Underwater!
| Underwater! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | John Sturges |
| Screenplay by | Walter Newman |
| Story by | Hugh King Robert B. Bailey |
| Produced by | Harry Tatelman Howard Hughes (executive producer) |
| Starring | Jane Russell Richard Egan Gilbert Roland Lori Nelson |
| Cinematography | Harry J. Wild |
| Edited by | Stuart Gilmore Frederic Knudtson |
| Music by | Roy Webb |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2 million[2] |
| Box office | $2.2 million (US rentals)[3] |
Underwater! is a 1955 adventure film starring Jane Russell, Richard Egan, and Gilbert Roland, and directed by John Sturges.
Plot
[edit]Johnny and his wife Theresa, along with mercenary Dominic Quesada, priest Father Cannon, and Gloria, the boat owner, search for sunken treasure in the Caribbean. While on a dive, they come across a wreck that they assume holds treasure. When they resurface, they are confronted by a boat of local shark-hunters with an unhealthy curiosity in their activities. In their effort to find funding to raise the wreck, they discover that what they are looking for is a 17th-century ship that contains a life-size solid gold Madonna encrusted in precious gems and that it lies in a different underwater location. So they make plans to acquire it. However, it is on the edge of a precipice, and the shark-hunters intend for them to do all the difficult and dangerous recovery, then take the treasure from them.
Cast
[edit]- Jane Russell – Theresa Gray
- Richard Egan – Johnny Gray
- Gilbert Roland – Dominic Quesada
- Lori Nelson – Gloria
- Robert Keith – Father Cannon
- Joseph Calleia – Rico Herrera
- Eugene Iglesias – Miguel Vega
- Ric Roman – Jesus
Production
[edit]Howard Hughes acquired the rights to the unpublished The Big Rainbow.[4]
Partially filmed on location in Mexico and Hawaii, Underwater! was completed in a newly constructed underwater tank in an RKO Radio Pictures soundstage. It was the first RKO film released in Superscope.[5] The film's budget increased from its initial $300,000 and a large amount of the budget was used on footage cut from the film.[6]
Lori Nelson claimed Howard Hughes wanted her for the lead and paid Universal Pictures for her use; however, Jane Russell owed RKO a film. The lead was given to Russell with a part written for Nelson so she could keep her fee.[7]
Soundtrack
[edit]The film contained the songs "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" and "Rhythm Sticks" performed by Perez "Prez" Prado and his Orchestra ("The King of the Mambo").
Release
[edit]For its world premiere on January 10, 1955,[8] the film was projected on a submerged movie screen at Silver Springs, Florida, and members of the press viewed the film 20 feet underwater while wearing aqualungs.[9]
The song "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" featured in the film became a major hit.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Underwater!: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
- ^ Glenn Lovell, Escape Artist: The Life and Films of John Sturges, University of Wisconsin Press, 2008 p117-124
- ^ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955', Variety Weekly, January 25, 1956
- ^ Medved & Medved 1984, p. 43.
- ^ "Widescreen Museum - CinemaScope Derivatives - Superscope 2". www.widescreenmuseum.com.
- ^ Medved & Medved 1984, p. 43-44.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Michael Lori Nelson Interview Western Clippings
- ^ Special, "World Premiere of 'Underwater' Motion Picture To Be Shown At Silver Springs', Playground News, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, December 30, 1954, Volume 9, Number 48, page 3.
- ^ "Treasure Chest Kit to be Introduced at Underwater Premiere". Ocala Star-Banner. January 5, 1955. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
Works cited
[edit]- Medved, Harry; Medved, Michael (1984). The Hollywood Hall of Shame: The Most Expensive Flops in Movie History. Angus & Robertson. ISBN 0207149291.
External links
[edit]- Underwater! at IMDb
- Underwater! at AllMovie
- Underwater! at the TCM Movie Database
- Underwater! at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- 1955 films
- 1950s action adventure films
- American action adventure films
- Films directed by John Sturges
- Films scored by Roy Webb
- Films set in the Caribbean
- Films shot in Hawaii
- Films shot in Mexico
- RKO Pictures films
- Films about treasure hunting
- Underwater action films
- 1950s English-language films
- 1950s American films
- English-language action adventure films