FER-DE-LANCE (1974)
Article 2371 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 9-22-2007
Posting Date: 2-8-2008
Directed by Russ Mayberry
Featuring David Janssen, Hope Lange, Ivan Dixon

Stupid sailor scores several snakes, sneaks same aboard submarine. Snakes slither and strike suddenly, surprised seamen snuff it and sub sinks. Stop, snakes, stop! Someone, save stars!

I’m surprised that someone never had the inspiration to rerelease this TV-Movie with the new title, SNAKES ON A SUB last year after all the hype about that movie that took place on a plane (you know the title). I’m sure that anyone tuning in wouldn’t have expected much. Still, this TV movie makes for a passable thriller, what with the likable cast of familiar TV faces, but the horror element is downplayed to the point that this only hovers on the edges of the horror genre. The movie ends up more concerned with the problem of the sub being stranded on the ocean floor, and the big suspense sequence (where several people have to go out in scuba gear to set explosives to dislodge rocks that threaten to keep them prisoner) is marred by the overabundance of follow-up scenes where people have to go out to rescue people who went out to rescue people etc. etc. The cast also features Frank Bonner as the stupid sailor.