Film

The Atomic Submarine

Name: The Atomic Submarine
Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller
Released: 1959
Cast: Arthur Franz, Dick Foran, Brett Halsey, Tom Conway, Paul Dubov

A 1959 sci-fi thriller about a nuclear submarine hunting an alien menace beneath Arctic ice. It's briskly paced, resourcefully made on a modest budget, and trades plausibility for atmosphere—all creeping tension and creature design that feels genuinely unsettling. For fans of practical-effects genre filmmaking who don't require everything to make perfect sense.

TMDb rating

2.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love lean, earnest science fiction from the late 1950s, where Cold War unease drives a simple mystery and the atmosphere carries more weight than the spectacle.

Skip it if you need slick modern effects or a fast, eventful pace, since this one is talky, deliberate and mostly built on mood rather than action.

What it asks of you: It runs barely over an hour and builds slowly, so it asks for patience with plain dialogue, procedural scenes and a dark, tense mood rather than quick jolts.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea1954

A submarine adventure with real scale and spectacle, featuring a giant squid practical effect that still impresses. Same era, similar mix of science and pulp thrills, but with bigger resources and a more confident hand.

But It's seventy minutes longer and moves at a more deliberate pace. Viewers craving brisk, snappy action will find it overstuffed with character moments.

Forbidden Planet1956

A space-age mystery with the same DNA: small crew isolated, an incomprehensible threat, and production design that compensates brilliantly for budget limits. Smart and visually inventive in ways that still hold up.

But The sexual politics date hard. Also more earnest in tone—if you prefer The Atomic Submarine's B-movie energy, this leans more serious.

The Thing from Another World1951

Alien invasion from a confined, frozen setting with mounting paranoia and excellent ensemble chemistry. The template for isolated groups versus something unknowable; lean, efficient, and genuinely gripping.

But Black and white and quite slow by modern standards. The alien reveal is less visually striking than you might hope for from a creature feature.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Atomic Submarine

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Godzilla1954

Both films weaponize the unknown rising from beneath—whether Arctic ice or ocean depths—and treat the creature as an almost natural disaster rather than a villain to defeat.

Japanese creature feature about something vast and unknowable emerging from the deep. Documentary-style tension and genuine dread underneath the monster action. Shares The Atomic Submarine's sense that the ocean conceals threats we don't understand—and can barely comprehend.

But It's in Japanese with subtitles, and the American release is heavily re-edited. Watching the original is the better choice, but requires patience with pacing built for a different era.

Journey to the Center of the Earth1959

Another 1959 adventure with practical creatures and art direction doing heavy lifting. Explorers encounter the impossible in exotic terrain. Same optimistic pulp spirit and willingness to just commit to the weirdness.

But Lighter in tone to the point of campiness. If you want sustained tension, you'll find it undercuts itself with humor.

Journey to the Center of the Earth poster

Run Silent, Run Deep1958

Submarine warfare drama with authentic naval procedure and a brilliant ensemble cast. No aliens, but the same tight quarters pressure and the submarine as a character in itself. Teaches you how these vessels actually work.

But It's a realistic war film, not science fiction. If you came for the sci-fi element, this will feel like a left turn into something grittier and less fun.

Creature from the Black Lagoon1954

A creature in its environment, mysterious and sympathetic without being explained away. Gorgeous black-and-white cinematography and a monster design that still works. The template for why the unknown is scarier than the explained.

But It's frankly slow in places and built more for mood than plot momentum. Doesn't have The Atomic Submarine's pacing drive.

The Incredible Shrinking Man1957

Low-budget 1950s sci-fi that uses its constraints beautifully, turning everyday objects into a hostile landscape. Genuinely existential beneath the high-concept premise. Proof that B-movies could be genuinely thoughtful.

But It's a man's internal crisis more than an external action story. If you need plot momentum over metaphor, it will frustrate you.

Them!1954

Giant ants in the desert born from atomic radiation—it's the atomic age paranoia film that works best. Strong cast, documentary-like procedural approach, real stakes. A masterclass in creature-feature pacing.

But The ants themselves aren't shown much until late in the film. Long stretches are people talking in offices, which slows the immediate gratification.

The War of the Worlds1953

Alien invasion on a grand scale with real production value and color cinematography. Apocalyptic scope and human desperation. Shows what Universal could do when they invested in the concept fully.

But The ending veers into territory that feels uncomfortably dated. Very much a 1950s worldview rendered in spectacular form.

Quatermass II1955

Both are paranoid Cold War stories where advanced threats arrive silently and contaminate closed systems. Both ask: how do you trust anyone when the enemy is already inside?

A British sci-fi serial about infiltration and invasion that builds dread through suggestion and small-scale horror. Better written and acted than most American B-pictures, with a genuinely dark vision. Television at its most ambitious in this era.

But It's six episodes of slow-burn tension rather than a 72-minute sprint. Demands commitment and tolerance for 1950s British pacing. Also, the special effects are shakier than you'd hope.

Ikiru1952

Both films are about confronting the incomprehensible—whether alien or mortality itself—and finding human connection in its shadow. The Atomic Submarine rushes toward answers; Ikiru understands some questions have none.

Kurosawa's meditation on mortality and meaning—nothing like The Atomic Submarine on the surface, but it shares the profound strangeness of watching ordinary people confront something they cannot control or fully comprehend. A completely different register, but the same existential note underneath.

But It is a three-hour black-and-white Japanese film about a dying bureaucrat. There is no plot momentum, no creature, no action. Requires you to sit with grief and accept cinema as philosophy rather than spectacle.