The Atomic Submarine (1959)

I admit I can’t really argue objectively that The Atomic Submarine is any better than other 1950s sci-fi movies such as Fiend without a Face but for some reason I found it to be a lot more fun. It’s just as silly, but in a delightfully goofy B-movie way.

Ships and submarine passenger liners are mysteriously disappearing in the vicinity of the North Pole, so the nuclear missile submarine Tigerfish (with a team of top scientists on board) is dispatched to discover the reason. It is of course a submarine flying saucer from another planet, that fuels itself with magnetic energy from the North Pole.

And the flying saucer is a living creature, and is immune to atomic torpedoes! But it has to be stopped, as the whole future of civilisation as we know it depends on it.

As well as scientists the Tigerfish is also equipped with an advanced deep-sea submersible vessel, which comes in mighty handy. The designer of the submersible is ill so his son comes along to operate the craft. This causes some friction with the submarine’s executive officer, as he doesn’t approve of the son’s way-out ideas about peace being better than war.

The plot unfolds pretty much as you expect it to, and the monsters when revealed are classic 50s B-movie space alien monsters. The model work isn’t too bad for a low-budget movie of this era. There’s the anticipated breathless climax as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

The acting is mostly of the standard B-movie variety although Tom Conway adds a little class as a British scientist.