{"id":82155,"date":"2022-03-15T10:31:46","date_gmt":"2022-03-15T17:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=82155"},"modified":"2022-03-15T10:31:46","modified_gmt":"2022-03-15T17:31:46","slug":"hell-and-high-water-1954","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=82155","title":{"rendered":"Hell and High Water (1954)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Each man has his own reason for living &#8212; and his own price for dying.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Poster-196x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-82181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Poster-196x300.png 196w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Poster-668x1024.png 668w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Poster-84x128.png 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Poster-176x270.png 176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Poster.png 717w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen the Chinese are suspected of building a secret atomic base on a Pacific island, a former Navy captain (Richard Widmark) is hired to man a submarine taking a famous French scientist (Victor Francen) and his beautiful young protege (Bella Darvi) to investigate the situation.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>At Sea<\/li>\n<li>Cameron Mitchell Films<\/li>\n<li>Cold War<\/li>\n<li>Richard Widmark Films<\/li>\n<li>Sam Fuller Films<\/li>\n<li>Scientists<\/li>\n<li>Submarines<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nWriter-director Sam Fuller&#8217;s seventh feature-length film was this Cold War-era submarine flick described by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2284hell.html\">DVD Savant<\/a> as &#8220;the damndest, most adolescent expression of confused anti-war, pro-war, peacenik, gung-ho insanity to come from a major studio.&#8221; Having recently rewatched Fuller&#8217;s excellent <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=81170\"><em>The Steel Helmet<\/em> (1950)<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=81848\"><em>Fixed Bayonets!<\/em> (1951)<\/a>, I&#8217;ll admit I was disappointed to see what a mess of cliches is on display here; it seems Fuller was much better off leaving women out of his wartime flicks, given that Darvi is simply relegated to a standard 1950s role as a woman so sexy she can&#8217;t possibly be a <em>smart, multi-lingual scientist<\/em> &#8212; can she?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Darvi.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Darvi-1024x395.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"247\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-82182\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Darvi-1024x395.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Darvi-300x116.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Darvi-128x49.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Darvi-768x296.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Darvi-1536x592.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Darvi-604x233.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Darvi.png 1657w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Naturally, she&#8217;s instantly coveted by boorish Cameron Mitchell:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Mitchell.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Mitchell-1024x392.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"245\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-82183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Mitchell-1024x392.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Mitchell-300x115.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Mitchell-128x49.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Mitchell-768x294.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Mitchell-1536x589.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Mitchell-604x231.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Mitchell.png 1657w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; but (spoiler) she only has eyes for Widmark (because of course, she has to be interested in <em>someone<\/em> on board, right?). The action scenes are beautifully filmed but otherwise standard submarine-drama, anti-Commie fare. I find it challenging to know what else to say about this film, which Fuller completists will be curious to check out but others can simply skip.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Joseph MacDonald&#8217;s CinemaScope cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1190\" height=\"452\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Cinematography.png 1190w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Cinematography-300x114.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Cinematography-1024x389.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Cinematography-128x49.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Cinematography-768x292.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Cinematography-604x229.png 604w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1190px) 100vw, 1190px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Fire.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Fire-1024x385.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"241\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-82187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Fire-1024x385.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Fire-300x113.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Fire-128x48.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Fire-768x289.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Fire-1536x578.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Fire-604x227.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hell-and-High-Water-Fire.png 1657w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNope; you can skip this one unless you&#8217;re a Sam Fuller completist. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0047073\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1954\/02\/02\/archives\/the-screen-in-review-fox-hell-and-high-water-in-cinemascope-is-the.html\">NY Times Original Review (spoiler alert)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2284hell.html\">DVD Savant Review (spoiler alert) <\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Each man has his own reason for living &#8212; and his own price for dying.&#8221; Synopsis: When the Chinese are suspected of building a secret atomic base on a Pacific island, a former Navy captain (Richard Widmark) is hired to man a submarine taking a famous French scientist (Victor Francen) and his beautiful young protege (Bella Darvi) to investigate the situation. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: At Sea Cameron Mitchell Films Cold War Richard Widmark Films Sam Fuller Films Scientists&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=82155\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=82155"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82188,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82155\/revisions\/82188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=82155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=82155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=82155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}