Beneath the 12-Mile Reef

All in all, the 90-minutes amounts to a better movie than its near 5-plus user rating. The plot's no brain twister- Greek sponge divers compete with Anglo counterparts off the coast of Florida. That could be a tricky ethnic premise but it's nicely finessed Romeo and Juliet style.

There's no way early TV could compete with this Cinemascope panorama. The beautifully colorized ocean sights are stunning, while the murky underwater presents a good contrast. Not surprisingly, studios hoped this kind of visual wonder would induce couch potatoes back into theatres. Then too, it's no wonder Wagner's career took off with this showing, even though he's coiffed in unlikely black curly hair. Happily, the young actor proves both spirited and likable in the central role of the Greek son working to equal his dad's (Roland) leadership skills. Roland too amounts to a riveting screen presence, while a face-off between him and Anglo leader Richard Boone would have shaken the rafters. Anyway, I had my hopes. And catch that "lifeline" sending air to the diver. It looks awfully meager given the many hazards below. No wonder Wagner's Tony says he's terrified every time he goes under. I'll keep that in mind next time I use a kitchen sponge.

A number of these folks went on to stellar careers, including Peter Graves who gets to practice his fistic skills. No, there's little in this A-production to call memorable. But for a non-rainy evening, it's an enduring slice of movie entertainment.

I am a Floridian who doesn't live all that far from Tarpon Springs...the small town in which "Beneath the 12-Mile Reef" was set. Even today, it's big claim to fame is their sponge diving trade. And, when you see the youths jump into the harbor to recover the crucifix tossed into the water, well, that's a tradition the Greek Orthodox community still celebrates to this day. It's a lot more touristy today and if you visit the quaint little shops, you'll notice many sell copies of this film.

According to this story, the quality of the sponges the divers are retrieving has declined and the 12-Mile Reef is a piece of virgin territory where the sponges still are abundant. Naturally, it's tougher and more dangerous to go there...and some of it is because thieves and/or folks claiming the waters are theirs sometimes set upon the boats and steal their harvests.

While I really wanted to love "Beneath the 12-Mile Reef", I felt very ambivalent about it after seeing it. The film was okay...just a time-passer and apart from nice nice local scenery and underwater shots, the story just never impresses nor does it annoy.





By the way, some scenes were filmed in the Keys as well as the Bahamas. I assume they were picked mostly because the water is far clearer there and much better for underwater shots. I've scuba dove the areas and know that there's a huge difference in the clarity of these waters.

Robert Webb directs this terrific underwater adventure. Two families of different ethnic background rival for sponges in the Gulf of Mexico off the west coast of Florida. One family of Greek decent is led by Mike Petrakis(Gilbert Roland)and his son Tony(Robert Wagner). Their efforts of diving for valuable sponges are thwarted by Thomas Rhys(Richard Boone)and his team of divers. Arnold(Peter Graves)is the aggressive diver that leads raids on the Petrakis sponge hauls as well as competes with young Tony for the affection of Gwyneth Rhys(Terry Moore). Highlights are Wagner fighting with an octopus; Moore in a swimsuit; and the great underwater scenes. Notice Wagner's dyed black hair. In supporting roles are two veteran actors J. Carrol Naish and Jay Novello. It is said this is the third movie filmed in Cinemascope. It garnered critical acclaim for the breakthrough underwater cinematography.

An average movie overall, this is helped along quite a bit by its atmosphere, which makes a relatively creative setting work pretty well. The actual story consists entirely of very well-worn ideas, but they work all right because the setting and scenery give the story some extra life. The cast also has a couple of bright spots, and aside from being somewhat too long, it's a solid feature for its genre.

The story has a community of Greek sponge fishermen on the Florida coast facing intimidation, prejudice, and economic competition, with a budding cross-cultural romance that has the potential either to ease the tensions or to cause worse conflicts. A young Robert Wagner plays the main character, and while his performance is rather one-dimensional, he easily makes his presence felt. Peter Graves is his antagonist, with Terry Moore as the love interest.

Probably the best performance is given by Gilbert Roland, who plays Wagner's father. His character is a cocky but knowledgeable veteran of his trade, who is forced to take ever greater risks to provide for his family.

The atmosphere is helped by the color photography and by a lot of good detail in most of the various settings. For much of the movie, you are constantly reminded of the seaside setting and of the ways that it drives the characters and the action. All this helps the familiar story idea to take on a little more interest.

There are some films that can't be labeled as classics, but they have a good story and are generally entertaining. I would say this one falls into that category. Don't look for great acting. If you can imagine Robert Wagner as an ebullient young Greek, then you'll know what I mean. The story centers on some fishing families in coastal Florida and competition to get a good harvest of sponges. Most areas have been over-harvested and to get a good haul, father and son Mike and Tony Petrakis (Roland and Wagner) are forced to go to the 12-mile reef, a dangerous place where divers might slip off the reef and get the bends when they come back up. In the meantime, Tony falls for the non-Greek daughter (Moore) of a rival fishing family who stole their sponges from them. The cinematography, in Cinemascope, is attractive as is the music score, a treat for both eyes and ears. When the divers are in the water, composer Bernard Herrmann really whips it up, with harps and everything. While no masterpiece, "Reef" is, for me, satisfying.