Diverpawls Diving Movie & TV Listings |
The movies in this list feature divers (hardhat, scuba, frogmen). Frogman-scuba listing tends toward those featuring old-style shiny wetsuits, or drysuits. The listings, especially for TV, are incomplete, and any contributions or corrections are welcome (Email me)."Divers" are the actors who "dive," at least in the story (you'll be amazed who's been diving!).
Ratings are given for dive footage (D-DDDD) and for acting (A-AAAA).
Lack of ratings indicates I have not seen it yet.
(V) indicates available on Video or DVD (my info is probably out of date by a year or two).If you have a copy of one of the films I haven't seen, I'd love to see a copy. Maybe we could swap!
There is a new MTV video by Tube & Berger called "StraightAhead". Giant computer divers dance through London. Anyone know where to get a full res. version?
Updated April 1, 2005
[ Hardhat Films | Frogman Films | On TV ]
HARDHAT MOVIES
TITLE DATE "DIVERS" U/W RATING ACTING RATING ON VIDEO? DIVING - DESCRIPTION 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1916 ? DD A V The original (SILENT): Good footage, Disney better The Navigator 1924 Buster Keaton DDD AAA V SILENT: Very amusing underwater sequences Sea Bat 1930 Nils Asther + DD A . Unusual: giant ray smothers one of our divers Sea God 1930 Richard Arlen, Faye Wray . . . Hardhat plods ashore on tropic isle, mistaken as a god! Below the Sea 1933 Ralph Bellamy, Faye Wray DD+ AA - Good u/w stuff, squid fight, treasure hunt melodrama No More Women 1934 Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe . . . Divers swear off women (!) until. . . Maltin: 3 stars 16 Fathoms Deep 1934 Lon Chaney, Jr. DD+ AA V Florida sponge divers. Remade 1948, Chaney in different role Depths Below 1936 Chester Morris, Richard Dix . . . WW2 salvage divers? Vengeance of the Deep 1939 Lloyd Hughes DD A V Pearl divers battle for pearl, and pride Minesweeper 1942 Richard Arlen DDD AA V WW2 short with hardhats clearing mines, sort of Reap the Wild Wind 1942 John Wayne, Ray Milland DDD AA V Wayne dies on screen (u/w). Squid Fight! Fifty (50) Fathoms Deep 194x J. Holt . . . Hardhats & raingear in obscure war yarn??? Men of the Deep 1945 Chester Morris? . . . War adventure(?) aka. "Rough, Tough & Ready" Wake of the Red Witch 1948 John Wayne DDD AA V . . . another one for the Duke! Same fate, no squid 16 Fathoms Deep 1948 Lloyd Bridges + DDD AA . Sponge divers, good u/w stuff. Pre-"Sea Hunt" Lloyd Pirates of the High Seas 1950 . . . . Hardhats doing something? Smuggler's Island 1951 Jeff Chandler . . . Hardhat and smugglers??? Jeff hot in hardhat Sea Hornet 1951 Rod Cameron DDD A - Good clear u/w footage: dull story Smuggler's Gold 1951 Cameron Mitchell . . . ? Volcano (it) 1951 . . . . Italian salvage diver and his troubles? Mara Maru 1952 Errol Flynn DDDD A V Fair story, good u/w footage, no squid, tho Road to Bali 1952 Bob Hope D A V Bob goes hardhat in one scene, humor, dive is faked Jamaica/Jamaica Run 1953 Ray Milland + . . . Divers in Caribbean Soap story? Beneath the 12 Mile Reef 1953 Robert Wagner, Gilbert Roland DDDD AAA V Great u/w footage of sponge divers, blow-up, squid Fight! City Beneath the Sea 1953 Anthony Quinn, Robert Ryan DD A - Good U/W footage, one scene faked in dry "tank" 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1954 James Mason, Kirk Douglas, Peter Lorre DDDD AAAA V Great action; modified hardhats & Aquala suits! Classic. Revenge of the Creature 1955 John Agar DD A V Opening battle of hardhat & Creature (from Black Lagoon) Godzilla 1956 Takashi Shimura + DDD AA V Great monster meets fate: hardhats deliver "oxygen destroyer" Ghost Diver 1957 James Craig, Nico Minardos . . - Hardhat washes ashore, dead. Rest is a mystery. . . Zombies of Mora Tau 1957 Gregg Palmer + D -A ? Zombies . . . some hardhat-zombie action Buldog Breed (uk) 1960 Norm Wisdom DD+ AA V (uk) Comedy with very amusing hardhat sequence Sink the Bismarck! 1960 ? D AAA V Hardhat works rudder; look fast, 15 sec., sometimes cut First Men in the Moon 1964 Edward Judd + DD AA V Victorian astronauts in hardhat (no gloves, airless Moon)! Assault on a Queen 1966 Frank Sinatra DD A V Early scenes have Frank as hardhat; after that, ho hum Nobody's Perfect 1968 Doug McClure + D+ A - Navy diver hijinks (mostly land); diver trapped in typhoon (no copy!) Krakatoa, East of Java 1969 Brian Keith, Max. Schell DDD AA - Treasure hunt near volcano (Krakatoa is WEST of Java) Red Tent 1971 ? DD+ AAA V Short footage (2-min.) russian hardhat under polar ice When Eight Bells Toll (brit) 1971 Anthony Hopkins + DDD AA V (uk) Ali. MacLain spies, hardhat-scuba fight, hardhat loses! Black Bird 1975 George Segal . . V George goes Mark V diving at end of film? Trapped Beneath the Sea (TVM) 1975? . DDD+ AAA ? Great hardhat scenes in sub rescue film Oceans of Fire (TVM) 1986 Lyle Alzedo, B. D. Williams + DD A V Oil rigs, divers; U/W scenes should be better DeepStar Six 1989 . . . V Not reviewed yet, see Abyss instead Leviathan 1989 . . . V Not reviewed yet, see Abyss instead Abyss 1989 Ed Harris, Mary El. Mastranatonio DDD AAA V Good action film, updated gear, liquid breathing fluid Men of Honor 2001 C. Gooding, R. DeNiro DDDD AAA V Great U/W action scenes, 1st black deep sea diver Submerged 2001 Sam Niell DDDD AAA ? Great hardhat rescue of Squalus sub in '39 SpongeBob SquarePants 2004 ? DDD+ AA V "Cyclops" menaces our heros! Here are several unreviewed early films (some silent), and a few more recent films.
Any info on these and other hardhat movies or TV shows would be appreciated.
Hero of Submarine D-2 (1915) Partners of the Tide (1921) Wonders of the Sea (1922) Trapped in a Submarine (1920s? silent?) Submarine (by Frank Capra, 1920's?) Mysterious Island (1930 - not 1961 version) Best Man Wins (1934) Titans of the Deep (1935) Typhoon Treasure (19xx) A Lady Fights Back (1944 - WW2 short) Phantom from 10000 Leagues (?) 800 Leagues down the Amazon (195x?, 1986?) [ Hardhat Films | Frogman Films | On TV ]
FROGMAN-SCUBA MOVIES
TITLE DATE "DIVERS" U/W RATING ACTING RATING ON VIDEO? DIVING - DESCRIPTION The Frogmen 1951 Richard Widmark + DD AA . WW2 UDT teams, some Aquala-style rubber suits! Hellraiders of the Deep (it) 1954 . . . . WW2 human-torpedos, great Lobby cards (aka Panic in Gibralter) Creature from the Black Lagoon 1954 R. Carlson DD A V Skin divers -NO suits- search for Creature IN rubber suit Hunters of the Deep 1955 . . . . Documentary? King of the Coral Sea 1956 C. Rafferty and Rod Taylor . . . Scuba adventure, fight with a hardhat? Incredible Petrified World 1957 J. Carradine, R. Clarke + DD A V Divers in bell escape; find caverns and . . . Hellcats of the Navy 1957 (R. Reagan & N. Davis) DD AA . Frogmen in sub action (Ron doesn't don a drysuit, whew!) Monster that Challenged the World 1957 Tim Holt + DDD A V Giant worm rises from Salton Sea: Healthways wet/drysuits Underwater Warrior 1958 Dan Dailey, James Gregory . . . WW2 UDT teams, great lobby cards (not rev'd yet) Silent Enemy 1959 Lawrence Harvey + DDD AAA V WW2 human-torpedos at Gilbralter Forbidden Island 1959 John Agar + DD A V U/W intrigue involving emerald...and murder Atomic Submarine 1959 Arthur Franz, Dick Foran DDD A V Frogmen in white wetsuits battle alien Secret of the Purple Reef 1960 . . . . ? September Storm 1960 Mark Stevens, Robert Strauss . . . ? Secret of Deep Harbor 1961 Ron Foster . . . ? Voyage t/t Bottom o/t Sea 1961 - DD AA V Nuke sub saves world, squid fight; series spun-off Underwater City 1961 Wm. Lundigan, Chet Douglas DDD A . Wet-suit clad divers plod around on sound stage...! The Valiant (uk) 1962 John Mills, Robert Shaw . . . More WW2 frogmen. Looks exciting! (not yet seen) Rommel's Treasure (it) 1962 Chester Morris? . . . Frogmen help hunt for Nazi loot??? Thunderball 1965 Sean Connery DDDD AAA V Classic U/W Bond; black/red rubber frogmen everywhere Seven Golden Men (it) 1965 . . . . 7 Italian frogmen rob bank??? Raiders from Beneath the Sea 1965 Ken Scott, Merry Anders . . . Wetsuited bank robbers: good lobby cards (not rev'ed) Around the World Under the Sea 1965 Lloyd Bridges, Bryan Kelley DD+ A V U/W scientists 'save' world in white wetsuits Fantastic Voyage 1966 St. Boyd, E. O'Brien, R. Welch DD+ AA+ V Landmark film, divers 'inside' body to save victim Assault on a Queen 1966 Frank Sinatra DD A V Frank as a salvage and scuba diver Modesty Blaise 1966 Terence Stamp DD AA V Spoof spy thriller: Terence in wetsuit Mission Phantom 1967 ? DD - V Gems, espionage, eastern Europe . . . Spirit is Willing 1967 Sid Caeser? . . . Frogman involved somehow??? Catalina Caper 1967 Tommy Kirk D+ A . Underwater caper: Look for MST3000 version Come Spy With Me 1967 Troy Donahue . . . ? Submarine X-1 (uk) 1968 David Sumner, James Caan + DDDD AA V (UK) WW2 frogmen: Candidate for Best Drysuit movie? Shark! 1968 Burt Reynolds + DDD A V Burt gets involved with less than honest salvage crew The Destructors 1968 Richard Egan DD A V Effort to foil theft of gov't ray-gun Daring Game 1968 Lloyd Bridges ? ? V LLoyd Bridges u/w investigation Dirty Heroes 1969 Curt Jurgens . . V Dirty Dozen for the B-movie set Yog: Monster from Space 1971 Yuk. Nakamori, Shin. Takashi . . . White-suited Frogmen battle alien??? When Eight Bells Toll (uk) 1971 Anthony Hopkins + DDD AA V (UK) Ali. MacLain spies, hardhat & scuba fight, hardhat loses! Black Water Gold 1971? Keir Dullea + DD A V Gold hunters, good wetsuits The Mechanic 1972 Charles Bronson, Jan M. Vincent . . V Hired guns: our "heros" in gear for a spell Juggernaut 1974 Richard Harris DD A V Frogman team tries to save Britannic (QE2) Mako: Jaws of Death 1976 Richard Jaeckel + DD A V Shark advocate exploited, goes nuts The Deep 1977 N. Nolte, J. Bisset . . V Scuba divers and drugs, no wetsuits? Escape to Athena 1979 Roger Moore + DD A V WW2 escape thriller & art heist! Frogman fight ffolkes 1980 Roger Moore + DD+ AA V U/W mercenary on govt mission . . . Goliath Awaits 1981 Mark Harmon, Robert Foster + DD A - Superlight divers find wreck submerged 40 years! Pacific Inferno 1985 Jim Brown, Richard Jaeckel D -A V Good WW2 POW story trashed in exploitation film The Patriot 1987 Stack Pierce DD -A V Ex-vet restores "good" name Amsterdamned (nl) 1988 ? DD+ AA V Drysuit diver slashes way thru Amst'dam The Dive 1989 B. Sundquist, R. Grimes DD+ AAA V? Tense drama of oil-patch divers and accident Shark Hunter 2001? Antonio Sabato ? ? V not reviewed
Any info on these unreviewed films and other hardhat
and scuba movies or TV shows would be appreciated.
Sea Around Us (R. Carson's book, 1953) Naked Sea (1955) Underwater! (Jane Russell, etc., 1955) Manfish (1956) Maracaibo (1958?) Undersea Girl (1957) Up Periscope! (James Garner, 1959) Thunder Island (Gene Nelson, 1963) Easy Come, Easy Go (Elvis, 1967) Inside Man (1988) [ Hardhat Films | Frogman Films | On TV ]
TELEVISION
Frogmen and hardhat both are scattered throughout the TV lexicon, showing up in single episodes of shows ranging from Colombo to Batman. It would be nearly impossible to list them all (send info to me and I will add it gleefully!), so I've listed here known serials and a few top-notch episodes from other programs.
TITLE DATE "DIVERS" U/W RATING ACTING RATING ON VIDEO? DIVING - DESCRIPTION Sea Hunt 1958
-61Lloyd Bridges ? ? V Classic, Mike Nelson battles bad guys & elements, scuba & a few hardhat episodes; also comic books (as were many of these shows!) Looney Tunes 195? ? D A - Sylvester in hardhat! Don't know which cartoon, features always annoying Tweety Bird. Diver Dan 1960
-62?Frank Freda ? ? V Children's show featured "live" action hi-jinks of Dan, puppet fish, mermaid The Aquanauts 1960
-61Jeremy Slate, Keith Larsen, Ron Ely ? ? - Single season u/w adventure show off So. Cal., with two principle leads (aka Malibu Run?) Flipper 1964
-68? ? ? - Some scuba episodes? Voyage t/t Bottom o/t Sea 1964
-69David Hedison, Del Monroe + DDD A if only! Classic: black & red wetsuits everywhere, not all episodes: among favs: "Jonah & Whale" wet divers squirm inside whale on rescue mission Undersea World of Jacque Cousteau 1966
-73J. Cousteau & others DDD AA ? Iye, Calypso! Scuba documentry series and specials zat rrran in ze late-1960's; Silver wetsuits usually. Oui! Hawaii 5-O 1968 Jack Lord ? ? ? Pilot episode: McGarrett kidnapped and "conditioned" underwater in drysuit Primus 1971
-72Robert Brown ? ? - Short-lived series, more u/w adventures from Ivan Tors Man from Atlantis 1977
-78Patric Duffy + ? ? - Short-lived series, must have been a few divers in it Baywatch #107 "Deep Trouble" 1995 Shawn Thompson DDD A - Hardhat forced to dive for drug-runner's stash: naturally, they cut airhose. A few other hardhat & scuba episodes
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