Underwater!

{{Infobox film

| name = Underwater!

| image = Underwater! 1955.jpg

| caption =

| director = John Sturges

| producer = Harry Tatelman
Howard Hughes (executive producer)

| screenplay = Walter Newman

| story = Hugh King
Robert B. Bailey

| starring = Jane Russell
Richard Egan
Gilbert Roland
Lori Nelson

| music = Roy Webb

| cinematography = Harry J. Wild

| editing = Stuart Gilmore
Frederic Knudtson

| distributor = RKO Radio Pictures

| released = {{Film date|1955|2|9|US|ref1={{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/51711| title=Underwater!: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date= July 29, 2024}}}}

| runtime = 99 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $2 millionGlenn Lovell, Escape Artist: The Life and Films of John Sturges, University of Wisconsin Press, 2008 p117-124

| gross = $2.2 million (US rentals)'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955', Variety Weekly, January 25, 1956

}}

Underwater! is a 1955 adventure film starring Jane Russell, Richard Egan, and Gilbert Roland, and directed by John Sturges.

Plot

Johnny and his wife Theresa, along with mercenary Dominic Quesada, priest Father Cannon, and Gloria, the boat owner, search for sunken treasure in the Caribbean. While on a dive, they come across a wreck that they assume holds treasure. When they resurface, they are confronted by a boat of local shark-hunters with an unhealthy curiosity in their activities. In their effort to find funding to raise the wreck, they discover that what they are looking for is a 17th-century ship that contains a life-size solid gold Madonna encrusted in precious gems and that it lies in a different underwater location. So they make plans to acquire it. However, it is on the edge of a precipice, and the shark-hunters intend for them to do all the difficult and dangerous recovery, then take the treasure from them.

Cast

Jane Russell – Theresa Gray
Richard Egan – Johnny Gray
Gilbert Roland – Dominic Quesada
Lori Nelson – Gloria
Robert Keith – Father Cannon
Joseph Calleia – Rico Herrera
Eugene Iglesias – Miguel Vega
Ric Roman – Jesus

Production

Howard Hughes acquired the rights to the unpublished The Big Rainbow.{{sfn|Medved|Medved|1984|p=43}}

Partially filmed on location in Mexico and Hawaii, Underwater! was completed in a newly constructed underwater tank in an RKO Radio Pictures soundstage. It was the first RKO film released in Superscope.{{cite web|url=http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/Widescreen/wingss2.htm|title=Widescreen Museum - CinemaScope Derivatives - Superscope 2|website=www.widescreenmuseum.com}} The film's budget increased from its initial $300,000 and a large amount of the budget was used on footage cut from the film.{{sfn|Medved|Medved|1984|p=43-44}}

Lori Nelson claimed Howard Hughes wanted her for the lead and paid Universal Pictures for her use; however, Jane Russell owed RKO a film. The lead was given to Russell with a part written for Nelson so she could keep her fee.Fitzgerald, Michael Lori Nelson Interview Western Clippings

Soundtrack

The film contained the songs "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" and "Rhythm Sticks" performed by Perez "Prez" Prado and his Orchestra ("The King of the Mambo").

Release

For its world premiere on January 10, 1955,Special, "World Premiere of 'Underwater' Motion Picture To Be Shown At Silver Springs', Playground News, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, December 30, 1954, Volume 9, Number 48, page 3. the film was projected on a submerged movie screen at Silver Springs, Florida, and members of the press viewed the film 20 feet underwater while wearing aqualungs.{{cite news |title=Treasure Chest Kit to be Introduced at Underwater Premiere |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=hXZnTIgIr50C&dat=19550105&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=2 May 2022 |work=Ocala Star-Banner |date=January 5, 1955}}

The song "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" featured in the film became a major hit.

References

Works cited

{{cite book|author-last=Medved |author-first=Harry |author-last2=Medved |author-first2=Michael |author-link2=Michael Medved |title=The Hollywood Hall of Shame: The Most Expensive Flops in Movie History |publisher=Angus & Robertson |date=1984 |url=https://archive.org/details/hollywoodhallofs0000medv |isbn=0207149291}}