Synopsis
When a Soviet submarine gets stuck on a sandbar off the coast of a New England island, its commander orders his second-in-command, Lieutenant Rozanov, to get them moving again before there is an international incident. Rozanov seeks assistance from the island locals, including the police chief and a vacationing television writer, while trying to allay their fears of a Communist invasion by claiming he and his crew are Norwegian sailors.
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Cast
- Carl ReinerWalt Whittaker
- Eva Marie SaintElspeth Whittaker
- Alan ArkinLt. Rozanov
- Brian KeithPolice Chief Link Mattocks
- Paul FordFendall Hawkins
- Theodore BikelThe Russian captain
- Jonathan WintersNorman Jones
- Tessie O'SheaAlice Foss
- John Phillip LawAlexei Kolchin
- Ben BlueLuther Grilk
Recommendations
- 89
Austin Chronicle
The cast is great and the scene in which Carl Reiner and vaudeville vet Tessie O'Shea are lashed together is unforgettably funny. - 80
The New York Times
Mr. Arkin and Mr. Reiner meet and the comedy takes off in wild flight. - 80
Variety
An outstanding cold-war comedy depicting the havoc created on a mythical Massachusetts island by the crew of a grounded Russian sub. - 75
Entertainment Weekly
Still, the picture remains the only ”feel good” movie of the entire Cold War corpus. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
This hysterically funny parody of Cold War tensions sees a Russian submarine get stuck in a sandbar off the coast of New England after its commander, Bikel, ventures too close to shore in order to get a good look at America. - 70
Los Angeles Times
Cleverly written by William and Tania Rose, it's become a cold-war curio. [28 May 1989, p.2] - 50
Chicago Reader
More memorable for its title than for anything else.
