Submarine X-1 (1968)

This war movie is loosely based on a real World War II mission, Operation Source , which was staged during September 1943 and being written by prestigious Edmund H. North . Operation Source involved a number of secret attacks on a number of German battleships, in northern Norway using X-class mini submarines . This film's 'Submarine X-1' title refers to the X class submarine which was a real World War II midget submarine class built for the Royal Navy during the 1943-44 period , the mini-subs were also known as X-Craft . After losing a submarine and fifty crew in a battle with a German ship during WWII, a Royal Navy officer , Lt. Commander Richard Bolton (James Caan received top first billing amongst a cast of characters who are predominantly English) , a Canadian , gets a second chance in a daring raid with midget subs . The film begins with Commander Bolton and a few surviving crew members of his 50-man submarine Gauntlet swimming ashore after unsuccessfully attacking German battleship Lindendorf . After a review, Captain Bolton is cleared of any wrong doing and placed in charge of a small group of experimental X class submarines . His own men (Nick Tate , Paul Young , Norman Bowler , William Dysart , among others) may prove a bigger obstacle than any of his stiff-upper-lip officers . His mission is to quickly train crews to man the submarines and sink the Lindendorf (the real life World War II German battleship was 'Tirpitz') while it is hidden away in a Norwegian Fiord . The submarines have been tracking the movement of the German ships . Two of the submarines are lost while attempting to cut through submarine nets at the entrance to the fjord . As Bolton is forced to make hasty preparations for his attack before their submarine base can be destroyed ..

Submarine X-1 is a 1969 British World War II war film loosely based on the Operation Source attack on the German battleship Tirpitz in 1943 , it was also the subject of an earlier movie, Above Us the Waves (1955) by Ralph Thomas with John Mills . It's a fictionalized recounting of the Submarines X1 with a sustained and predictable story ,although partially based on true deeds . Lots of underwater scenes and stock WWII , especially when German paratroopers dropping from planes to earth . Passable acting by James Caan as a commander whose mission is put in charge of the submarines to quickly train crews and sink the Lindendorf while it is hidden away in a Norwegian Fiord . The film progresses with Commander Bolton training the crews of the three submarine , even though the crew lacks faith in his command abilities . He must overcome tensions with some of his former crew members , while keeping their activities hidden from outsiders and German airplanes . The highlights of the movie are the violent as well as exciting fights of the crews who successfully fend off an attack by German commandos, who discover their base . And thrilling scenes at the end when the surviving submarine penetrates the submarine nets in the fjord and places explosives under the German battleship . Atmospheric cinematography by Paul Beeson , Walt Disney's usual cameraman, though an alright remastering is necessary . Being filmed on location , shooting was filmed in Scotland . Good and enjoyable musical score by Ron Goodwin .

The film was produced by Oakmont production , a company exclusively dedicated to warfare films (Hell boats , Mosquito Squadron , Thousand plane raid, Last escape) . The motion picture was middlingly realized by William A Graham who displays enough some spectacular underwater images to keep things interesting . Apparently, director William A. Graham worked on the film's original screen story with writer/producer John C. Champion but is uncredited for such . William A Graham directed various TV series and episodes as ¨The fugitive¨, ¨The Virginian¨, ¨Breaking point¨ and occasionally for cinema as ¨Return to the Blue Lagoon¨, ¨Waterhole¨ , ¨Guyana tragedy ¨ , ¨House of Garibaldi Street¨ and film-making several Westerns as ¨Montana¨ (90) ¨Billy the Kid¨ (89) , ¨Last days of Frank and Jesse James¨ (86) and ¨Harry Tracy , the last of the Wild Bunch¨.