The Deep Six

We'll get there and we'll get 'em out!

The conflict between duty and conscience is explored in the WWII drama The Deep Six. Alan Ladd stars as Naval gunnery officer Alec Austin, a Quaker whose sincere pacifist sentiments do not sit well with his crew members. When he refuses to fire upon an unidentified plane, the word spreads that Austin cannot be relied upon in battle (never mind that the plane turns out to be one of ours). To prove that he's worthy of command, Austin volunteers for a dangerous mission: the rescue of a group of US pilots on a Japanese-held island. The ubiquitous William Bendix costars as Frenchy Shapiro (!), Austin's Jewish petty officer and severest critic. If the film has a villain, it is Keenan Wynn as ambitious Lt. Commander Edge, who seems to despise anyone who isn't a mainline WASP.

• Release date
• January 15, 1958
• Runtime
• 105 min
• Genres
• War, Drama
• Director
• Rudolph Maté

Cast

Alan Ladd Alexander 'Alec' Austen Dianne Foster Susan Cahill William Bendix 'Frenchy' Shapiro Keenan Wynn Lt. Cmdr. Mike Edge James Whitmore Cmdr. Warren Meredith Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Lt. Blanchard Joey Bishop Ski Krokowski Barbara Eiler Claire Innes