“THE ENEMY BELOW”: A Bloggin’ing For An Old Sailor

As The Title Says…

…I’m Doing This One Special.

My Grandfather Is Slowly Being Taken From Us.

He Suffers From Alzheimer’s Disease.

It’s Been A Horrid Experience…

…For Him…

…And For All Of Us Who Know AND Love Him.

And It’s Been Taking Place For OVER A Decade, Now.

I’m Going To Tell Him About This Bloggin’ing.

And He’ll Be Happy About It…

…For About 3-Minutes.

After That…

…He’ll Have No Clue It’s Been Done At All.

And Then…

…I’ll Tell Him Again.

Paw…

(That’s What I’ve Always Called Him)

…Is A Member Of…

“THE GREATEST GENERATION”

…And Was ALWAYS Very PROUD Of That Fact.

I Went Into The Navy…

…At The Age Of 18-Years-Old…

…And Just 5-HOURS Out Of High School.

Paw…

…However…

…Went Into The Navy In 1944…

…At The Age Of 17-Years-Old.

He Dropped-Out Of High School…

…Lied About His Age…

…Went Into The Navy…

…And Into A Raging War.

To ME…

…That Was MORE Impressive…

…Than ANYTHING I’d EVER Heard…

…Then…

…AND…

…Now.

He Always Knew How Amazing I Thought He Was.

And Now…

…I Can Only Hope He Remembers My Name When He Looks At Me.

 So…

…This Is For Him.

He And I ALWAYS Enjoyed Watching A Good War Movie.

I Watched One Of OUR Favorites Today.

And I Felt The Need To Do This One.

I Do Hope You’re Reading It, My Peeps.

Just Don’t Feel Bad When I Say…

“It’s Not For You.”

…But It’s What I Have…

…And How I Best Express What’s Going On.

And I SINCERELY Felt It Was The Very Least I Could Do.

Tonight…

…We Cover…

“THE ENEMY BELOW”

“The Enemy Below” (1957)

…A CLASSIC Of CLASSICS…

…In Regard To…

…WORLD WAR II NAVAL FILMS.

The U.S. Destroyer IN “The Enemy Below”

Starring In…

“THE ENEMY BELOW”

…Are Two CLASSIC Actors Themselves.

ROBERT MITCHUM

As

“CAPTAIN MURRELL”

The U.S. Destroyer Captain

Robert Mitchum IS Captain Murrell

And

CURD JÜRGENS

(Listed As CURT JURGENS In English Speaking Films)

As

“VON STOLBERG”

The German U-Boat Captain

Curt Jurgens IS Von Stolberg

Since I Already Know You Kids Trust Me.

Well…

…Enough To Know I Do Know A BIT About My Topics.

Then When I Say…

…TRUST ME KIDS…

“THE ENEMY BELOW”

…Is ONE OF THE VERY BEST FILMS Of ITS GENERA…

…Then You Can Rest Assured…

…I’m Rather CONFIDENT In My Belief…

…Shipmates.

😉

The German U-Boat IN “The Enemy Below”

Being An Ex-Navy-Man…

…From A LONG-LINE Of Ex-Navy-Men…

…I’ve ALWAYS Had A MAJOR-LEAGUE-APPRECIATION…

…For QUALITY Naval Films.

“THE ENEMY BELOW”

IS

QUALITY

!!!

ROBERT MITCHUM…

…Does A GREAT JOB As The American Ship Captain.

HOWEVER…

…CURD JÜRGENS…

…Does A SPOT-ON-PERFECT JOB As The German U-Boat Captain.

MITCHUM Was An “OLD-SCHOOL” “HOLLYWOOD Tough-Guy”…

…Who Honestly KNOWS How To Act.

He’s A PRO At Playing “CALM, COOL, and COLLECTED”…

…But He’s ALWAYS “BELIEVABLE” In This Film.

PERIOD.

JÜRGENS Was One Of THE BEST European Actors EVER EVER.

PERIOD PERIOD.

The Ships Duel IN “The Enemy Below” And The Film WON The Academy Award That Year For BEST EFFECTS/SPECIAL-EFFECTS!!!

I Do So LOVE A Quality “CAT & MOUSE” Style Of Story…

…And This Film Is Almost TOTALLY A “CAT & MOUSE” Tale…

…Which Makes It A WONDERFUL Film Experience.

Think “U-571” Only BETTER…

…And Filmed Over 40-YEARS-EARLIER.

If You’re A Fan Of This Genera…

…Or Just Really Enjoy…

…Well-Made…

…Well-Acted…

…CLASSIC FILMS…

…Then I Suggest You Give…

“THE ENEMY BELOW”

…A Look-See.

I DO PROMISE YOU…

…I’ve Seen It 50+Times…

…And Have NEVER Been Tired Of It.

“The Enemy Below”

When I Watch This One…

…I Can’t Help But Think About…

…PAW.

I Think About OUR Good-Times…

…Enjoying A Great Old Film.

I Think About HIS Stories…

…About How Scared He Was…

…And…

…About How He FELT It Was The Right Thing To Do.

And I’ve ALWAYS Respected That.

More Than Most Things In Life, Actually.

I’ve ALWAYS Respected Anyone…

…Who Made The Decision To Serve…

…Because They FELT It Was The Right Thing.

In The Film, There’s A Scene Where…

…CAPTAIN MURRELL Is Talking To Another Officer…

…When MURRELL Says…

“…There’s No End To Misery And Destruction. You Cut The Head Off The Snake, And It Grows Another One. You Cut That One Off, And You Find Another. You Can’t Kill It, Because It’s Something Within Ourselves. You Can Call It The Enemy If You Want To, But It’s Part Of Us. We’re All Men.”

And I Can Sincerely Understand What He Was Talking About.

And Then…

…As The Film Ends…

…MURRELL And VON STOLBERG…

…Are Standing At The Fantail Of A Ship.

Together, They Enjoy A Cigarette.

VON STOLBERG Says…

“I Should Have Died Many Times, Captain, But I Continue To Survive Somehow. This Time, It Was Your Fault.”

MURRELL Responds…

“I Didn’t Know. Next Time, I Won’t Throw You The Rope.”

VON STOLBER Nods And Says…

“I Think You Will.”

To ME…

…That Ending Always Seemed…

…PERFECT.

Something War NEVER Is.

But Here…

…It Sincerely FELT Right.

Taps, Taps, Shipmates.

Time To Rest.

😉