Noteworthy for it’s technical achievements, and perhaps most important for the terrific score by the renowned composer Bernard Herrmann, this film is very entertaining on many levels. First, it was 20th Century Fox’s second production in cinemascope and, with the incredible challenges of extensive underwater color photography (for which cinematographer Edward J. Cronjager was nominated for an Academy Award), it was a landmark achievement. This technical merit was matched by the exquisite music of Bernard Herrmann, which perfectly compliments the action, especially the eerie beauty of the underwater sequences. The casting is equally successful, with veteran actor Gilbert Roland as the patriarch of the immigrant Greek Petrakis family, a young Robert Wagner as his dutiful and impetuous son, Richard Boone as the head of the rival Rhys family, and his daughter, Terry Moore, who falls out of love with Peter Graves after being romanced by Wagner. The story, and the underlying theme of the immigrants struggle to succeed in America, prove to be the film’s real value, as the two young lovers take center stage in a Romeo and Juliet struggle to bring their warring families together to accept their love. The overall theme that true success in America means overcoming prejudice and ethnic differences is what makes this film so gratifying to watch. (1953)