Hell Below (1933) User Reviews (16)

Men on a Sub

[movingpicturegal · 8/10 · 10 April 2007]

Exciting, action-packed, and interesting film telling the tale of a group of men stationed at a naval base in Italy and their adventures aboard a Navy submarine during WWI. Tommy and Brick (played by Robert Montgomery and Robert Young) are two pals, and make for a couple of very handsome officers, I must say. A new Captain arrives on-board, already known by a few as "Dead Pan" Toler (Walter Huston) and he's a real stickler for following the rule book and a "code of honor". Soon Tommy and Brick are chasing after an attractive blonde at an officer's dance, Tommy insults the Captain - and, of course, the blonde is actually the Captain's daughter. But Tommy wins out anyway as he and the daughter sneak away from the dance to a street carnival outside, and soon bond during an air raid - unfortunately for him, she reveals she is married. Later Tommy gets himself into some real trouble when he disobeys orders in an effort save his buddy.

This film is quite entertaining with an absorbing plot line that held my interest and top-notch performances by all. A climactic death scene featuring Sterling Holloway is haunting indeed - the most memorable scene in this film, I thought. Eugene Palette and Jimmy Durante add some humor here playing a couple of goofballs - Durante's character is actually studying to be a dentist via mail-order and continually has onshore run-ins with a British man who makes fun of his nose. Okay - if you're looking for a movie showing a man boxing a kangaroo, this would be the one.

Close and Cramped

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 28 November 2005]

I recommend that movie viewers if in the New York City area go to the Intrepid museum and get some idea of how closed in and cramped the living was for the crews of World War II vintage submarines. How much more so that must have been for the seamen during World War I. It must have truly been hell below.

Walter Huston and Robert Montgomery head the cast of Hell Below, Huston as the by the book captain and Montgomery as his free wheeling number two. They're both quite believable as Naval officers and the rest of the cast like Robert Young, Eugene Palette, Jimmy Durante, Madge Evans, Sterling Holloway, etc. fill their roles quite nicely.

The silent service got more popular during World War II and after. It's amazing, but I could name a whole slew of submarine pictures like Torpedo Run, Operation Pacific, Hellcats of the Navy, Run Silent, Run Deep and many more and you'll see the same plot situations in all of them. I guess there truly is a limit on situations as well.

Jimmy Durante's performance is interesting. He's pretty funny and his scene with the boxing kangaroo while on shore leave is very funny indeed. But I'd have to say a character like him in those cramped quarters is probably very necessary for morale. If you don't have someone like that to break the tension on board a submarine, you ought to get one transferred to your ship immediately.

The highlight for me however is Sterling Holloway's death scene. Very similar to Sean McClory's in Island in the Sky. It will haunt you long after you've seen this film.

Well done early sound action film

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 29 May 2011]

I say it's an action film rather than a war film because it has a little bit of everything - battle scenes, love scenes, and even some comedy thrown in here and there. It also does something unusual for an MGM film of the era - it doesn't get hammy and it doesn't come up with a contrived happy ending for all involved.

Lt. Thomas Knowlton (Robert Montgomery) and Lt. Brick Walters (Robert Young) are the best of friends and also officers aboard a submarine during WWI. At the beginning of the film they get a new commanding officer - Lt. Cmdr. T.J. Toler (Walter Huston). Toler is a strictly by the book commander and seems to rub Knowlton and Walters the wrong way just a bit, though more from his very formal nature than by any unfairness in his command. Knowlton falls in love with Toler's daughter Joan (Madge Evans). The complicating factor here is that Joan is married - she tells him so upfront. This doesn't seem to bother Knowton too much until he finds out exactly why Joan let her foot slip.

Conflict between Toler and Knowlton builds not only because of Knowlton's romance with Toler's married daughter, but because Knowlton is unfortunately an officer who thinks sentiment has a place on board a submarine in wartime.

Comic relief is provided by long-time MGM contract comedian Jimmy Durante and Eugene Palette as two enlisted men on board the submarine. Sterling Holloway plays what at first seems like comic relief to the comic relief but ends up the centerpiece of a very nightmarish and unforgettable scene that reminds everyone that war truly is hell.

Highly recommended as a good action film and one that plays to the strengths of the entire cast.

First-Rate Early Submarine Drama

[luannjim · 7/10 · 2 June 2007]

As I type these comments I'm watching a DVD of this movie that I just got from a mail-order dealer, and I'm finding that it holds up extremely well, with strong characterizations, believable situations, and well-staged action scenes.

It's been a good 45 years, maybe 50, since I saw HELL BELOW, but the one scene that made an extremely deep impression on me was Sterling Holloway's death scene, which several other commenters have mentioned here. I haven't gotten to that scene yet on this viewing, but I can vouch for what other comments have said: once you see Sterling Holloway's death scene in this movie, you will absolutely never, ever forget it. Judging from how strong the film so far is holding up, I fully expect that scene to live up to the memory of it -- as unquestionably one of the greatest death scenes in movie history. The movie's worth seeing for that moment alone, but even without it, it would be a first-rate early submarine drama.

Heroes and Comedians

[schappe1 · 23 October 2004]

This was part of a run of old war movies on TCM I caught recently. All of them, (the others were 'Captains of the Clouds' (1942) and 'Pilot #5', (1943)), had the same ending: the protagonist dies heroically on a suicide mission. The movies seemed fixated on the idea that heroes didn't just risk their lives: they sacrificed them. In 'Hell Below', perhaps the first of the great submarine dramas, there is an unnecessary heroic ending in which Robert Montgomery sacrifices his life to complete their mission while leaving the woman he loves to remain with her crippled husband.

The story is really about the sort of decisions a commander has to make. Montgomery rebels against his captain, (Walter Huston), who has left a raft with several crewmen, including Montgomery's pal, (and look-alike), Robert Young, (it's the only film they both appeared in and they should have been playing brothers), to die in a hail of German machine gun bullets while the sub dives to avoid being fired upon themselves. Montgomery never forgives Huston. On a later patrol, Montgomery violates orders to maintain silence to start a battle Huston wanted to avoid. Sterling Holloway gets trapped in a section of the ship where poison gas is leaking and Montgomery has to seal him off or expose the rest of the crew to the gas. It's the equivalent of what Huston had to do and he realizes it, even if he doesn't immediately admit it. That's the real dramatic climax of the film, not the comic book suicide mission at the end.

The film also features another trend of the times: the borscht belt comic relief provided by a noted comedian, in this case, Jimmy Durante. To the modern viewer this adds nothing to the film. In this case, there's also a glaring mistake in the editing. They apparently felt that the scene where Young and his men get machine gunned to death was a little strong so they sought to leaven it by following it with a clip from an earlier amusement park sequence in which Durante winds up boxing a kangaroo. This is the single most inappropriate and jarring segue in the history of the cinema. I suppose it's not quite right but I really wish someone would put it back where it belongs or delete it all together. One wonders why old Hollywood didn't trust the strength of the stories it was telling to entertain the audience.

submarine parts are very good

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 7 June 2023]

It's 1918. American submarine USS AL-14 arrives at the Allied naval base at Taranto, Italy. Lieutenant Thomas Knowlton (Robert Montgomery) is the acting captain after a deadly crossing. Lieutenant Commander T. J. Toler (Walter Huston) takes over as their new captain. Ptomaine (Jimmy Durante) and Mac Dougal (Eugene Pallette) are two of the crew.

The war situation is realistic more or less. There is some good submarine action with both miniatures and the real things. As long as the movie stays at sea, this is a very good war movie. I actually like the crew gallivanting at the carnival especially with the air raid. I cannot abide with the romantic melodrama and the over the top results. I'd rather skip all those parts and focus on the war movie.

World War I Submarine Love Triangle

[Jim Tritten · 7/10 · 27 July 2003]

Good footage of World War I-era ships and planes supplement this excellent war drama set in the Adriatic. Walter Huston is excellent as the commanding officer who knows his place and his place has no room for personal feelings. The safety of the ship and the mission must always come first. Robert Montgomery is the Lieutenant who has not yet mastered the role that a leader must play in combat. He makes bad decisions, endangering the submarine and its crew but finally becomes a "real man" after he is court martialed and dismissed from the Navy. Robert Young plays a lieutenant junior grade and Jimmy Durante as a cook. Paralleling the war drama is an equally important wartime love triangle between Montgomery and Madge Evans who plays Huston's daughter and the wife of a tragically injured aviator. Recommended.

Dive, Dive!

[Scufovo · 6/10 · 9 June 2007]

It's funny, I am diving the wreck of one of the ships they sank for the movie tomorrow. The former USS Moody, a WWI destroyer. The filming locations list Hawaii, but not California.

A pretty good movie, nice tension, so-so subplots. I enjoyed it. Jimmy Durante was an interesting piece in the mix, he almost pulls you out of the plot at times, but then he meshes perfectly at others. The tension between the CO and XO worked well.

Pretty intense death scenes for 1933. I thought the self sacrifice ending was a trifle predictable. Films of this time period used this device with a little too much frequency. It's sometimes tough, critiquing a film that was made that long ago.

Still, overall, a nice piece of film making.

Exceptional Undersea Drama

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 23 October 2003]

The crew of an American submarine discover it's HELL BELOW while fighting in the Adriatic in 1918.

Although nearly forgotten, this excellent war film still delivers solid entertainment, thanks to a literate script, superior performances and highly believable action scenes.

Robert Montgomery & Walter Huston play submarine officers under the stress of war who quickly are at odds with each other, with dramatic and tragic results. Since Montgomery is in love with Huston's daughter, Madge Evans in a well-played role, the situation becomes even more complicated, both on shore and beneath the waves. The viewer is torn between the two strong characters, one of whom is governed by his heart and the other by the rules.

Robert Young makes an effective appearance as Montgomery's buddy. Sterling Holloway creates a brief, vivid, portrait of a doomed seaman.

Eugene Pallette as the torpedo master & Jimmy Durante as the sub's cook make for a very funny comedy team and provide the story with plenty of laughs. Durante's nose comes in for lots of ribbing and his obsession with amateur dentistry leads to some chaotic encounters with British tars.

Movie mavens will recognize Babe London as an obese Italian miss; Maude Eburne as the wife of a British admiral & Paul Porcasi as an Italian admiral - all uncredited.

MGM has given the film absolutely first-class production values, with the undersea sequences especially well produced. Both the claustrophobic compactness of the ship and the inevitable tension associated with submarine warfare are accurately portrayed. Other moments of unexpected drama (Montgomery & Miss Evans caught on top of a stalled Ferris wheel during an air raid) and hilarity (Durante boxing a kangaroo) are expertly threaded into the fabric of the movie to provide a totally satisfying viewing experience.

Better Than You Might Expect.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 28 May 2011]

It's World War I and a US submarine under the command of Walter Huston is battling German destroyers and minelayers in the Atlantic.

There's a rather routine romantic plot. Huston's executive officer is Robert Montgomery. He meets and falls in love with Huston's daughter, Madge Evans, and vice versa. It's only later that he discovers she's already married to a paraplegic RAF (or RFC) officer. Evans is perfectly willing to leave her bedridden husband because she's truly in love with Montgomery. Of course when Huston discovers the affair -- and it WAS physical because of the emphatic way Montgomery delivers lines about "we were in each other's arms" -- he's extremely disturbed and protests the arrangement.

Already at odds with Huston, Montgomery defies him at sea, manages to get himself cashiered from the navy, then rediscovers his conscience and completes a self-sacrificial mission that saves many lives.

The romance is dull, but the scenes at sea are surprisingly well done. Even the visual effects, primitive by today's standards, aren't jarring in their lack of verisimilitude. The scenes aboard the boat are interesting technologically. We've all gotten used to the equipment on the submarines of World War II. At least I think we have. There seems to be hundreds of them lurking about, surfacing on TV from time to time.

It's curious to see that in the first world war, the equipment available looked quite different but did just about the same jobs. It's also a little amusing to see that the submarines of the day were subject to the same sorts of perils as those of the World War II movies -- strafed by enemy fighters, depth-charged by destroyers, bombed by enemy bombers, firing back with small arms on deck, having to submerge and leave men stranded on the surface, having to reach the bottom although that depth exceeds the builders' specifications. This one adds the liberation of chlorine gas from one of the batteries.

I suppose it's understandable that these elements should run through just about every submarine movie ever made, up to and including World War II. How many dangers can an undersea vessel be subject to? I mean, nobody is going to parachute out of one of them. The crew can't be trapped in a trench behind enemy lines. Nobody is going to run about and clean out an enemy machine gun nest with a tommy gun and a grenade.

Robert Young has a minor role as the nice guy who is left on the surface to die because the boat must dive under attack. Jimmy Durante is the cook who makes wisecracks and funny faces. Eugene Palette is along for the ride. Some scenes generate more tension than you might think -- when the boat is nose-deep in mud and the engine won't start -- and sometimes tragedy -- as when Sterling Holloway is stuck in a dogged-down compartment filling with chlorine and can't be let out.

The plot isn't to be taken seriously. Montgomery, now a civilian, sneaks back aboard for the final mission and Captain Huston gruffly orders him to "take your post." What IS his post? And, when Montgomery merely hints at his honorable reasons for deserting Huston's daughter, Huston seems to grasp the entire situation as if by an avalanche of intuition.

Small stuff though. It's an exciting movie for its time.

Damn Austrians!

[DWellECON · 5/10 · 11 November 2018]

Everyone jumps to the conclusion that since this is a World War I picture the enemy the Americans are fighting must be the Germans. However, since the setting of this movie is the Adriatic, the enemy is actually the Austrians (or to be more exact, the Austro-Hungarians). You can just make out the Austrian Naval Flag on the sterns of the enemy ships in several scenes. The climactic battle is an attack on Durazzo (Durres in Albania) which was a major Austro-Hungarian naval base in WWI and the site of two battles in that war, the second battle in 1918 being a major allied victory which undoubtedly served as the historical basis for the battle shown in this movie. Some may be thrown by the "Iron Cross" type markings on the attacking enemy airplanes, but these were in fact the markings used on WWI Austrian aircraft. I only gave this movie a 5 because frankly I found the part about the romance between Montgomery and Evans poorly written and overly melodramatic. But I was impressed by Walter Huston's performance, which gave dimension to a character who could have been played as only a martinet. The real standout of this film were the battle scenes. As some have noted, actual WW I footage was woven into some scene, though others were obviously done using models. The battle scenes were uniformly quite grim and therefore realistic, equal or better to similar scenes in WW II films. Others have mentioned the memorable scene with Sterling Holloway (I was afraid it would give me nightmares) but I also was struck by the cries for help from sailors diving into the sea in a panic from torpedoed and sinking ships. In this movie, the combatants were neither extraordinary heroes nor snide villains, but just ordinary men doing their jobs in a nasty, nasty business.

This movie has it all: action, melodrama, comedy, and romance!

[The_RaBBiT · 8/10 · 27 August 2000]

Robert Montgomery and Robert Young are outstanding as a duo of young submarine officers stationed in Italy during World War I. The dialog is highly entertaining, and Jimmy Durante is hilarious as the ship's cook, "Ptomaine". Walter Huston's character is inspiring as the captain of the submarine, a stellar example of an officer and a gentleman. One of the most interesting aspects of this movie was the level of technology displayed in the battle scenes. I was surprised at how similar the technology of World War I was to the technology displayed 25 years later in World War II. Basic human nature was portrayed as very similar to modern times, and far from the conservativism I thought existed in the so-called "innocent" past. All in all I felt that the cast, characters, action scenes, and view of history depicted in this movie were first-rate.

don't get your hopes too high about this

[deschreiber · 4/10 · 25 May 2013]

The over-excited reviews here on IMDb surprise me, as I found this movie only barely worth watching. Mostly I enjoyed the real-life sequences of vintage ships steaming, exploding, and sinking. But the love story, which completely dominates everything else, is ordinary pot-boiler stuff, about a girl torn between two men, deciding who "needs" her more. Finally, though, one of the guys sacrifices himself in order to be a hero (sigh, fade to black). The love story really tanks, though, whenever Madge Evans is forced to try to sound real and impassioned with one of her "I love you truly, truly" speeches.

The comic relief by Jimmy Durante might have been very welcome for 1930s audiences, but his eyeball-popping, head-shaking, and and "Hachaaa!"s look forced and pathetic today. His scene with the boxing kangaroo is a stupid interruption. (I couldn't help thinking how dangerous it would be if the roo made one of his little kicks really count for something.)

Now about the writing--did somebody here mention a "literate" script? Please. Its literacy may be measured with examples like these:

"Are you all right?" Wiping blood from his nose, "You think this is ketchup, do you?"

Trying to fix a leak spewing water into the sub, "Somebody left the bathtub on."

All this is not to say The Hell Below is terrible. It's probably a cut above the average war movie of its era (How many war movies were made in the early 30s, anyway?), but if you're looking it up on IMDb to get a sense of whether you should put aside time to watch it, my advice is not to give it a very high priority. Leave it for some late night when you have insomnia. You'll be grateful for it then.

Gritty, interesting submarine drama

[HotToastyRag · 8/10 · 29 September 2018]

The classic story of falling in love with the boss's daughter gets a fresh take with Hell Below. Robert Montgomery, Eugene Pallette, Jimmy Durante, Robert Young, and Sterling Holloway are all sailors under the command of the stern Walter Huston. The first Robert falls in love with Walter's daughter, Madge Evans, but that's not enough of an obstacle; she's also married.

Spliced in between romantic scenes are some pretty intense battle scenes. If you liked Devil and the Deep, this movie will be right up your alley. Both are submarine dramas with a stern captain and a forbidden love. You can tell this movie is pre-Code, because while on leave, Eugene is trying to pick up a girl, who's started to cozy up to Jimmy. He says a suggestive remark about Jimmy's nose that could only be allowed passed the censors when there weren't any censors.

What I like about these movies is that in general, it's really easy to see the "bad guy's" side and even take it. When Walter tries to intervene and save his daughter from hurting her husband, Robert tries to insult him by saying, "I can't see you apologizing for anything, sir." Walter holds up a glass and makes the perfect comeback and toast: "I don't plan on doing things I'll be sorry for. Here's to discipline. There's nothing like it, and nothing without it." Isn't he great?

Hell Below gives a warning with the title. This is gritty, violent, dramatic, and raw. It's not for the faint of heart, but those who do rent it are in for a great forgotten treat.

Great Action Among the Awful Acted Love Triangle

[LeonLouisRicci · 8/10 · 23 July 2014]

It Seems that MGM was Determined to give Audiences Their Moneys Worth when They Bought a Depression Era Ticket to this WWI War Movie. If You Look for the Kitchen Sink in this don't be Surprised if You find it.

The Most Impressive Elements of this Mostly Exciting Entertainment are the Battle Sequences that Play Realistic and Pack Quite a Wallop. There are Air Raids that Almost Destroy a City, Submarine Peril, Machine Gun Battles with Bi-Planes, Destroyers being Destroyed, Death, Poison Gas, and some Undersea Suspense that has become the Staple of Every Submarine Movie to Follow.

The Comedy Bits, mostly with Jimmy Durante, are OK but Overdone. But it is the Romantic Subplot that Keeps this from becoming Great Cinema. The Lovers Speeches are Badly Written and Delivered by the Actors even Worse. The Triangle is so Melodramatically put in Place for who knows what Reason, is a Show Stopper and not in a Good Way.

The Cast of Walter Huston, Robert Montgomery, and Robert Young, Among Others, do Their Best Work away from the Awful Acting of the Female (Madge Evans) Central to the Overwritten Plot. The Movie is just too Full of too Many Things to be a Coherent Whole. But the Best Parts are Outstanding and Manage to Compensate for all of the Extra Ingredients.

Note...Some prints (like the one on TCM) are Re-Release versions and have some dialog clipping to satisfy Hays Code requirements that is abrupt and intrusive at times.

Excellent submarine movie

[jamesrupert2014 · 8/10 · 2 September 2017]

Filmed only 15 years after the end of WW1, "Hell Below" recounts the exploits of a US submarine (AL-14) and her crew, both at war and on shore-leave in Italy. The action sequences are outstanding, especially the sinking of the German destroyer (as recounted elsewhere, the producers actually purchased a decommissioned USN destroyer and sank it for the film) and the bomber/fighter attack on the US sub. Like most submarine movies, there is much emphasis on the claustrophobic conditions on board, the tension of being stalked by surface ships, and the fear of the crushing weight of water outside the hull. The scenes were AL-14 is trapped on the bottom, below her safe depth, as chlorine gas begins to seep out from her batteries are excellent. For a film supported by the DoN, I'm surprised that the film-makers were allowed to show submariners dying such grim, unheroic deaths (including suicide). The shore-leave scenes (and the associated love story) are not as good as the action sequences (possibly because they don't date as well) but they're not bad (a boxing match with a kangaroo not withstanding). Jimmy Durante, a major comedy star at the time, provides the comic relief with his standard 'schnozzola' shtick -- a little bit goes a long way, but the British Marine with huge buck-teeth constantly referring to him as 'the pelican' is pretty funny and the scene where he gets set up with an Italian girl with an even bigger nose is priceless (the movie is 'pre-code' - the line "I wonder if my old man ever taught here" probably would not have got by the censors a year later). The ending is pure Hollywood heroic-hokum but that doesn't detract much from an altogether excellent war movie from the inter-war period.