This is without a doubt, the worst submarine warfare movie that I have ever seen. The acting was "wooden", even Macy seemed to be "off". Even worse, there are so many historical errors, 1000 words would not begin to allow description. Had the acting been better, this might have been bearable and easier to overlook. That was not the case. The "sets" are completely unbelievable, U boats and Gato class Subs were incredibly small, wet, stinky and dirty places. This is why they were called "Pig" boats. There was no smoking on board submarines, except on deck when surfaced. Subs did not fire torpedoes at one another when below periscope depth or maneuvering under water. Submarines are cramped and full of wires, cables, pipes and valves. Radios and radiotelegraphs of the day do not work when submerged. The American captain "ordering" the deathly sick executive officer to his battle station would never happen. Submarines did not carry an "MD", medical issues would have been taken care of by a Pharmacy Mate and the Sub commander would have been well aware of the Execs condition and this condition would likely have ended a war patrol. The German U-boats never took aboard captives, and certainly not the numbers represented here, there was no room, food or water on these boats to support prisoners. In fact, after events early in the War, Karl Doenitz issued the "Laconia Order", which PROHIBITED U-Boats from taking on ANY survivor from enemy ships. American Admiral Nimitz signed and affidavit to the effect that American subs were under similar orders. German and American Enlisted Sailors would NEVER have spoken back to their commanding officers as these fellows did. There would have been no "discussion" or "voting" once the ranking officer made the decision and gave orders. If you want to see a REAL WW II Submarine movie, by far the best, most historically accurate is "Das Boot". This movie was a waste of time and electricity.
Review of In Enemy Hands
