IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.6K
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The new commander of a Navy Underwater Demolition Team--nicknamed "Frogmen"--must earn the respect of the men in his unit, who are still grieving over the death of their former commander and... Read allThe new commander of a Navy Underwater Demolition Team--nicknamed "Frogmen"--must earn the respect of the men in his unit, who are still grieving over the death of their former commander and resentful of the new one.The new commander of a Navy Underwater Demolition Team--nicknamed "Frogmen"--must earn the respect of the men in his unit, who are still grieving over the death of their former commander and resentful of the new one.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 2 nominations total
Robert Adler
- Chief Ryan
- (uncredited)
Parley Baer
- Dr. Ullman
- (uncredited)
William Bishop
- Ferrino
- (uncredited)
Frank Donahue
- Crew Member
- (uncredited)
Ed Donovan
- Crew Officer
- (uncredited)
Harry Flowers
- Kinsella
- (uncredited)
James Gregory
- Chief Petty Officer Lane
- (uncredited)
Harry Hamada
- Gunner
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Underwater Demolition Team, the frogmen in the film, belong to is UDT-4 (some members of the team wear utility jackets with artwork of a large number "4" and a shark on the back). The real UDT-4 in World War II saw combat in the invasions of Okinawa, Saipan, Guam, and the Philippines. Like the fictional team in the film, the UDT-4 had one of their boats hit and sunk by Japanese fire at Leyte, and left a sign on the beach at Guam to welcome the invading Marines.
- GoofsThe triple-tank aqualungs used by the UDT frogmen during the film's climactic mission are incorrect for the WWII period. Although 'Jacques Cousteau', an officer in the French Navy, was working with experimental aqualungs near the end of WWII, U.S. Navy Underwater Demolition Teams did not have them during the war. Re-breathers, which had filters to trap carbon dioxide, were in use during this time period. Modern SEAL type units still use re-breathers because they produce no bubbles which can attract unwanted attention like they did in the movie. The Japanese divers in the movie had bubble-less re-breathers.
- Quotes
Lt. Cmdr. Pete Vincent: Looks like you've got what amounts to a legal mutiny on your hands.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Junior (1985)
Featured review
A nice tribute to some amazing men
After watching and enjoying this film, I checked out the trivia section for this film and found that many of the events in this film are based on the real life unit they were named for in the film--including the banner on the beach scene. At first I thought this scene totally ridiculous and didn't fit the film--seeing it REALLY happened is amazing! This is an interesting war film even if it didn't get made until well after the war. Most people never think about the need for naval demolitions crews, yet their incredibly dangerous job is shown in this film. How dangerous it was and how they actually performed it was truly interesting for history buffs like myself. Seeing them often diving with no real equipment such as snorkels or tanks (these were only used late in the film) and simply free-diving to set demolition charges is pretty amazing. What was more amazing was seeing how they picked up these guys on the fly, so to speak.
Apart from the technical aspects of the film, the plot itself is somewhat formulaic but interesting. Richard Widmark plays the typical hard-as-nails commanding officer and naturally the men miss their old C.O. since he was "one of the boys" (see THE FLYING LEATHERNECKS and TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH and you'll see what I mean). The whole "loneliness at the top" angle has been done many times before, though this one was played a bit better. Having such pros as Dana Andrews, Jeffrey Hunter and Gary Merrill on hand sure didn't hurt! What did hurt, however, with the formula was that, at times, it made the men seem like whiners.
Overall, rather exciting and well worth seeing despite its roots in Hollywood formula and a fitting tribute to some incredibly brave men.
Apart from the technical aspects of the film, the plot itself is somewhat formulaic but interesting. Richard Widmark plays the typical hard-as-nails commanding officer and naturally the men miss their old C.O. since he was "one of the boys" (see THE FLYING LEATHERNECKS and TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH and you'll see what I mean). The whole "loneliness at the top" angle has been done many times before, though this one was played a bit better. Having such pros as Dana Andrews, Jeffrey Hunter and Gary Merrill on hand sure didn't hurt! What did hurt, however, with the formula was that, at times, it made the men seem like whiners.
Overall, rather exciting and well worth seeing despite its roots in Hollywood formula and a fitting tribute to some incredibly brave men.
helpful•153
- planktonrules
- Feb 7, 2009
- How long is The Frogmen?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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