Beneath the 12 Mile Reef Blu Ray Review
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953), a sponge-fishing yarn starring Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, and Gilbert Roland, was the third film to be released in CinemaScope, 20th Century-Fox's new widescreen, stereophonic sound procedure. The studio showed slap-up care rolling out these get-go releases, eager to gain mass public acceptance and industry-wide support. The Robe, premiering in mid-September 1953, had been a big-scale biblical epic, while How to Marry a Millionaire, debuting in early November, was an all-star romantic comedy, with location scenes moving picture in New York Metropolis and upstate. Beneath the 12-Mile Reef was shot almost entirely on location, more often than not in Key Due west and Tarpon Springs, Florida, and showed off CinemaScope'south versatility underwater. The strategy worked. The $4 meg-plus The Robe was a colossal striking, earning $36 million; the $one.9 million How to Marry a Millionaire earned $8 million, and the $ane.6 Below the 12-Mile Reef earned more than $7 one thousand thousand worldwide. CinemaScope was here to stay. For a number of years the movie was thought to exist in the public domain, resulting in a lot of panned-and-scanned, monophonic, and incomplete abode video and TV versions, though there was a decent laserdisc release at one point. Twilight Time's officially licensed Blu-ray from Play tricks therefore is something of a revelation. The movie looks swell and sounds even better, with Bernard Herrmann's excellent score heard in its original, surround sound glory. The flick ain't bad, either. Greek-American fisherman Mike Petrakis (Gilbert Roland), his son Tony (Robert Wagner), first mate "Socrates" Houlis (J. Carroll Naish) and the rest of the crew of the Aegli return to port at Tarpon Springs with another disappointing catch of sponges, laboriously picked from the sea floor in a cumbersome diving adapt. They hear tell of a profitable take hold of off the perilous 12-Mile Reef, just Mike is reluctant to venture there. Instead, the Aegli sails to Key West, a region unofficially off-limits to Greeks by anti-immigrant fishermen who believe those waters belong to them alone. The catch there is stupendous but two local fishermen, Arnold Dix (Peter Graves) and Griff Rhys (Harry Carey, Jr.), intercept them, threating to cut Mike'southward air line with an axe. The Rhys Family unit fishing boat, captained past patriarch Thomas Rhys (Richard Boone) arrives. They take all the sponges before freeing helpless Mike. Determined to go back their stolen catch, Mike leads the crew to lily-white Key Due west, where their determination impresses Thomas, and more so his daughter, Gwyneth (Terry Moore), who falls for brash, complacent Tony at first sight, but not jealous Arnold, who'due south anxious to wed the free-spirited girl. Beneath the 12-Mile Reef is a pretty solid take a chance-melodrama with an unobtrusive quotient of romance. Apparently Tarpon Springs really is (or was) home to a big Greek-American enclave, and the local color there adds to the flick's attractiveness. Mexican-born Gilbert Roland is perfectly acceptable every bit the larger-than-life Mike, Roland charismatic and athletic though pushing l at the fourth dimension. Conversely, it'd take more black pilus dye and a perm to brand Robert Wagner remotely believable as his son. Though he's been fine in many other roles since, Wagner, then just 23, is too much the pretty boy and hopelessly miscast, though he tries hard. The role needed a more seasoned role player, one that audiences could accept as prepare and eager to fill Mike's large shoes. Roland's terrific merely Wagner is less than adequate. Besides Wagner, the movie serves equally a good showcase for Terry Moore, Richard Boone, and Peter Graves, all adept. Information technology'south a bit strange, however, to run into relative newcomer Boone cast as the male parent of Harry Carey Jr., only 4 years his junior. As melodrama the picture works. The audience feels for Mike and his coiffure, whose work looks wildly dangerous with little promise of a big payday, and over the course of the pic they endure numerous indignities and personal tragedy. One of the film's few disappointments other beyond Wagner is its deus ex machina climax, which wraps things up abruptly and a bit also neatly, peculiarly considering the ruthlessness of Peter Graves's graphic symbol, which borders on psychotic. Except for some special effects and studio water tank shots, and a bit of rear-projection process work near the very cease, virtually the entire picture, including interiors, were shot on location, adding enormously to the verisimilitude, and fascinating to scout today for the way the movie captures early on 1950s Florida eateries, harbors, ordinary homes, and the family-run fishing industry then withal in being. Bernard Herrmann's score is even so another memorable work, his music really benefiting from CinemaScope'south 4-track magnetic stereo sound, equally it would over again in movies like Garden of Evil (especially), Male monarch of the Khyber Rifles, and The Egyptian (co-written with Alfred Newman). I was startled to hear one big cue later reused on Lost in Infinite, whenever a member of the Robinson party flies effectually in i of those jetpacks. Video & Audio Twilight Fourth dimension's Blu-ray of Beneath the 12-Mile Reef looks great. The earliest CinemaScope releases, in 2.55:1 widescreen, tended to exhibit "CinemaScope mumps" from the first Bausch & Lomb lenses, but that'due south been fixed, and at that place appears to be a very modest squeeze on the farthermost sides of the frame, noticeable in just a couple of shots. For years many early CinemaScope titles tended to wait extremely grainy with washed-out color on TV and dwelling house video, but this release has rich hues (lots of great sunrise/sunset shots) and is impressively precipitous. The 5.one DTS-HD Master Audio (and accompanying alternative 2.0 DTS-HD MA track) is impressively robust and directional, with much employ of the surrounds as well. Optional English subtitles are provided on this region-complimentary disc. This is a limited edition restricted to simply 3,000 units, so get yours now. Extra Features Supplements include an isolated music rails of Bernard Herrmann's music, and an A&E Biography of Robert Wagner is included, in add-on to Julie Kirgo's usual liner notes. Parting Thoughts Non groovy cinema but very entertaining and colorful, Below the 12-Mile Reef looks and sounds slap-up on Blu-ray and is Highly Recommended.
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