Submarine Alert (1943)
1h 6m | PG-13
Nazi spies use a stolen shortwave transmitter prototype to broadcast top secret shipping info to an offshore Japanese sub. To nab the spy ring, the Government has the West Coast's top radio engineers fired and shadowed to see if the Nazis recruit them to complete work on the prototype radio. Radio engineer Lew Deerhold, a resident alien without a job to pay for his adorable little ward Gina's life-saving operation, falls prey to the spy ring, and is swept up in a maelstrom of deceit and danger.
Director: Frank McDonald
Studio: Pine-Thomas Productions
Genre: Action, Thriller, War
Video: 720p
Cast
Richard Arlen
as Lewis J. 'Lee' Deerhold
Wendy Barrie
as Ann Patterson
Nils Asther
as Dr. Arthur Huneker
Roger Pryor
as G.B. Fleming
Abner Biberman
as Commander Toyo
Marc Lawrence
as Vincent Bela
Reviews
The title of this is a little misleading - it hasn't really got anything much to do with submarines. It's more an espionage thriller that sees some Nazi spies pinch a prototype shortwave radio transmitter that enables them to report shipping movements to an Axis submarine which then picks them off. In desperation, the authorities fire their top experts in the field in the hope that they will be able to track down these traitors if any of their erstwhile technicians are approached to finesse the radio. The rest of the film serves as a bit of a wartime fillip - we are never in any doubt as to the ending; the drama is over scripted, really quite poorly lit and cheaply made - but the unremarkable, workmanlike, cast keep it moving well enough for just over an hour. "I don't bargain with rats"...!