U-Kreuzer Tigerhai (1951)

U-Kreuzer Tigerhai: Directed by John Farrow. With William Holden, Nancy Olson, William Bendix, Don Taylor. Submarine commander Ken White reminisces about his wartime years aboard submarine USS Tiger Shark and struggles with feelings of personal guilt.

“The term Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was coined more recently, so you wonu0026#39;t hear it used in u0026quot;Submarine Commandu0026quot;. However, some of the symptoms clearly are what Lt. Cmdr. Ken White (William Holden) are clearly what heu0026#39;s struggling with…making it one of the earlier war films to tackle this.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film begins during the closing days of WWII. Ken is second in command on the USS Tiger Shark, a sub. When the ship is under attack from a Japanese plane, he orders the ship to dive in order to save it from being sunk. Unfortunately, the Captain and one other man are stuck on the deck…injured and unable to make it in time. The CPO aboard (William Bendix) holds Ken responsible for losing the men…though he had no other choice. Even the widow and father of the Captain assure Ken he did the right thing…but Ken wonu0026#39;t forgive himself or forget it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhen he returns to the US, he gets married…and proves to be a surly husband. His wife has difficulty getting close to him and he is a jerk. When the Korean War arrives, the Tiger Shark is once again activated…and Ken is in command. Can he work through his anxieties and self-doubt? Or, will he simply remain a surly jerk?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a decent but not great sub film…and there are quite a few great sub films out there. My biggest gripe is that the CPO was insubordinate at times and it seemed ridiculous for Ken to keep him on the ship as well as bring him aboard years later. But still, this is a minor problem and overall itu0026#39;s very good and worth seeing.”