Made in the darkest days of the cold war, this John Sturges epic tensely weaves two timely themes: fear and distrust. The fear? At a remote North Pole outpost, men are dead and critically important satellite images are missing. Both the Americans and Soviets are racing to arrive first and the price of finishing second is too devastating to consider. The distrust? Someone on the U.S. submarine captained by Rock Hudson is a spy and a saboteur (I believe that's the first time I've written the word "saboteur." I feel smart).

And of course, the cold war was all about distrust. The Commies weren't just coming to get us – some were already here. That tension runs throughout the film, which has less action than a typical Sturges movie, but if you're a lover of realistic submarine films, you'll hardly be disappointed.

Is the spy Hudson? Or Ernest Borgnine? Or Patrick McGoohan? Or Jim Brown? (Yes, that Jim Brown – the greatest running back ever. I wonder what he and McGoohan talked about on set. Probably some combination of crumpets and stiff-arming).

The movie is based on Alistair MacLean's terrific novel and as I said, it's an epic, complete with DVD rarities, an overture and an intermission. I used the intermission to get a glass of wine and some Milk Duds, and I met a great looking woman in the lobby.

Just for the record, the lobby was my kitchen and the woman was my wife. It's fun to pretend.

by Ben Mankiewicz