It Came from Beneath the Sea

NARRATOR:
From her beginnings

on a Navy drawing board,

through the months of secret field

experiments out on a western desert,

then through

the desperate search

for new metals with properties she needed,

she was designed to be man's

greatest weapon of the seas,

the atom-powered submarine.

Her engines were to be a

miracle of speed and power,

her sides strong enough

to withstand any blow,

her armament and firepower

of greater force

than the worst enemy

she might encounter.

The mind of man had

thought of everything,

except that which was

beyond his comprehension.

(HAWAIIAN MUSIC PLAYING)

All right, Griff,

I'll take over.

Good morning, Captain.

Had breakfast?

Yep. Orange juice,

bacon, eggs, coffee.

How we doing?

I can't get used

to this thing.

Just like an automatic elevator.

Speed, 18. Steady on course.

Quite a bit of difference between this

and the old-fashioned iron lung, huh?

Roomy? My gosh, this conning

tower is just like a ballroom.

Take it easy, Griff.

It's still a submarine.

Aye, aye, sir.

How about the men?

They should complain.

All they do is eat and sleep,

press a button when there's

some work to be done.

How about you, Captain? Satisfied?

Down scope.

Why shouldn't I be satisfied?

Three world records in the bag

on our first shakedown cruise.

Listen to that music.

All we need is some

champagne and dancing girls.

Shall I have the chief

change the record, sir?

Yeah, you'd better, before

we start chasing mermaids.

All right.

MacAninch, something a little

more salty, if you please.

Salty, sir?

Yeah, let's get off

this Hawaiian kick.

It's even demoralizing

the captain.

Aye, aye, sir.

Eight.

Pair of fives.

Pair of tens.

(BIG BAND MUSIC PLAYING)

Whoa.

What's going on?

Yeah, what?

Que pasa? I dig that.

(SONAR BEEPING)

There's another beep from

the sonar equipment, sir.

Target bearing, 1-8-0.

Range, 1-5-0-0.

There's nothing back there.

GRIFF:
Sonar still picks it up, Captain.

Bearing?

It's dead astern, submerged

about as deep as we are.

Looks like it could be

following us.

Whales sometimes get playful

out here in the Pacific.

Scans bigger than a whale.

PETE:
Another sub?

GRIFF:
Even bigger

than a sub.

It's closing in on us, Captain.

You'd better take a look at this.

Conning Tower to Control.

Left 20 degrees rudder.

New course, 3-0-0.

OFFICER:
Left 20 degrees rudder.

New course, 3-0-0.

The rudder is 20 degrees left, sir.

What would you call that?

Probably a short circuit in our sonar

system showing up as an echo.

Check it.

I just did, Captain. It's working all right.

Shall I check it again, sir?

Never mind.

It's really gaining on us, whatever it is.

Getting closer, huh?

As close as 500 yards.

Conning Tower to Maneuvering.

All ahead flank.

All ahead flank, sir.

Give those atoms a poke.

Give me everything you've got.

Aye, aye, sir.

Are we losing it?

No, sir. He just gained

another 200 on us.

Give me a sonar image. I want to

see what this thing looks like.

Griff, man battle stations.

Man battle stations!

(ALARM BLARING)

OFFICER:
Man battle stations!

Man battle stations!

Man battle stations!

Man battle stations!

Go to Control and take the conn.

I want a zigzag course and

the usual escape pattern.

Aye, aye, sir.

Now let's see what you got here.

What do you call that?

It's no whale, sir, that's for sure.

It's no ship, either.

Let me check that wiring again.

Keep me informed.

Come left 3-5-0.

Left 3-5-0.

OFFICER:
Sonar checks

okay, Captain.

Bearing, 1-2-0.

Range, 5-0-0.

Can't seem to lose it, Captain.

Range, 4-0-0.

What happens when it

catches up with us?

When you're in command of $55

million worth of submarine,

you don't gamble.

Range, 3-0-0.

Stand by to take her deep.

Aye, aye, sir.

Range, 2-0-0.

Take her deep.

Full dive on the bow plane, please.

Full dive on the bow plane, sir.

10 degrees down bubble..

10 degrees down bubble.

All planes are at full

dive, sir. Very well.

Resume course.

Steer 3-3-0.

3-3-0, sir.

OFFICER:
It's too close

to get a range now, sir.

Conning Tower to Maneuvering. All stop.

We're getting a radiation warning

signal. Where's it coming from?

GRIFF:
Not from our reactor, sir.

It must be. Recheck your reactor.

Reactor shield okay. Engines

okay. Nothing hot in here, sir.

What happened to us?

I don't know.

All you men okay?

Okay, but let's find out

where that radiation is

coming from before we all fry.

It's coming from outside the ship. Look!

I don't figure it.

I can't either, sir.

Haven't got time to try now.

Our sonar system's out. Fix it.

Maneuvering.

Let's pull out of here!

All ahead full!

All ahead full, sir!

But we're standing still!

That's not

the engine's fault, sir.

Keep pouring it on.

You okay, Griff?

Okay here, sir.

Surface!

(ALARM BLARING)

CREWMAN:
Pull main ballast!

Still no luck, Captain.

We're fouled tight.

Hand me that thing.

I want two Aqua-Lung

volunteers to blast the sluice.

Get in your gear and stand by the

escape hatch. Take a demolition charge.

I'll take over.

Aye, aye, Captain.

(CRASHING)

Anybody hurt?

Mac took an awful crack

in the head here, Captain.

Come on, Mac.

How do you feel, Mac?

All right. What's a

fractured skull, anyway?

(GEIGER COUNTER TICKING)

Is that damn thing still going?

Not afraid of a little

radiation, are you, Mac?

I've heard it makes you so

you can't have children, sir.

Mac was married just before

we left port, Captain.

Congratulations, Mac.

Thanks, Captain. We're

counting on a family, sir.

We won't hang around down here

any longer than we can help it.

OFFICER:
Volunteers

are ready now, sir.

Hand me that thing.

I'm gonna rig in the bow diving plane

to see if that will free us.

If it won't...

Just cross your fingers.

Rig in bow diving planes.

Aye, aye, sir.

That's doing it. Full

rise on the stern planes.

Full rise on the stern planes. Aye!

We're loose, Captain!

Speed's increasing.

We're coming up, sir.

Phew. That's a relief.

Stand by to surface.

Stand by to surface.

Aye, sir.

What's on your mind, Griff?

Stern planes are fouled.

Show signs of radioactivity.

Tell those swimmers

to stay clear?

I did, sir.

What did you find down there?

A chunk of stuff caught in

the stern diving plane, sir.

What kind of stuff?

Rubber-like, Captain.

What'd it look like?

We didn't get too close

because of what the exec

said about the radioactivity.

Looked more

like a fish to me.

It was more like a barrel.

A barrel?

Yes, sir.

I believe it's stuck there

till we get into dry dock.

She's jammed solid, sir.

All right, you men go below

and get yourselves some coffee.

Aye, aye, sir.

Aye, sir.

What's your guess, Griff?

I was just gonna ask you, sir.

Privately?

Privately,

I'm keeping my mouth shut

and I'm advising you

to do the same.

The next time I cruise

in these waters,

I'm gonna have torpedoes

onboard and warheads on them.

How about officially?

Officially?

Shakedown cruise completed, X- ray.

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