For better or worse, THE FROGMEN is a straightforward wartime thriller from our American cousins. As with most WW2 movies, it's based on true stories. The heroes are a bunch of underwater explosives experts whose job is to sail close to Japanese fortifications, jump into the water, set bombs and timers, and then escape before everything blows up.It's not a subject matter I had much knowledge of despite being a war buff, so this film interested me. It's a well made little picture with some good actors butting heads and a series of action sequences which are well shot and resolutely suspenseful. The film seems to gather momentum as it progresses and the situations become more life and death, the stakes raising every second.Richard Widmark and Dana Andrews, both looking youthful, are well cast as the officer and his second in command who spend most of the screen time. Robert Wagner is listed in support but don't bother trying to spot him. While I imagine THE FROGMEN will be become a fairly forgettable film as time passes since I saw it, it's hard to say that it puts a foot wrong regardless.

After watching and enjoying this film, I checked out the trivia section for this film and found that many of the events in this film are based on the real life unit they were named for in the film--including the banner on the beach scene. At first I thought this scene totally ridiculous and didn't fit the film--seeing it REALLY happened is amazing! This is an interesting war film even if it didn't get made until well after the war. Most people never think about the need for naval demolitions crews, yet their incredibly dangerous job is shown in this film. How dangerous it was and how they actually performed it was truly interesting for history buffs like myself. Seeing them often diving with no real equipment such as snorkels or tanks (these were only used late in the film) and simply free-diving to set demolition charges is pretty amazing. What was more amazing was seeing how they picked up these guys on the fly, so to speak.Apart from the technical aspects of the film, the plot itself is somewhat formulaic but interesting. Richard Widmark plays the typical hard-as-nails commanding officer and naturally the men miss their old C.O. since he was "one of the boys" (see THE FLYING LEATHERNECKS and TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH and you'll see what I mean). The whole "loneliness at the top" angle has been done many times before, though this one was played a bit better. Having such pros as Dana Andrews, Jeffrey Hunter and Gary Merrill on hand sure didn't hurt! What did hurt, however, with the formula was that, at times, it made the men seem like whiners.Overall, rather exciting and well worth seeing despite its roots in Hollywood formula and a fitting tribute to some incredibly brave men.

As would be the case with DESTINATION GOBI (1953), which I’ve just watched, this unusual war film about a specialized outfit also happens to be a starring vehicle for Richard Widmark (and, similarly, featured no prominent female roles). Fox were noted for the documentary-style approach to their films for the first few years of the post-war era; this was a typical example, mixing realistic detail (while the underwater photography in itself is well done, the film tends to drag during these sequences) with a number of established Hollywood conventions.Widmark begins by rubbing his men the wrong way because of their devotion to his predecessor, with Dana Andrews as his chief antagonist (especially after the former opts to leave the latter behind during a reconnaissance operation). At one point, however, Andrews has to take over a mission when Widmark becomes indisposed (where the former’s lack of responsibility leads to serious injuries sustained by one of the men); eventually, the two acquire a mutual respect – which occurs when a torpedo fired at the ship by the enemy fails to explode and has to be delicately dismantled.The latter sequence is one of four suspense/action set-pieces in the film: the others being the two underwater missions themselves and the trial run for the first operation mentioned above. The supporting cast is led by Gary Merrill (acting as, more or less, the voice of conscience) and Jeffrey Hunter (as a brash young member of the team); also appearing, in unbilled roles, are subsequent favorite character actors James Gregory and Jack Warden.

The Frogmen is a film based on the exploits of the U.S. Navy's Underwater Demolition Teams during World War II. The primary task of these guys was to go in ahead of any island landing and clear away any obstacles put up by the enemy in the water. That meant going in ahead of the Marines as the Frogmen point out. Today that function is now that of the Navy Seals.The plot is similar to Flying Leathernecks. Richard Widmark is the new commanding officer of the team assigned to Gary Merrill's ship and he's taking the place of a popular commander who was recently killed. He meets with a lot of resentment from the men, some of that resentment fueled by Dana Andrews who is the CPO of the team and very popular also with the crew. How Widmark and Andrews deal with their personal issues as well as get the job done is the basis of the film.Nice underwater photography highlights the dangerous mission of these men. Both Widmark and Andrews despite their differences do get their assignments accomplished, not always in the most expeditious manner. These guys and their team are professionals in the real and the cinematic sense.War films usually aren't chick flicks, but I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of female fans saw this one for a glimpse of some 20th Century Fox's top young talent topless like Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter. Good an excuse as any to see a well made war film.