getaway car. Another first was catching Deerhold using the 'saved by the water wheel trick' at the Nazi hideout. And while we're at it, the death by tractor scene at the opening was also a novel way to open up a story. So for a virtually unknown drama from Paramount's early days, this one managed to entertain in quite the original fashion.Not to say that it was all credible, there was some goofy stuff too. When the American pilots locate that German sub and knock it out to high heaven, the toy sub they used to film the scene was pretty transparent - "One bomb, one sub, let's go home." And say, how do you explain amateur radio jockey Johnny hooking up with the Feds when they make the bust at Old Mill Springs? Sure Johnny, we can use a twelve year old along for the ride when we pinch the Fuerher's boys! Those little quirks aside, this could be the basis for a pretty thrilling modern day re-make in the right hands. Of course you'd replace all that 1940's gadgetry with the latest in electronic surveillance and telecommunications gizmos. The only thing is, you'd have to come up with an updated hook to revive the Nazis. Which by the way, wasn't the choice of Dr. Huneker's attack dog ironically clever - it was a German Shepherd!