BENEATH THE 12 MILE REEF: Robert Wagner as The Joker

BENEATH THE 12 MILE REEF (Blu-ray)

1953 / 127 min

Leomark Studios

Available at MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😼

For those of you who’ve never heard of this movie and tend to judge books by their covers, rest assured there is nothing in Beneath the 12 Mile Reef as cool as that Blu-ray artwork. Sure, a ticked-off octopus eventually shows up, but this ol’ relic is largely a sudsy romantic adventure film about two competing families of sponge divers.

It’s the Greeks vs. the Conches in a fight for sponge supremacy off the coast of Florida, with a very young Robert Wagner (looking about as Greek as a salad) playing Tony, who falls in love with his rival’s daughter, Gwyneth (Terry Moore) along the way. He also has to contend with Gwyneth’s jealous boyfriend, Arnold (Peter Graves, in a somewhat rare villainous role). 

"I just wanna watch the world burn, Dad."

Beneath the 12 Mile Reef is a silly film with goofy dialogue and mostly bland performances. In his first starring role, Wagner is the exception. Instead, he’s guilty of overemoting in every scene that doesn’t require a diving helmet. Whenever he smiles, like when he’s ogling Gwyneth, I’m reminded of The Joker (or maybe the face on that truck in Maximum Overdrive). But let’s not judge Wagner too harshly, because he eventually did get better.

Conversely, the underwater sequences are beautifully shot and the film is genuinely engaging - even suspenseful - during those moments. If nothing else, it makes excellent use of CinemaScope, which was new at the time. It looks equally vibrant and colorful on Blu-ray (though the sound quality sucks), so even if there are no toothy beasts or scantily clad swimmers, Beneath the 12 Mile Reef is still lovely to look at. But like other public domain titles Leomark Studios has acquired and released on Blu-ray, this disc has no bonus features, chapters, subtitle/language options or a main menu.

THE CHASE: Brando, Bubber and a Bunch of Bad Behavior

THE CHASE (Blu-ray)

1966 / 133 min

Alliance Entertainment

Review by Mr. Paws😼

Watching 1966’s The Chase for the first time, I couldn’t help but draw some comparisons to a more recent exercise in excess, Babylon. Both feature huge ensemble casts of famous faces playing a variety of morally questionable (and largely unlikable) characters. Both dedicate good chunks of their running times to these folks engaging in bad behavior. Both briefly (and superficially) address themes of racism. And finally, there’s a trainwreck quality to both that’s often morbidly fascinating.

I guess the biggest difference - besides hailing from different eras - is that Babylon is deliberately over-the-top, whereas the melodramatic campiness of The Chase appears largely unintentional. One gets the impression that everyone involved with the film took it far more seriously than the viewer is likely to. As such, there’s some great fun to be had, even if the thing eventually wears out its welcome. 

And unlike Babylon’s episodic narrative, The Chase has an actual plot on which to hang its scenes of adultery, drunkenness, back-stabbing and mob behavior. Lifelong loser Bubber Reeves (Robert Redford) escapes from prison and heads back toward his hometown of Tarl County, Texas, one of those places where everybody knows everybody. Word quickly spreads that not only did Bubber escape, he’s wanted for murdering someone along the way (which was actually committed by his fellow escapee). Sheriff Calder (Brando) and Bubber’s cheating wife, Anna (Jane Fonda), seem to be the only ones convinced of his innocence, while the rest of the town apparently can’t wait to get their hands on him. 

Brando suddenly realizes he never could've been a contender.

Meanwhile, The Chase is rife with soap opera subplots, most of which involve either wanton infidelity or the dichotomy between privileged (and nasty) rich folks and the marginalized working class (including the racial minorities in town). Largely taking place during a single day, the rich get increasingly shitfaced before taking the law into their own hands, while Calder faces abuse and accusations of ignoring his duties. For a while, a lot of this is quite entertaining, if sometimes at the film’s expense. The numerous drunken party scenes, for example, are pretty amusing, as is the fact that no one appears to be concerned about the consequences of behavior that would realistically land them in jail. 

But eventually, spending so much time with such self-absorbed, unlikable characters gets on our nerves, especially once we begin to suspect not all of them are likely to be held accountable for their actions. Without getting into specifics that might be considered spoilers, there is no character growth of any kind. Like Tony Montana in Scarface, characters established as horrible at the start of the story are just as horrible at the end. Though Bubber is portrayed as somewhat likable, only Calder and his wife, Ruby (Angie Dickinson), generate any real sympathy (though we do feel kinda sorry for bank manager Edwin Stewart, played by Robert Duvall).

Still, I can’t honestly say The Chase is dull (though it is a little overlong). Its superficial attempt at seriousness is often very entertaining. And say what you will about the film’s goofier aspects, it’s got one hell of a cast, many of whom were on the verge of superstardom at the time. And while some of them are guilty of laying it on a little thick, there’s no denying their dedication to their roles.