Below the Surface

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Nick M This is the second film by Irvin Willat starring Hobart Bosworth, a submarine, a tragedy at sea, and a prepositional title (the earlier being 1919's Behind the Door). I can't fault the man for having a type, because both are thoroughly enjoyable. Below tells the story of a small town father-son diving team (Martin and Paul, respectively) who make headlines after saving the lives of Navy sailors trapped on a sunken submarine. This catches the attention of a con man, James, who attempts to hoodwink them into participating in a scheme to recover gold from a sunken treasure ship. Martin sees through the man, but Paul is entranced by the wiles of the con man's beautiful big city girlfriend, Edna, and agrees to make the risky dive. Martin pulls out all the stops to attempt to remove the wool from Paul's eyes, but after Edna calls the father's bluff by agreeing to marry his son, he knows he's been beaten. Paul successfully recovers some gold from the sunken ship, and James and Edna make off with the loot, returning to their life in Boston. When Paul discovers that his wife has left him, he succumbs to a dangerous case of the bends. The doctor tells Martin that any further upset might kill his son, so he tells Paul that he will find Edna and bring her back to him, despite knowing full well that she is a fraudster. He tracks her down, and locks her in a cabin on a return ferry back home. James follows them, but before the conniving couple is able to make their escape the ship hits a derelict hidden in some fog, and rapidly begins to sink. Martin attempts to save them, but is carried away by the swift influx of water and has no choice but to board a life boat. Luther refuses to accept his father's story, and risks his life to make the dive down to the sunken ferry only to discover the floating bodies of his wife and her lover, James. Hobart Bosworth is fantastic as always in the role of the upstanding he-man. Toward the beginning I found myself chuckling because he is presented as this larger than life, early version of Chuck Norris without any attempt to rationalize his mythic stature within his community. Below is not a masterpiece, but it is highly entertaining and well directed. I found the story engaging from start to finish, and the underwater scenes were surprisingly impressive! The only other film I recall seeing or being aware of from this era that featured underwater cinematography at this level was 1916's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Terrible movie, but impressive photography. Regardless, the concept is still novel enough that it is worth it to see for its innovation alone. And in true Willat fashion, the reveal at the end of the floating bodies of Edna and James was both shocking and haunting. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/29/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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