Product Details

• Actors: James Garner, Edmond O'Brien, Andra Martin, Alan Hale Jr., Carleton Carpenter
• Directors: Gordon Douglas
• Writers: Richard H. Landau, Robb White
• Producers: Aubrey Schenck
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: April 1, 1992
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302365937
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,185 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Anyone with a fondness for the conventions of the submarine picture will be content with the modest pleasures of Up Periscope, a World War II melodrama starring James Garner in one of his early Maverick-era roles. Pulled away from a week-long romance, Garner tags along with the sub to a Japanese-held island, where he will SCUBA ashore and copy a secret radio code. On top of the reliable suspense of a man alone behind enemy lines, the film also offers captain Edmond O'Brien, whose previous mission has his crew suspecting him of cowardice. Will he cut and run before Garner returns to the submarine? Director Gordon Douglas made a batch of entertaining pictures over the years (a bunch of Sinatra titles, the giant-bug classic Them!, In Like Flint) and he coolly finds some effective ways to photograph men in the close quarters of a sub. The main draw is James Garner in his youthful prime; even if the movie doesn't exploit his comic talent, it shows how effortlessly he connects with an audience. The supporting cast consists of the kind of actors who inevitably seem to people a WWII ship's crew: solid character actors (Alan Hale Jr., who performed similar undersea duties in Destination Tokyo), oddballs and one-offs (Frank Gifford, Edd "Kooky" Byrnes), and future names (Warren Oates). --Robert Horton

Product Description

O'Brien is the sub commander, who loses the trust of his crew, Garner the naval officer assigned a commando mission-but the real story here is the vintage cast-Richard Bakalyan and Warren Oates are joined by TV's familiar faces: Edd (Kooky) Byrnes, Henry (Otto Schmidlapp from "Life of Riley") Kulka, and Alan (the Skipper from "Gilligan's Island") Hale Jr. The fine performances are punctuated by adequate action scenes that result in a very watchable picture.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Good Submarine Film, June 21, 2001

By 

gobirds2 (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Up Periscope [VHS] (VHS Tape)

It seemed that ever since the release of 1957's THE ENEMY BELOW, World War II submarine movies enjoyed great popularity during the late 50s. This is one of the better ones directed by Gordon Douglas with stalwart James Garner and cautious Edmond O'Brien. The scenes around the Japanese held island are suspenseful and well filmed by Carl Guthrie. Richard Landau's screenplay is pretty faithful to the novel by Robb White. It also features Edd Byrnes, Alan Hale Jr. and one of my favorite actors Warren Oates.

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FROM INSIDE THE FISH, June 7, 2000

By 

JIM (POST FALLS, IDAHO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Up Periscope [VHS] (VHS Tape)

PART OF THE ACTION SHOTS FOR THIS MOTION PICTURE WAS FILMED ABOARD THE USS TILEFISH (SS307) IN SAN DIEGO, CA. (1958). I WAS A YOUNG NINETEEN YEAR OLD WHITE HAT SAILOR THAT WAS IN AHA! NOT ONLY WERE THESE PEOPLE GREAT ACTORS - THESE ACTORS WERE GREAT PEOPLE. MAYBE I WAS TO CLOSE TO BE AN OBJECTIVE CRITIC, BUT I LOVED IT.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars UP PERISCOPE, January 15, 2000

By 

JAMES OLDHAM - See all my reviews

This review is from: Up Periscope [VHS] (VHS Tape)

UP PERISCOPE IS A TOP NOTCH WORLD WAR II FILM STARRING JAMES GARNER & EDMOND O'BRIEN. WELL WORTH WATCHING. A TRUE FIND IF YOUR A WAR MOVIE BUFF LIKE ME.