Run Silent, Run Deep
Run Silent, Run Deep is a 1958 American black-and-white World War II submarine drama directed by Robert Wise, starring Clark Gable as a submarine commander obsessed with destroying the Japanese destroyer that sank his previous ship, and Burt Lancaster as his resentful executive officer. It was produced by Harold Hecht for Hecht-Hill-Lancaster and based on the 1955 best-selling novel by Commander Edward L. Beach.1 • 2
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | New York opening 27 March 1958; official premiere April 1, 1958, aboard the submarine USS Perch1 • 3 |
| Runtime and format | 93 minutes, black and white, 10 reels, Westrex sound1 |
| Source | Novel Run Silent, Run Deep by Commander Edward L. Beach (New York, 1955)1 |
| Principal cast | Clark Gable (Cmdr. "Rich" Richardson), Burt Lancaster (Lt. Jim Bledsoe), Jack Warden (Yeoman Mueller), Brad Dexter (Cartwright), Don Rickles (Ruby)3 |
| Key crew | Director Robert Wise; screenplay John Gay; cinematography Russell Harlan; editing George Boemler; music Franz Waxman3 |
| Navy cooperation | More than $500,000 worth of real instruments and equipment shipped for the submarine interior sets, so no mock-ups were used1 |
| Critical reception | 100% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 13 reviews; Metascore 624 • 5 |
Spoilers
Plot
The film opens in 1942 in the Bungo Straits off the coast of Japan, where Commander "P. J." Richardson's submarine is sunk by the Japanese destroyer Akikaze. Richardson, among the survivors, spends the next year stationed at Pearl Harbor. When he learns that a fourth submarine sent into the Bungo Straits has been destroyed by the same destroyer, he requests a return to sea duty and is given command of the submarine Nerka, whose executive officer, Lieutenant James Bledsoe, had expected to take command himself. Richardson's demanding precision drills heighten the crew's anxiety as he trains them for a confrontation with the destroyer, and the story builds toward his final, orders-defying hunt for the ship that sank his old command.1 • 4
The revenge plot drew comparisons to Herman Melville's Moby Dick, with Gable's captain cast as an Ahab-like figure pursuing a personal vendetta at sea.2
Production
United Artists' purchase of Beach's novel in 1955 marked the first time the company acquired a property outright with production assignment to be arranged later. Cary Grant was initially set to star, with Delmer Daves directing; both had worked together on the 1944 submarine drama Destination Tokyo. The project eventually reached the screen through Jeffrey Productions, Inc., a subsidiary of Hecht-Hill-Lancaster headed by producer Harold Hecht, writer James Hill, and actor Burt Lancaster.1
Filming ran from 16 September to late November 1957 at Samuel Goldwyn Studios, with location work at a naval base in San Diego, California, and on board the U.S.S. Redfish. The Navy Department shipped more than $500,000 worth of instruments and equipment for the submarine interior sets, so that no mock-up or dummy instruments appeared in the underwater combat scenes.1
The production was marked by conflict behind the camera. The 57-year-old Gable kept a wavering 9-to-5 workday, at times quitting in the middle of a take, while Lancaster tussled with director Robert Wise. After constant script rewrites, co-producers Hill and Lancaster decided to re-edit the film once Wise submitted his cut, and Wise withdrew completely from post-production.1 • 2
Nick Cravat, Lancaster's longtime friend and frequent screen partner, who was known for never speaking a line in his earlier roles, reunited with Lancaster after a long estrangement; his character Russo has several lines of dialogue and provides comic relief.1
Premiere and reception
The film was the first to hold an underwater submarine premiere: it was shown to navy and press guests aboard the U.S.S. Perch just off Terminal Island in the Pacific, and the official premiere on April 1, 1958 was held aboard the same submarine for senior Navy officers.1 • 3
Critics praised Wise's direction. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times, who had panned earlier Hecht-Hill-Lancaster productions, wrote that "a better film about war beneath the ocean and about guys in the 'silent service' has not been made."3 The film holds a 100% Tomatometer rating from 13 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metascore of 62, with positive reviews from Variety, The Guardian, and the Los Angeles Times.4 • 5
Commercially, the picture was not a hit. It was overshadowed at the box office by the submarine comedy Operation Petticoat (1959), which paired Cary Grant with Tony Curtis; cinematographer Russell Harlan shot both films.3
Legacy
The film is frequently cited among the classic submarine movies, and its reputation rests on its claustrophobic tension and the captain-versus-executive-officer conflict between its two stars.4 A 1965 news item reported that a television series based on the movie was being considered, but it was never produced.1
References
- Run Silent Run Deep (1958), AFI Catalog
- Run Silent, Run Deep, TCM article by Richard Harland Smith
- Run Silent, Run Deep, TCM article by Rob Nixon
- Run Silent, Run Deep, Rotten Tomatoes
- Run Silent Run Deep critic reviews, Metacritic
Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › War and historical films (individual works) › War action and adventure › War action films released through 1999 › Released 1934 to 1962
Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026
Your notes
© 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI. Free to use with credit under the Edgepedia Community License. Developers: read Edgepedia by API or MCP. Embed a reference card.