Plot
The American Buckley-class destroyer escort USS Haynes detects and attacks a German U-boat that is on its way to rendezvous with a German merchant raider in the South Atlantic Ocean. Captain Murrell (Robert Mitchum), a former officer in the merchant marine now an active duty lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve, has recently taken command of the Haynes, even though he is still recovering from injuries incurred in the sinking of his previous ship. Before the U-boat is first spotted, one sailor questions the new captain's fitness and ability. However, as the battle begins, Murrell shows himself to be a match for wily U-boat Kapitän von Stolberg (Curt Jürgens) (portrayed as not enamoured with the Nazi regime) in a prolonged, deadly battle of wits that tests both men and their crews. Each man grows to respect his opponent.
In the end, von Stolberg takes advantage of Murrell's predictable pattern of attacks and succeeds in torpedoing the destroyer. However, Murrell has one last trick up his sleeve. He orders his men to set fires on the deck to make the ship look more damaged than it actually is. As Murrell had hoped, von Stolberg decides to surface and sink the destroyer with his deck gun instead of using another valuable torpedo. Murrell orders full speed and rams the U-boat. Von Stolberg orders his crew to set the sub's detonators and abandon ship.
Murrell, the last man aboard, is about to join his crew in the lifeboats when he spots von Stolberg trapped on the conning tower of the U-boat with his injured executive officer, Korvettenkapitän Heini Schwaffer (Theodore Bikel). Von Stolberg salutes Murrell, who returns it. Murrell then tosses a rope to the submarine and pulls each man on board. Though Schwaffer is dying, von Stolberg refuses to leave behind his friend. Both crews spot them and help the three men into a lifeboat. They manage to clear the tangled wrecks just before the sub explodes. Later, aboard another American ship, the Germans consign Schwaffer's body to the deep, as the American crew watches respectfully.
Read more about this topic: The Enemy Below
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